LEAVING TONIGHT. . . BUCKY BARNES

LEAVING TONIGHT

Wary, Hades knew he should
regret this day of hasty decisions.
But she was warm. And sweet.
And light. He stood. Bowing low,
bidding his new queen goodnight.
To his surprise, Persephone
cupped his face in her rough hands
and kissed the Lord of Darkness
lightly on the left temple.
Under her lips, white stars
blossomed in his hair for only a
moment. They wilted and fell.
And he fell.
— MEGAN C. LLOYD

IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY THERE IS A STORY OF A LOVELY MAIDEN NAMED PERSEPHONE. Avery McCoy, very much like Persephone, once lived in the free world. She had a job, a boyfriend, a life. It's one fateful night that she is kidnapped from her job, throwing her into a pit of despair that she loses herself in. There's only one word to describe where she is at: Hell. That's why she relates to Persephone.

Now her world is silence, it's an awful silence. The same silence that comes after pulling the trigger of a gun. A deafening silence, as she tries to claw herself out of her mind. That's the only way to describe how she feels after they wipe her memories. She can't remember a single moment of her old life. It leaves a bitter taste on her tongue, the same taste she figures was left on Persephone's tongue after eating the pomegranate. Although she finds something to cling on to, or rather someone. He tastes so sweet, the same way she figures the pomegranate first tasted before Persephone found out it was going to curse her to hell. Now she fears that she's had him once too many times, she fears she will never escape that Hell.