Page 52 of Hades

“Might as well start with the smaller ones and work my way up,” I say as if someone else were listening.

Reaching over, I pluck a random pouch from the floor, untie the satin ribbon, and pour the contents into my hand. A diamond ring lands perfectly in my palm, or at least I think it’s a diamond. Although, I can’t imagine its worth if it’s real. The center stone is about the size of a quarter, and smaller sapphires surround it. I hold it up to the light and watch it sparkle as I turn it from side to side, prisms of brilliant color cascading along the wall.

I let out a long whistle before I go in for a closer inspection and slip it on. It’s a perfect fit for my ring finger, like Cinderella’s slipper.

“Wow,” I say as I hold up my hand. “Now that’s a ring.”

Reaching for another, I assume that the pouches contain all jewelry. But when I empty it into my hand, it’s a silver token.

On one side is an embossed likeness of the Eiffel Tower, and on the other: “Exposition Universelle, 1889,” I read aloud. I’m about to put it to the side when I hear a footstep. Turning, I see Hades standing at my cell’s entrance.

“It was the year they unveiled the Eiffel Tower at the World’s Fair,” he says as he steps into my cell and kneels next to me. “You wanted to go so badly.” He laughs. “So I booked us a transatlantic voyage on the Le Bretagne. When we arrived, we were in love. I knew we didn’t have much time, so we headed straight to Paris as soon as we disembarked.”

Hades holds out his hand, and I place the token in the center of his palm. “I did my best to avoid you on the way there, because I knew if you said you loved me, we’d never make it there together.” He looks over at me, and I’m transfixed by his story and the emotion I can hear in his voice as he speaks. I’m about to ask him why he was avoiding me when he continues, “When Themis conjured her little curse, she damned you to a human existence where you would live many lives. But if you ever said you loved me, your memory would be wiped. So, I had to get you to the Eiffel Tower before that happened.”

“So you were confident that I loved you,” I ask, and he smiles.

“It was eighteen-eighty-nine. You wouldn’t have gone anywhere with a gentleman you didn’t love. Granted, a transatlantic cruise took a bit of convincing on my part. So, when we got there, I purchased this token to see the tower up close. You were so excited, you threw your arms around me and told me you loved me. Minutes later, you had no idea who I was.”

“And this?” I ask as I hold up my hand with the diamond ring prominently displayed. A look of sadness washed over his handsome face as he thinks about what to say, or perhaps he is remembering.

“That was the ring I gave you the day I asked you to be my wife,” he says, and I can see his eyes are glassy with unshed tears. “You thought it was too big, and because we hid our relationship from your parents, you kept the ring at our cabin in the woods and would wear it whenever we were there.”

I feel a twinge of sadness tug at my heart as I think about what kind of man would keep mementos from a woman who can never remember him. And then I look over at the rows of boxes and pouches and realize how often his heart was broken.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and my voice cracks as tears fall. He doesn’t say a word. I’m not sure he can without unleashing his own tears.

Grabbing a box, I hand it over to him without opening it. He glances down at it and places his hand over it.

“Maybe we save this one for later,” he says as he places the box behind him for safekeeping. The sullen look on his face tells me I shouldn’t push the issue. Grabbing a small, flat box, I hand it to him, and he opens it immediately this time.

He holds up a small item from the box, gripping it between his thumb and pointer finger. It takes me a moment to realize what it is. “Is that a bullet?” I inquire, my voice laden with confusion.

Hades doesn’t respond. Instead, he holds up a second item from the box, which doesn’t immediately help. It’s a playbill of some sort for the Ford Theater.

“Our American cousin? I think I’m missing something.” And then it hits me. “No,” I say in astonishment. “That… Are you telling me, we were at the Ford Theater when Lincoln was shot? And that’s the bullet!” I yell in shock.

Again, Hades doesn’t answer. Instead, he picks up a third item from the box: an old, black-and-white photo of him and me. When he flips it over, the date written on the back is April 14th, 1865. I grab the photo from him and study it. There is no denying that it’s me in the picture, but …

“How?” I breathe out as I look at the photo.

Once again, he smiles at me. “You were friends with Mary Todd, having gone to finishing school with her. We attended the play that night as guests of the Lincolns. The picture was taken before the play. It was still a novelty to have your photograph taken.”

Glancing back over at the many boxes still left unopened, I sighed loudly. “And why would you keep all of this?” I ask as I move to kneel in front of him, hoping he’ll answer me honestly.

I wait as he brushes a few strands of hair from my face. “Because, at some point, I knew this would be all I had left of the woman I loved. And I wanted to remember her when no one else would.”

There is no point in holding back the tears that flow freely from me. His words are the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. “Even knowing I would forget you?” I manage to choke out.

Wiping my tears away with his thumb, he cups my face. “Even knowing you would forget. I remembered enough for both of us,” he whispers as he leans forward, our faces a hairsbreadth apart. “I’d very much like to kiss you,” he adds, and all I can do is wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer until our lips collide.

And it’s the best feeling in the world.

HADES

When Alastor told methat he was bringing the trunk to Aradia, I thought he was insane. No good could come from her going through a box of old junk, mementos that I’ve kept for centuries.

But I’ll happily admit, I was wrong.

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