Chapter 7: Aphrodite, Goddess of moral ambiguity(TW: Mentions of PTSD) (2/2)
”That was A-Aphrodite who came by just now????” She looked at him with fear on her face.
”Yes. It was. What's wrong?” Alex gave her his hand and she reluctantly took it and stood up. She looked at him in the eyes and asked ”Do you remember what I told you earlier about nymphs?”
He somewhat remembered her speaking about nymphs when they were eating, only to be interrupted by Aphrodite's arrival, so he nodded.
”She.....Aphrodite imprisoned and.....killed most of the nymphs because she was jealous of their beauty. Aphrodite doesn't want anyone other than her to be beautiful, she's sick to the core. I was f***ing young back then but I remember it very clearly. The screams of my brethren...They still haunt me in my nightmares. I was only spared because Aphrodite didn't consider darker skin to be beautiful, so she let me go” Crista recounted what happened while Alex looked at her with an incredulous expression. Although he guesses that Aphrodite probably wasn't exactly the archetype of a good person, but genocide....and mass imprisonment, those are on a different level than just being a bad person.
”How old were you back then?” Alex asked with a very quiet voice, trying to make sense of what he was just told.
”I was 12.....now I'm 60 and I still remember everything” Alex didn't have the time to get impressed by Crista's current age as he thought about his own life. When he was 12, he lived with his mother and his younger brother had yet to be born so they lived alone but they led a very happy life. His mom did everything in her effort to make sure Alex grew up in a safe and happy environment and he thanks his mom for making him who he is today and braving with a smile even through hard times. Alex thought about Crista, the fact that at the age of 12, she saw her entire family get slaughtered or incarcerated and that she had to live with that trauma. Alex's family was very very far now, but at the very least, they were alive and healthy but Crista's family...
For the next hour, Crista would weep and unlike the past, where she was left to cry alone, she now had Alex, who came from the modern world where an understanding of mental health was achieved, comforting her and making a note to himself to never mention nymphs to hear to avoid triggering her PTSD.
They then both went to their respective rooms and while Alex was packing some clothes, he heard footsteps ring out in his room, it was Crista and it looked like she was doing better now.
”Thank you” She said silently. Alex nodded. When she saw him packing his luggage and ready to leave, she asked ”Before you go, how the f**k do you make that toppings on flatbread thing?”
”Pizza. It's called pizza” Alex corrected her and since he was going to pack some food for his trip anyways, he went down to the kitchen with her and showed her how to make, although with her dexterity that was miles better than his, Alex was sure she would do the pizza full justice.
He then said his goodbyes to her and left the estate, finding himself in the plaza, beyond which was a convenient staircase leading down the mountains. It looked infinitely long but that was better than the alternative of hiking down the jagged mountains and the slippery snow and ice.
What seemed like an eternity later...
”Ughh...Finally” Alex groaned. In front of him was a square with many staircases that seemed to connect all of the inhabited peaks of Olympus. This was just the easier half of the journey however. There was no clear way to go down now and he would definitely have to traverse the rough landscape.
”It's Demeter's work, all this snow. I suppose you're frustrated by it too” A voice rang out behind Alex, he turned around. It was a man wearing a cloak that was hiding his face and holding a big flask in his hand, and considering the strong stench of alcohol coming from him, it was probably wine. And although most of the man's face was hidden, Alex could see that his face was very red, showing that the man was drunk.
His words were interesting too. Demeter....From what Alex remembers, she's the goddess of life and farming and the mother of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.
”How so?” Asked Alex. He was genuinely curious and wanted to learn more about the various gods.
”When her daughter goes every winter to the Underworld, anywhere she goes to she turns the perimeter into a snowy landscape in frigid rage. She's currently in Olympus so we're stuck with this bad weather, not good for parties. She's very strong too so even Zeus can't order her around” Although the man spoke in long syllables, indicating he was drunk, his words were understandable and coherent.
”It does make it hard to go down the mountain....” Alex sighed.
”Maybe our encounter was fated, young man, what is your name?” Asked the drunk man with a mysterious tone.
”Alex. What's yours, sir?”
”Don't mind my name too much. They just call me the King of parties” the man answered funnily and continued speaking ”I know a fast and smooth way down the mountain, that is, if you don't mind the occasional tree or two”
Alex decided to follow the man's lead, even though he didn't really understand the part about trees and whatnot.
Thus the two man hiked before making it to a steep side of the mountains, and the man turned around and told Alex ”That's Olep there, you can see it from here”
Alex turned at the direction the man was looking, and in fact, he could see a sprawling and beautiful city from here, with an acropolis, lakes and rivers and beautiful buildings.
”It's very beautiful. But.....How are we going to get down?” Alex asked because the only thing in front of them was a steep fall and it looked dangerous. Alex turned around the man's answer but then he saw the man jumping and riding on the snow while hinting for him to do the same.
Alex thought the man had gone crazy from too much alcohol, but, on second glance, the slide looked smooth and fun.....
”You know what....I'm immortal...You only have infinite lives...I want to do it....I can do it!!” Alex kept mumbling to himself, hesitating whether to jump or not.
Well, he ended up jumping.