Page 15 of Orpheus
We walked the port of Paestum until we arrived at Jason’s gargantuan ship docked at the pier. It was bigger than I had imagined. I was shocked the sea could float such a heavy-looking vessel. I stood with my head tilted to get the full picture of the enormous craft made of the finest and robust oak I had ever seen, as I rubbed my hands along its edges.
“Jason calls it theArgo,” Calais informed me, referring to the ship.
“It’s beautiful,” I remarked, while continuing to admire it.
Calais watched me closely. “You will be safe with us, Orpheus. There is nothing you have to fear. I will protect you at all costs. You have my word.”
My eyes drifted up into those stunning silver eyes of his. Their magnificence caused my face to flush. “Thank you. I appreciate your support. And I hope I can lead you all to salvation.”
Calais stepped toward me, a benevolent grin on his face. “I have no doubt you will. Hopefully, I will continue to get to know and see more of you, even after our voyage together.”
He spoke with such sincerity and interest. Dare I say that I wished for the same thing too? He was so handsome and yet mysterious at the same time. But there was something also odd about the nameCalais. I felt as if I have heard the name before but could not place my finger on it. I slept on the ship that night, mulling it over in my head as I fell fast asleep, unable to come up with where and when his name was mentioned.
Now, by the morning, I would be out at sea with Jason and the Argonauts. Who knew where this journey would take me? I did know, however, that I could never go back. I would press on, forward into the unknown. I was unsure of what I would find along the way, but the one thing I was truly determined to find, more than anything else during these travels, was myself.
Chapter 6
I emerged onto the upper deck of the ship the next morning, inhaling the scent of the sea-salted air. I spun in a circle. Nothing but deep blue sea all around us. The crewmen, who I presumed to be the Argonauts, were hard at work. Many men were handling the sails, while some were drawing and knotting rope. Others were cleaning the deck’s surface.
I stood there, just admiring their efforts. But I felt helpless. I was of no service to them, nor could I clean or cook for them. It was the one time in my life where I felt completely and utterly worthless. I was unsure of where I could potentially offer my help. All I had to rely on were my artistic talents and nothing more. Regret immediately overcame me. I wondered if I should have paid closer attention to our servants in the castle and all that they did. Maybe I should have listened to my father to begin with and at least devoted some hours of the day to training as a warrior. At least it would count for something.
I stepped down the stairs towards the back of theArgo, where the lower deck was. It seemed that no one was present at the very stern of the boat. It was the perfect spot for me to be alone for a bit, besides my claustrophobic private room, which really wasn’t a room at all. More like a tight area that had a bed and a floor to be able to stand in one spot in.
But what should I have expected? Although this ship was huge by my standards, it wasn’t quite big enough for the amount of crew Jason had. I did my best to avoid these spoiled thoughts and keep my complaints to myself. After all, I should be grateful that I have a roof over my head, right? Although this rickety roof and cramped room was a far cry from the vastness of the lavish castle I’ve lived in my entire life.
I turned around to see that no one was around me before I took a seat and retrieved my golden lyre from my tunic. Closing my eyes, I leaned forward, bringing my ears close to the strings as I strummed them. It was just soft enough for me to hear and to not draw the attention of anyone else on board. I played a song I had written last night while I laid in bed, telling of my childhood, my family, and my home-sickness. I missed all of it dearly, but knew this was the right path for me. The one that I was on with Jason, Calais, and the Argonauts. I could sense it. I had to believe in myself and Apollo for that matter, too. Me not continuing on this journey and failing would only bring disgrace to him and to myself. That was not an option.
Even so, despite my resolve, I could not bottle these feelings of loneliness up. Holding pent-up feelings of anger, sadness, and remorse was unhealthy. At least that’s what I believed. Music was my outlet, my way to relinquish all of these emotions I had stirring within me. And that’s precisely what I did right now. I sang my sentiments aloud, my truth, but in a safe space where I was my only audience. Just me and the ever-expanding sea that lied ahead.
My father’s voice and my mother’s love, I can barely recognize.
Loneliness is a dreadful feeling. I have no one who can sympathize.
Every hour and every day I learn something new from the world outside.
A world with such experiences, so many paths that I take in stride.
It leads me to wonder about my sheltered life that I’ve been in for so long.
How could I express my feelings in such confinement? I’d have no meaningful song.
I need to appreciate this chance I have in exploring so much around me.
But for some reason I still find myself lonely, just staring out at the sea.
It was an inner dilemma I continued to struggle with and I could not find a solution to fix it. As much as I was trying to make my dreams come true by becoming a world-famous musician and visiting so many new places and witnessing so many beautiful scenes around me, I also felt lonely, unable to shake off the feeling that I no longer had a strong support system to back me up as I progressed on this adventure. It was a struggle, and I was still learning to navigate this harbored turmoil, but I only hoped I could figure out how to do so sooner rather than later. I was still trying to find myself.
My anguish was disturbed by footsteps coming from behind me. Immediately tucking my lyre into my tunic, I sharply adjusted my seating so I spun around, facing whoever it was that was approaching.
It was Calais. His gorgeous white strands of hair undulated with the sea breeze. It swayed synchronously with the flowing waters beneath us. The sun made his silvery eyes gleam all the more. I was unable to appreciate their full beauty last night in the dark, but I was even more aware of their details now.
“That song. It was rather… interesting,” he stated.
Embarrassment instantly washed over me. I could not believe Calais had overheard my lyrics. No one was meant to hear them but me. My face began to turn scarlet red, this now being the second time Calais had managed to accomplish this, despite the fact that I just met him several hours ago.
“It was not fully developed yet,” I admitted. “I had no intention of anyone else listening to it.”
I must have sounded slightly offended by my statement, for he waved his hands in front of me, as if he meant no harm. “I apologize. I did not mean to overhear it. But at any rate, I thought it was wonderful.”
