One more tale, human

I wanted to keep this as a short story but even short stories reach 1k+ words for me now 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[WP] The deity sighs and takes your hand, looking up at you with tired eyes making a gentle request, "Would you tell me a tale, young one? Something with adventure. I would so like to hear one more story before my time is up." You gather yourself, inhale deeply, and begin, "Once upon a time... "

Mythology, adventure, explorations. That has been my life since I’ve come of age. It may have been an unusual hobby for someone to try to prove the existence of gods, goddesses, deities, and the likes, but I was sure that I encountered one while in my childhood. The one that lived on an island of flowers. 

It may sound strange but I had met her. I was too young to recall everything. All I managed to remember was that she had saved me from the forest when I was lost during a camping trip with my family. I still can’t remember how I got lost. however, I remember her words clearly “If you want to thank me one day, I will be waiting for you on my island” 

Those were her words when she saw me off by the borders of the forest. After that, it became habitual of me to come into the forest in hopes of seeing her again. No such luck with each time. 

When I was finally old enough to go further, I asked my father to accompany me on my trips. We started going around mountains and even other islands, all in the guise of wanting to hike or to go mountain climbing. My family thought I may have become addicted to extreme sports. But, in reality, I only yearned to find her again. Throughout my teen years, I wandered aimlessly during breaks from studying mythology. Yes, it was a strange combination but there, I found the identity of my rescuer. She was Chloris, the goddess of spring. As to why she wandered so far off Greek territory, I would never know but she goes where the flowers bloom and where produce is lush. It excited me to know that If I was getting closer to finding her. Call this an obsession but I still want to give her my heartfelt thanks for having saved me.

I was encouraged to start leaving the country I grew up in a few weeks after my graduation. There was no luck of finding her there anyways. I knew I had to go exploring the oceans if I wanted to prove her existence. The field of Elysium was said to be in the river of Oceanus yet to know where that is, I could only rely on Greek mythology and the works of Homer from the Iliad and The Odyssey. 

It was a blind quest, it seems but I had to try my luck. My first voyage was to the Atlantic ocean. Atlantis was still part of mythology and I was sure there were still isles that were yet to be discovered. 

People called me a mad man but I knew she would be there… somewhere. Months passed and there was minimal luck. I believe I did manage to find a few islands but none could compare to how the elysian fields were described in the literature. I was beginning to question if I needed to be dead to actually see her, like how I was almost dying when I had first met her. It felt like that would be the case. 

I was nearing the boundaries of Africa when there was one particular island that stood out from all the isles that I’ve set foot upon. While its edges were white sand, its very center was a field. A vast field of every colored flower imaginable. It was beautiful. It was as if every single day could be spring there. The trees bore fruits yet there was nobody else to appreciate the splendor of the island. 

Just as I was wandering the greenery of the magnificent island, a strong gust passed by, making petals and leaves scatter with the wind. I had closed my eyes for a brief moment and when I opened them, there she stood, beautiful as the day I had first met her. 

“Chloris?” I had questioned cautiously. The last thing I wanted to do was to feel the wrath of a deity whose identity I was quite unsure of. 

“Young human. You are not dead, why do you come to my isles” 

It seems she has forgotten me “My goddess, I’ve searched endlessly, day and night, to thank you for having saved me when I was nearing death many years ago” I had bowed my head yet she had turned her back on me.

“The living is not permitted here, you must go” Was all she could tell me before she vanished with the wind again. 

I didn’t leave though yet I kept my distance from the field to not anger the deity. I set up camp and managed with what remaining supply I had. It was fortunate that there was fish that could easily be hunted and freshwater that flowed from the rivers yet I was surprised when fresh fruit was on the deck of my boat. There was plenty at that. It made me wonder if Chloris had come to accept my presence. I paid her another visit to which she now welcomed. She did not give me such a cold gaze as before. It was a relief. 

“Tell me human, how did you manage to find my isle” 

I can sense her curiosity and with that, I excused myself and returned with what few materials I could carry by hand. I showed her the books and various amounts of text that had guided me to explore the Atlantic ocean. 

I also showed her images of her and the other Greek gods, to which she just laughed. It seemed human understanding of the gods was too strange for even her. She shared her stories as I had shared mine. It was blissful living on that island, that was for sure. I hadn’t even realized that it had already been a couple of years since I first went on a voyage. I needed to see my family again and I do think I need to present my findings to the scholars I had met while studying. I bid her a momentary goodbye and assured her of my return. I wasn’t sure how long it would take but I knew I would find my way back. 

My stay in the town I grew up in wasn’t that long, I simply convinced my parents of where I wanted to spend the rest of my days and informed the scholars through letters of the things I had witnessed on my voyage. I was sure they would all think I’ve gone mad but I was sure that the Elysian fields were where I wanted to spend the rest of my life in.

On my return, It was quite different from before I left. I was pretty sure I had only been gone for 2? Maybe 3 months? Yet what had happened to the isle? I look around frantically, hoping Chloris would still be around. 

There, she hid in an opening of her favorite tree. She didn’t seem as youthful as she did. Something changed. Even the flowers were losing their colors. 

“Chloris, what has happened in my absence?” I approached her slowly

“It was Zeus. That capricious man that came to envy that a human took such a great liking to me” Carefully, she climbed out of the spot she had nestled herself in. Her body grew thinner and frailer as if it was the onset of autumn. 

“And what did he do to appease that anger?” I didn’t dare ask but I needed to know what would happen to the isle I grew to love so much.

“He would abolish this Elysian realm and burden Hades with the task of guiding even the god’s souls to the afterlife.” The deity sighs and takes my hand, looking up at me with tired eyes making a gentle request, "Would you tell me a tale, young one? Something with adventure. I would so like to hear one more story before my time is up."

 I gathered myself, inhaled deeply, and began, "Once upon a time… there was a boy that was saved by this beautiful goddess” 

I could see how her lips quirked up with the beginning of my tale. And as I continued on with my adventure of finding her, I could feel her lids getting heavier and heavier, until they had stayed shut and all the flowers and trees withered with her.