The Deities World: A Conversation with Persephone
“Come in,” Persephone says, holding the door to her study open. “Normally I prefer to meet at the clearing, it’s quieter there, but I have some work I need to get done.” She smiles at me. “I hope you don’t mind if I work while we talk.”
I smile at her. “It’s not a problem.”
Trying not to show how nervous I feel I step into the office and can’t stop myself from looking around. Opposite the door is a large desk, with a pile of papers at one end, with two bookcases either side of it. For a moment I study book titles, before stepping further into the room. To my left is a large window and patio door, leading out into the large garden; to my right there are pictures on the wall of Persephone and her family.
“Make yourself at home.” Persephone steps around me, startling me slightly as I’d almost forgotten she was there. “Hades will bring you a hot drink if you need it.”
I still have the end (I hope it’s the end at least) of a cold and it doesn’t surprise me that Persephone noticed. “Thank you.”
Smiling, she shakes her head. “I should be thanking you for listening to us. It’s not everyone we can connect with and having someone willing to write our stories is… well, for some of us it’s more important than others, so I’m glad that you’re around.”
Blushing, I sit in the seat closest to me as Persephone makes her way around the desk. “It’s my pleasure.”
“I know it can’t be easy. We aren’t all patient.”
“Yeah, I got that with Lucifer.”
Persephone nods. “He’s had a hard time of it. Once you’re viewed as one thing it can be very hard to get anyone to see the truth.” She pulls a piece of paper towards her, picks up one of the pens she has laying on the desk, and begins writing. “Now, what was it you wanted to talk about.”
“Your myths.”
Raising an eyebrow she glances up at me, looking a little mischievious, before focusing on her work once more. “Which ones?”
“Shall we start with the pomegranates?”
“Ah, the pomegranate that meant I had to stay in the underworld during the winter.” She laughs. “That didn’t happen. I almost wish it did, it was a beautiful piece of symbolism, but Hades and I met thanks to Hecate. She thought he could help me with dealing with the deaths I often view in the vision pool, because he’s always been a death god, and we got on well. When I fell in love with him I had difficulty convincing him that we should attempt a relationship, because I was a lot younger than him, but eventually he gave in to my arguments and we’ve been together ever since.”
“So, there were no pomegranates?”
“I do like pomegranates, but one was never a part of our courtship.”
“Okay.” I look down at the notes I’ve brought with me. “How about enchanted face cream?”
“Now that is something I used to make and Aphrodite did use it, but Aphrodite never was as jealous as the writers made her out to be in the myths. Psyche was actually one of Aprhodite’s mortal friends, until she was made into a deity by Zeus.”
“Mortals can be made into deities?”
“Yes, but only after they’ve died and only under specific circumstances.” Persephone looks up at me. “It doesn’t happen very often, so it might be worth exploring in a story.”
“Maybe I will.” I smile at her. “So the face cream?”
She turns her attention back to her work. “Yes, the cream. Deities are immortal, but that doesn’t mean that we’re impervious to all problems. The cream was for a skin condition that sometimes flares up. Aphrodite was always said to be the most perfect of us all, because she is the Goddess of love, as though they forgot that love isn’t about being perfect. Love is often more about compromise and understanding. Aphrodite is the first to admit that she’s really nothing like the Goddess so often seen in Greek mythology.”
“Is it hard to have stories told about you that are wrong?”
“Sometimes. Mostly we’re just grateful that people do still remember us and that we have a chance to put some of the stories right.” She shrugs. “Although there are still those who want us to be what they have in their mind, so they don’t listen.”
I nod. “How about painting flowers?”
Persephone stops for a seconds. “Ah, yes, that was a part of one of the myths. I painted flowers as my Spring incarnation Kore. I do actually paint, when I have time, but it’s different now that I’m a full time deity.” She sighs, writing again. “The majority of my time is spent working and any spare time I have is spent with my family.”
A noise from outside the room distracts both of us. I look at Persephone and she looks back at me, smiling. “It’s one of the puppies.”
“What’s it like having three headed puppies around?”
“Come with me.” She stands, putting her pen on the desk. “I’ll take you to meet them.”
Nodding, I also stand. I can’t say no to the offer, because I love dogs, so I let Persephone lead me out of the room and into the hallway where one of the puppies is busy chewing on a plant with all three of its heads.
“That’s Panteleimon.” She makes her way over to him and gently detaches his heads, one at a time, from the plant. “He’s gorgeous, but a total pain.”
Noticing me, the puppy bounds over and I kneel down to pet him. Having the three head makes it almost feel as though there are three dogs there who want me to scratch behind their ears, but it’s only one, and that is the strangest thing. I hear a door close, Persephone going back to her work while I’m distracted by Panteleimon.
Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.