The Minoan Rhapsody

Moudros Bay

          Scorilo entered the captain's deck with a small wood plank, a jar of asphaltos, and pieces of cloth. He saw Persephone, sitting, smirking. Frowning, he asked, "Don't you get tired of doing nothing but sitting there, waiting for someone to come?"

"No. I knew I wouldn't have to wait long for your return." Her soft voice cut through the noises above deck. Hammering, clanking, yelling of all hands-on deck doing repairs.

"How'd you know I was coming back?" Scorilo asked.

"The hole that needs fixing..."

"Right," Scorilo shook his head, feeling silly. He took a couple of steps.

"I'm hungry."

"I can't feed you. Captain Sisyphus orders."

"Everyone's busy. No one will know," she insisted.

"Scorilo!" A voice yelled from outside. "We need pegs!"

He scoffed.

"Please," Persephone raised her eyebrows and smiled at him.

"Scorilo, where are you!" The outside voice insisted.

He bent over to place the jar, plank, and cloths on the floor. A small bag loosely tied fell from his belt. He picked it up, opened it and took out a few sunflower seeds in his mouth.

The door was opened by one of the guards. "You better go above deck now," the guard said.

Scorilo took a deep breath, rushed to close his seed bag, and tugged it under his belt. "No food," he told Persephone. He left the room.

She looked at the floor, by the asphaltos jar, and smirked. She went towards it, bent her knees, and picked up a single seed that fell out of Scorilo's bag. "Hello beautiful." She smiled at the seed and went back to the hole to peek outside. She saw a small tern gliding nearby. "I need you," she whispered.

The white and black bird changed direction and flew towards Persephone.

She put the seed in her mouth and moistened it. Then, she placed it on her finger and through the hole, offered it to the bird.

Briefly hovering, the tern picked up the seed with its beak and flew towards the beach.

As busy as the Strogula, the beach was full of men working on the wreckages and debris that washed ashore. No one paid attention to the sunflower that germinated from the seed the tern dropped on the sand.

#

Hades opened his eyes. He stood up. "Thanatos," he called.

Out of the Nekromanteion darkness, the God of death walked in. He was young, handsome, and beardless. He wore a black robe with a silver belt from which a crystal, diamond-like bladed sword was holstered. He had a pair of large translucent wings on his back.

"Get the Keres," Hades ordered. "We are going to Moudros Bay."

#

Two smoke swirls rose from the sand right by Persephone's full bloomed sunflower. Thanatos and Hades materialized from them.

The men who were working at the beach saw them. Grabbing clubs, hammers, and other tools, they approached the Gods.

"Don't these fools recognize us?" Thanatos asked while grabbing the ivory handle of his sword.