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Everything and everyone from the memory had perished, so it was not like she could use it against him. He had no one in the mortal world anymore she could use to hurt him.
He was being ridiculous, and he knew it. Only his pride kept him from making the logical decision in this moment.
“The forest next to my house growing up. My father.” Devon felt himself get a little choked up at the thought of his father. He wished he could see his childhood cabin just one last time; it would be worth everything he had to deal with.
“My father and I used to go out there and build things,” he said, remembering the feeling of sore muscles, sweaty skin, and accomplishment. “It was how we would spend time together when he was not working with the forest conservation groups. Camp and things like that. We lived in a cabin, right at the western border of the Great Forest. It had always been my safe place.”
He looked at her now, the Goddess. The way she was looking at him, he knew she was seeing it all play out across his face, no matter how much he attempted to control his emotional response outwardly.
He could feel her eyes study him a moment longer before she turned to face the door, pressing her hand harder against the center of the wood. Her palm lit up bright blue and light pulsed out from under her hand. The blue light moved across the door and underneath it into the room on the other side.
After the last of the light disappeared, Persephone moved her hand down to the knob and opened the door.
She turned and waited for Devon to enter the room. As he stepped past her, he could feel her trailing closely behind.
Once Devon saw the room though, he no longer cared she was there.
The visual was overwhelming. A punch to the gut followed by a warm hug. His emotions were all over the place. His heart pounded loudly in his ears and his knees felt weak. He attempted to take a deep breath into his lungs, only to find he could barely get in any air.
Almost scared to touch anything and find out it wasn’t real, he stood in the doorway as he took it all in. His mind was zapping and short-circuiting, unable to make sense of what he was seeing. He felt her place her hand on his shoulder, and though his instinct was to pull away, he didn’t. His entire body was locked into a battle of anxiety, shock, and nostalgia.
It was his old cabin, the exact room of the cabin that he and his father had worked to make perfect for him. The log fireplace in the corner was lit and spread a comforting warmth throughout the room. His bed covered in the same plaid green comforter that he knew without touching was comfy and warm. His mind was able to remember the exact texture of the fabric and the walls made of logs.
Turning, Devon noticed a window in the room. The window did not open to the same Underworld he had seen upon first arriving, but a wooded area remarkably similar to his forest.
Something to explore later, he thought.
Meandering around the room, he waited for something to be amiss, to reveal itself as the illusion it was. He picked up a framed photo next to the bed. It was old, the colors tarnished a bit beneath the glass, but he recognized it instantly. A photo of the old cabin that existed in a world that felt far from this one.
He hadn’t noticed a tear had fallen onto his cheek until Persephone stepped towards him and carefully wiped it away with her finger. She held it out in front of her to look at it as if it was something alien to her. He laughed, feeling a little embarrassed.
“Do you not cry, Goddess?” his voice was rough with emotion he could no longer contain. He may not trust her, but his gut instinct told him he was not going to be able to hate her for much longer. As much as he both wanted and needed to.
No, she would not be a threat in the way he thought, but it scared him she might be in other ways he could not contemplate.
She had done more for him in a few hours than anyone had since his father had died.
Life. A home. Comfort.
She looked up at him, perplexed. “I haven’t. Not that I can remember.”
He could see the truth in her eyes, but he knew she could not be without emotion, having seen it several times on her face since they first spoke.
He shook the thoughts away, needing to focus on one overwhelming dilemma at a time.
Breaking eye contact, he looked down as he watched her wipe the rogue tear onto her gown. He smiled a little at the simple yet human gesture. However, he lost his smile just as quickly, knowing that way led to trouble.
The woman already fascinated him, had him wanting to know more about her when only moments ago he was desperate to hate her. He needed to step back and create some distance. He would learn his purpose, do the best he could to honor his promises, then find a way out of here.
As nice as her gesture was, she was not a priority to him. He was here to take the second chance offered to him and make his life worth something. Even if it was only accomplished in his afterlife.
“Thank you,” Devon finally said, his voice cracking a little as he warred with his emotional state, trying to allow the cold numbness to take back over. He wasn’t used to people concerning themselves with how he felt and what he might need, so it was difficult.
“I was always happiest at my cabin, surrounded by nature.” He coughed to clear his throat, regaining a bit of control. “This means a lot.”
Looking out of the window, the dark forest beckoned him like a mother calling her child home.
He leaned against the window frame and marveled at just how much it looked like the view from his childhood window.
