“Minthe!” I opened my eyes at the sound of my name. The day was bright and sunny, with a sweet-scented breeze carrying flower petals across the world. The best thing, however, was the sight of my best friend barrelling towards me, dragging a suitcase behind her. Her long black hair billowed behind her as she ran, her brown eyes sparkling, her smile wide. She smashed into me, dropping her bag and wrapping me in a bear hug. I grinned, hugging her back. After a moment, she held me at arm’s length. I took this opportunity to admire all the features I had missed for the past week. Her almond-shaped eyes were a deep hazel, sparkling in the afternoon sun. Freckles dotted her cinnamon skin across her nose and cheeks, like constellations in the night sky. Her curly raven hair tumbled over her shoulders. She pulled me in for another hug.
“I missed you so much,” she lamented in a whisper. I smiled.
“I missed you too, Kore.” She smiled at me. “How was your time at your father’s house?”
Kore huffed. I had forgotten that she didn’t like to speak of her father. “It was fine, I guess. Awkward as usual.”
Kore was conceived during an affair her father, Zeus, had with her mother, Demeter. The only reason she visited him and his wife Hera was because he was king. It wasn’t fair, Kore should have been allowed a choice by now. And Gods know I would much rather have her here with me.
“I got to go shopping though!” She perked up.
“Amazing!” I smiled. “What did you get?”
She pulled two shopping bags out of her suitcase. She opened the first and set the second aside.
“I got two beautiful dresses,” she showed me. She held one up to her chest and twirled. It was seafoam green, made of a light, gauzy material. The front stopped right above her knees, but the back went all the way down to her ankles. She would look amazing in it. The second dress was darker, a deep plum. It was silk, and form-fitting. I laughed.
“What?” She pouted.
“Your mother is never going to let you wear that!”
“Oh, I guess you’re right.” Her face fell.
“You could always sneak it out and change later,” I suggested with a wink.
She laughed and playfully hit me on the shoulder.
“What’s in the other bag?”
Kore gave me a sly smile. “It’s for you!”
I felt myself blush. I was never able to repay her for the presents she got me. “Kore, you shouldn’t have.”
“But I did!” She handed me the bag. It was rather large, but lighter than I expected. It was pure white, with pink tissue paper poking out the top. That concerned me, as I am considerably more masculine than Kore, but she knew that. I quickly dismissed the fear and put my hand in the bag. I was greeted with a soft, cool fabric. I pulled out a long, hooded cloak that shimmered in the light. It was mostly black, but it shimmered with multicolored thread that seemed to change color when I tilted the fabric. It was beautiful.
“Kore,” I whispered. “How am I ever going to pay you back for this?”
Kore laughed, a melodious sound that carried on the wind. “Don’t be silly, darling! This is a gift. Consider it a token of my love.” She laughed, puffing out her chest and stretching to her full height, in an attempt to look chivalrous.
I laughed and swatted her arm, but my mind was still reeling. I dropped the bag that the cloak had been in, and slipped the garment over my shoulders, tying the ribbon around my neck. The silken fabric was soft against my skin, rippling in the breeze.
“The fabric is designed so it’s cool in the summer and warm in the winter.” She paused and looked at me with hesitant eyes. “Do you like it?”
“Of course I do! It’s amazing!” I pulled her in for another hug. “You’re the best friend anyone could ever ask for.”
Kore pulled away. “Come on, let’s go make flower crowns.”
I watched her walk away and debated whether or not I should ask what was wrong. I shook my head, eliminating the worries, and followed after her.
We walked all the way across the field to a rather large stream, the banks lined with all kinds of wildflowers. Kore stooped down and started picking the prettiest ones and setting them on a pile of river rocks. She tucked a strand of hair that had fallen out of place behind her ear. She turned around and smiled at me, eyes glittering.
I shook myself out of the trance and walked to the edge of the stream, sitting down on the bank and letting my feet sink into the water. Small, silver fish came up to investigate, their metallic scales gleaming in the afternoon light. I giggled as one of them bit my toe.
“Minthe! Look at these flowers I found! I’ve never seen anything like them!” Kore called.
I glanced over my shoulder to see her holding up a large, dark red flower with bright white on the tips of the petals. I nodded and smiled at her, before turning my attention back to the water. I brushed my fingers about an inch above the surface and willed the water to reach up and meet me. Naturally, it obeyed. I played with the small orb of liquid now floating above my palm, tossing it from hand-to-hand, then up in the air and letting it slash back down into the river. The little fish swam to the surface to see what the disturbance was about. I chuckled and turned back to Kore.
Except I couldn’t see her anywhere. I stood up and looked around. Still no sign of her.
“Kore,” I called. No response. Panic began to rise in my throat. I scrambled out of the water and ran back into the field.
“Kore!” I yelled again. I spun around in desperation, searching for any sign of her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flicker of movement. I squinted and saw the sun shining on black, curly hair. That must be Kore. I took off running, my new cloak catching the wind, but not slowing me down. I called her name as I sprinted across the field. I could see her better now. She turned her head towards me, her eyes oddly blank.
“Kore! Are you okay?” When I was almost a hundred yards away, my foot slipped into a rabbit hole, pain shooting up my entire leg. I yelped and fell to the ground, seeing only red. When my vision cleared, Kore had turned away from me. A chasm had opened up in the ground in front of her, and she was descending into it.
“No!” I screamed, trying to stand. “Kore, no!” But as I watched, the ground swallowed her whole. I frantically scrambled across the field, ignoring the pain from my most likely broken ankle. When I reached the spot where she was, I looked for any sign of the chasm that had taken her. I clawed at the earth with my hands until my fingers started to bleed. I screamed until my throat was raw. Finally, I sat down in defeat, and a heartbroken sob tore from my throat. She was gone. This was all my fault. I should have been paying more attention. She should still be here, sitting next to me. I set my hand on the ground and felt something soft beneath my fingers. I looked down and saw that it was one of the flowers that she had found. Tears welled in my eyes.
I stood up shakily, putting all of my weight on my good leg. I will find her, no matter how long it takes, I vowed to myself. I stumbled over to a tree, snapping two branches and tying them to my ankle with a torn strip of my dress. I gritted my teeth and stood up, prepared to search the entire earth.
“Took her away, took her away!”
My head snapped up as I heard the voice from above call. “What? Who’s there?”
“Took her away!”
I looked up into the tree and saw a large, black crow.
“Took her away! To the Underworld!”
“The Underworld. . .” I muttered to myself. “Did Hades take her?”
“Took her away! Took her away!” With that, the crow flew off.
I shivered, not just from anxiety. Already with the absence of Kore, the world seemed to be getting colder. I squared my shoulders and limped forward. If Hades had taken her, I wouldn’t be able to get her back alone. I would have to go to Olympus for help. I gritted my teeth as I walked to the famous mountain on the horizon, determined to get Kore back.
To be continued…