Retribution

“Unya, I am very much real, I don’t think even your imagination could have conjured this up. Look there is a lot of things I need to tell you, but you need to stick with me and just try to wrap your head around it.”

I just nodded and waited for him to begin, unsure of what I should say, if there even was anything, I could say in reply to that.

“When you saw me die, that isn’t what happened. Hades couldn’t destroy my soul, so that part of me is very much still alive. The same cannot be said about my body, he smashed that into oblivion and decimated it for good measure. But do not feel bad for me, the thing is I already knew that this would happen. I wanted to tell you, but it was against the rules. It’s cruel that you had to care for me, only to lose me but I need you to know that everything I felt for you was, and is still very much, real.”

He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, leaning his own against mine before continuing.

“I had to be destroyed so I could help you. Things have changed a lot since you entered the underworld Unya, I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks and this is the first time that it has worked.”

“Hang on, what do you mean help me, I’m fine Lawson, aren’t I?” I asked, feeling confused by everything that he said.

“If only that was true, I’m sorry Unya but you most likely won’t even remember this conversation when you wake up. I was supposed merge with your subconscious, leading you down the right path without you ever realising it. But I ended up here, I’m in your mind which conjures up some strange things when you’re not here with me but I’m not sure how I’m even supposed to help you now.”

He then explained the fact that Hades had forced me to drink water from the river Styx that would have wiped all traces of my memory from me. Not only would I forget about this I would also forget everything that had ever happened in my life.

We spent the next few hours or even days, it’s hard to tell when you’re asleep, just laying with one another. Nothing sexual it was innocent; I think we just both needed to feel grounded and connected to something else. I’ll admit that it scared me to wake up, but I also enjoyed that fear, it also made me wonder just how I would be when I awoke.

Would this version of myself hold any control over my actions?

We didn’t speak much after our first initial conversation, at least not about anything of real relevance. We tried to pretend that this was real for just a little while, but it seemed too cruel to carry on. Knowing that I still had a place in the real world, while he was stuck inside my messed up little mind. We dropped that little charade and just be together, maybe for the last time.

That would be proven wrong, but for now we were just trying to fill all the little moments up, just in case.

The first time my eyes had opened, I had felt so nauseous that I closed them again, it didn’t help that the lights had been so blinding that it had felt like my irises had been burnt away.

The second time had been a little easier, but a pain in my head had been so splitting that I had clawed at my face and passed out.

By the third time I refused to even open my eyes, I didn’t want to experience that pain again. It had been nasty and pointless, and I did not want to face it. That would have been just fine too if a lovely voice hadn’t started to talk, much too loudly as well if you ask me. I couldn’t stop my eyes from snapping open and I came face to face with a beautiful creature.

He had the most intense cobalt blue eyes I had ever seen, although that had been a complete guess seeing as my head wasn’t functioning right yet. With long dirty blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, with red streaks running through it. He was built well and seemed like he would have been tall, if he hadn’t been crouching beside my bed.

“Unya I am so relieved that you are awake, how are you feeling?” He asked, giving the impression that we did in fact know each other, which just infuriated me.

“That’s tricky to answer, you see I open my eyes to a face I do not recognise, and then get spoken too like we are as thick as thieves. So, you tell me, how do you think I should feel?”

“Oh god Unya I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking I was just so happy to see you awake that I forgot myself. By assuming that you would even know who I was and for even asking such a ridiculous question. It slipped my mind that you couldn’t feel emotions, I guessed I had hoped that maybe they had somehow unlocked, but I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

I don’t think he would have shut up, if I hadn’t had placed the tips of my fingers against his mouth, not so subtlety telling him. To, Stop, Talking.

“Unya, is that my name. You keep calling me it so I’m assuming that is the case, so why can’t I remember?” I asked, rubbing at my eyes and then smacking my palms against my head.

The guy on the floor went to open his mouth but was cut off by an intimidating man standing in the doorway. I mean come on he hadn’t even knocked, but even though it annoyed me I couldn’t help recall the words that my apparent friend had said to me. He said that I couldn’t feel, but that was far from the case. I did not understand what happened to me, but one thing I knew for certain was that I could feel everything and right then, I was angry.

Was he on about pain, cause my head was splitting and I could feel that too.

“It is such a relief to see you back with us child, we have all been so worried about you. You gave us quite a shock you know.”

He seemed to be admonishing me for something that I could not recall, but I kept my face expressionless and pretended that nothing had changed within me.

“Am I supposed to know who either of you are, because I must inform you right now that I don’t have the slightest idea.”

“It is so refreshing to not be known, just by my appearance alone. But alas, we suspected that this might have been the case, I hoped that you would have at least remembered your betrothed.”

The intimidating guy motioned to the guy on the floor, so I guess that meant I was engaged. While he just remained crouched there, not even looking at me. Something seemed off about that situation, but I just put it down to his feelings being hurt by lack of recognition on my part.

“You went through a great ordeal child, and that has impacted your memory. How extensive the damage is has yet to be seen but we must hope that it is

only temporary.”