Psyche and Eros - Part Seven

PART SEVEN

'You inconsiderate little biatch!!!' screamed Aphrodite when she returned unharmed. 'Do you realise how much stress you are causing me over all this? Do you realise what you are doing to me? I have to tend to my poor son Eros all this time, and look what it's doing? I'm loosing my beauty. I'm supposed to be the goddess of beauty, and I'm getting ugly and haggard!'

'If you say so,' replied Psyche.

'I have another task for you,' she hissed. 'This time, there will be no escape!'

'What? You're trying to get rid of me?'

'Well, duh! How long has it taken you to work that out! This is what you have to do. In order to replace the beauty I've lost, you have to journey to Hades and speak to the Queen of the underworld, Persephone. She will give me some of her beauty to replace what you've caused me to lose.'

'I guess it beats plastic surgery.'

Aphrodite gave her a box to collect it in, and with that Psyche left to fulfill the task.

Not being sure how to get into Hades, Psyche decided to throw herself off a high tower in order to kill herself, and as such go to Hades. As she was climbing the tower, the tower spoke to her.

'Hey, stupid. I'm as thick as two bricks ... well, more than two, and even I know killing yourself won't allow you to return from the underworld.'

'Who said that?'

'It's me, the tower.'

'Oh boy, now I've really lost it. First, I marry a serpent with invisible servants, and the serpent ends up being a demi-god. My sisters kill themselves; I lose a fortune betting on it; ants help me sort seeds; a river talks to me; I see a sheep dope dealer and stoned sheep; an eagle collects water for me; and now a tower is talking to me. That's it, I'm jumping regardless.'

'No, you haven't gone crazy. Just stupid. Now listen here, off to the East is Tainaron, where a cave leads into the underworld. Take a huge bone to throw to Cerberus the three headed dog.'

'If he has three heads he'll need three bones.'

'You can take three bones. I'd just use one myself. He can fight over it amongst himself. Also, take a gold coin to pay Charon the ferryman. He'll take you across the river Styx, and past Fritz and Wilhem. Most important of all though, never ever eat anything there.'

'Why is that?'

'Two reasons, one, all the food is crap in Hades; Second, if you eat anything you will be stuck in hades forever, never to return. Then they'll make you eat more stuff cooked down there. It's all over cooked! I tell you, it's like Hades down there.'

'Ah, yeah, of course it's like Hades.'

So Psyche went off on her journey to Hades, which is not at all unlike working in computers.