Dark Petals (A Hades and Persephone story)

Chapter Twenty- One -- Persephone

Once we were able to get around the playful attacks of Cerberus, we enter the room that he had strategically placed himself in front of. What looks to be a large well sits in the center of the room atop a platform. Its circular outside wall stands about five feet tall and made of dark stone and mortar. While the room is dark, a faint glow emits from the center of the well. Step by step, I slowly make my way closer. Unsure of what will be inside when I do get there but at the same time unable to stay away.

Deep down, I know if I were in danger, Hades wouldn't let me anywhere near it. He stands close by, waiting there if I need him but allowing me to witness it for myself. Gathering my dress, I step up onto the platform. I take a deep breath before stepping closer and placing my hands on the ledge.

Below a fluorescent blue liquid flows within. But it's not like any water I have seen before, much like all other aspects of this realm. The liquid has a foggy quality to it.

I lean forward, bracing my elbows on the ledge. The liquid below swirls slightly, allowing shapes to take form. The urge to feel the liquid against my skin takes hold of me. Is it cold? Warm? Or something new altogether? I reach forward my fingers, almost grazing the top of it when a hand wraps around mine, pulling it back.

Hades is beside me, clutching my hand in his. He looks down at me, "That wouldn't be wise."

As I turn my gaze from him back to the liquid below, I gasp. A face has surfaced, looking back at me from within the depths. However far it goes, I don't know. As soon as it's there, it disappears in the ripples and fog.

"What was that?" I whisper.

"A soul."

"What?" I ask, turning toward him once more.

"This is where souls exist once their human form has long withered away," he explains as he drops my hand no longer worried.

"But what do they do in there?" I mumble, trying to wrap my head around it.

"They exist" Hades answers his silver eyes watch the pool below as he continues, "I meet them when they arrive and assist with their process of acknowledging that they are indeed dead. Then after I escort them here, I watch over them." He turns toward the door gazing past it to the large dog that I know is sitting outside. "And Cerberus guards them. They will know no other harm once they are here."

The way he speaks about the souls here, it's heartwarming. I can feel he means every word and the depths he feels for them though he may not be able to express it fully. Much like me, when it comes to my meadow. I helped them grow and protected them from then on.

But now...

I hope they are thriving without me.

"You may not touch them," he says, his tone turning more serious. When I turn to him, my confusion is there, and he can see it "If you do, they could possess you. They do not have a human form, and they would not intentionally try to harm you, but it is ingrained in them to want to be amongst the living."

I gulp. I had been close to sticking my hand in there with them just moments ago. "Do they have a purpose?"

"This is simply their home now," he says, looking into the well. "There is no good way to explain it."

"Okay," I take a step off the platform. The remainder of the room is ordinary. Stone walls surround the platform, and that's it. There isn't anything that would bring attention to it.

Hades holds the door open for me, and as I cross the threshold, my path is blocked by the giant black oversized puppy waiting to jump me.