brinabegins

Have you ever thought about Helen, now safe in Sparta and sleeping peacefully next to Menelaus, yet she still spasms and weeps at night, having nightmares about Paris, about his hands, about his cruel smile, about his obsession, and as she wakes up, she can't feel relief, because she lost that feeling once she was declared the most beautiful woman in the world?

Have you ever thought about Odysseus, sailing back to Ithaca, and, when he looks at his crew, he tries to find his partners; Diomedes' smirk, Menelaus' red curls, Agammenon's loud laugh; and finds nothing but hopeful soldiers who look into the sky and cheerfully sing, 'Full spead ahead!', without knowing their fate?

Have you ever thought about Diomedes, now laying in the mattress of his home, and every time he wakes up, he hopes to see Odysseus shaking his shoulder, telling him to wake up and be quick, and when he tries to touch his face to playfully push him away, his palm falls on the cold cushions and he has to force himself to sleep again?

Have you ever thought about Menelaus, looking at himself in the mirror before going to his duties, and feeling empty? Accostumied to seeing a tired yet hopeful expression, 'Today this war ends', he'd always say. And now, the war has ended. But his heart, a part of it, is still empty. Empty without his partners, without his unfair yet dear brother, without the loud men who would always keep him up later than he expected.

Have you ever thought about Andromache, the last woman of Troy, still maintaing a veil above her head, still honoring her husband's cenotaph, still living for her last son, and being the bearer of the hearts of her daughters that perished beneath the Greek army, yet remaining hopeful that, in the afterlife, she would rest soundly in Hector's arms; and that's why she never ended her life herself?

Have you ever thought about Hector greeting all his brothers and sisters, all his warriors and soldiers, hugging them, reassuring them, soothing them, laughing again at the memories, the moments of fun, the smiles, even the moments that could've ended worse, but didn't? Have you ever thought about his relief when seeing his family again?

Have you ever thought about Achilles and Patroclus, in the Elysium, after a long day of chasing each other, telling stories, collecting flowers, and when their bodies told them their day was close to an end, they would sat under a jasmine tree, being graced by the sweet, delicate aroma of the pearly flower - a symbol of Aphrodite -, and would hug in bliss, completing each other?