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The light blue silk of her peplos fluttered in the breeze as Callidora walked into the temple of Aphrodite, a sack clutched in her hands full of all manner of offerings for the goddess of love and beauty. Her step inside the gorgeously appointed structure was unwontedly timid, artfully arranged golden curls falling across her face when she looked down to watch her feet. This wasn’t a temple she frequented very often, and the reason she was here today was not one she wanted widely known.
The sweet scents of frankincense and myrrh filled the sanctuary of the temple, bluish grey smoke wafting from several small and cunningly placed braziers. Flowers decorated nearly every surface of the room, the varied scents cloying and almost overwhelming were it not for the cleverly cut windows and open doors that allowed a breeze to flow through the structure and keep it from suffocating its patrons. It made for a beautiful effect, even if she was slightly nauseous by the time she reached the goddess’s statue.
Kneeling at Aphrodite’s stone feet, Callidora opened the sack she’d brought to reveal a bouquet of roses, a small bottle of honey, a myrtle branch, and two casks of wine. Arranging them at the base of the altar, she bowed her head and leaned forward to press her lips against the cool marble.
Sitting back and folding her hands in her lap with an almost tearful sigh, Callidora bowed her head and closed her eyes, opening her heart to the divine and hoping that perhaps this time might yield a different result.
“Great goddess,” she began in a broken whisper, unperturbed by the soft footfall of a priestess nearby. A gentle hand rested soothingly on her shoulder, a brief touch that nonetheless bolstered her spirit before it and the woman attached to it were both gone. “I hope that you hear my plea. I know it has been a long time since I last stepped into your temple, but I like to think I have worshipped you well in many other ways.”
Emerald eyes were glassy as they opened to look upward, gazing toward the goddess’s serene face. The last time she had been here had been shortly after her marriage to Demetrius, a time when she was still youthful and full of hope. But thirteen years had passed since then, her youth diminishing and with it, her hope. It was a happy union, one that filled her with love and brought her much joy, but there was one joy which she still lacked. One that kept her up at night with worry as it seemed time was running out.
“Aphrodite, I wish only for a child,” she continued in that same soft voice, her hands moving to her belly and resting there in supplication. “I have tried so hard and wished so long to be a mother, and yet every month is a new disappointment. Every moon, my blood still flows, and my womb remains shut, barren of the life it’s meant to nourish.” A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek, her hand moving absently along her stomach. “I have tried so hard to live a good life, to love and laugh and see to my family’s well-being. But I want a family of my own, dear goddess, a babe to cradle in my arms and nurse at my breast. Just one. It doesn’t even have to be a boy… just a child to love, to pass on my memory when I’m long gone.”
Hiding her face in her hand, she leaned over again to press her head to the stone, her whisper dropping even lower, “I fear my husband will leave me if this continues for much longer. I fear he will set me aside for a woman who can give him heirs, and that our time together will have been for nothing.”Dora drew in a deep, trembling breath, letting her hand fall from her face. “Please, Aphrodite, if I am being punished, please give me a sign of what I can do to atone. I have done what I can to avoid my… unnatural attractions. To be a good wife and support my husband in his times of need.”
She had long feared that her interest in women was why the gods had not seen fit to bless her with a child, that she was being punished for a long-buried tryst when she was barely into adolescence. The merchant’s wife had long felt the punishment did not fit the crime, and if that’s indeed what it was, that it should have ended by now. She didn’t want to believe that she was simply barren, but it was getting harder and harder not to think that very thing.
Pressing another kiss to the statue’s feet, Callidora slowly straightened up and swallowed hard before looking back to Aphrodite’s face. “I will do all I can to ensure that you are pleased, my goddess, and I hope you will reward me in kind. Thank you for listening to my prayers today, and I desperately hope they will not be ignored.”
Slowly rising to her feet, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, trying to reinvigorate her pace with the confidence she normally carried so easily. Walking past the priestess who had touched her earlier, she offered a trembling smile, inclining her head in a silent thanks and farewell. The gesture was returned before Callidora’s stride regained its typical vigor, carrying her back out into the world beyond.
It wasn’t everything she’d hoped for, but at least it was a start.
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Sept 6, 2019 21:01:15 GMT
Posted In Hear Me Now on Sept 6, 2019 21:01:15 GMT
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The light blue silk of her peplos fluttered in the breeze as Callidora walked into the temple of Aphrodite, a sack clutched in her hands full of all manner of offerings for the goddess of love and beauty. Her step inside the gorgeously appointed structure was unwontedly timid, artfully arranged golden curls falling across her face when she looked down to watch her feet. This wasn’t a temple she frequented very often, and the reason she was here today was not one she wanted widely known.
The sweet scents of frankincense and myrrh filled the sanctuary of the temple, bluish grey smoke wafting from several small and cunningly placed braziers. Flowers decorated nearly every surface of the room, the varied scents cloying and almost overwhelming were it not for the cleverly cut windows and open doors that allowed a breeze to flow through the structure and keep it from suffocating its patrons. It made for a beautiful effect, even if she was slightly nauseous by the time she reached the goddess’s statue.
Kneeling at Aphrodite’s stone feet, Callidora opened the sack she’d brought to reveal a bouquet of roses, a small bottle of honey, a myrtle branch, and two casks of wine. Arranging them at the base of the altar, she bowed her head and leaned forward to press her lips against the cool marble.
Sitting back and folding her hands in her lap with an almost tearful sigh, Callidora bowed her head and closed her eyes, opening her heart to the divine and hoping that perhaps this time might yield a different result.
“Great goddess,” she began in a broken whisper, unperturbed by the soft footfall of a priestess nearby. A gentle hand rested soothingly on her shoulder, a brief touch that nonetheless bolstered her spirit before it and the woman attached to it were both gone. “I hope that you hear my plea. I know it has been a long time since I last stepped into your temple, but I like to think I have worshipped you well in many other ways.”
Emerald eyes were glassy as they opened to look upward, gazing toward the goddess’s serene face. The last time she had been here had been shortly after her marriage to Demetrius, a time when she was still youthful and full of hope. But thirteen years had passed since then, her youth diminishing and with it, her hope. It was a happy union, one that filled her with love and brought her much joy, but there was one joy which she still lacked. One that kept her up at night with worry as it seemed time was running out.
“Aphrodite, I wish only for a child,” she continued in that same soft voice, her hands moving to her belly and resting there in supplication. “I have tried so hard and wished so long to be a mother, and yet every month is a new disappointment. Every moon, my blood still flows, and my womb remains shut, barren of the life it’s meant to nourish.” A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek, her hand moving absently along her stomach. “I have tried so hard to live a good life, to love and laugh and see to my family’s well-being. But I want a family of my own, dear goddess, a babe to cradle in my arms and nurse at my breast. Just one. It doesn’t even have to be a boy… just a child to love, to pass on my memory when I’m long gone.”
Hiding her face in her hand, she leaned over again to press her head to the stone, her whisper dropping even lower, “I fear my husband will leave me if this continues for much longer. I fear he will set me aside for a woman who can give him heirs, and that our time together will have been for nothing.”Dora drew in a deep, trembling breath, letting her hand fall from her face. “Please, Aphrodite, if I am being punished, please give me a sign of what I can do to atone. I have done what I can to avoid my… unnatural attractions. To be a good wife and support my husband in his times of need.”
She had long feared that her interest in women was why the gods had not seen fit to bless her with a child, that she was being punished for a long-buried tryst when she was barely into adolescence. The merchant’s wife had long felt the punishment did not fit the crime, and if that’s indeed what it was, that it should have ended by now. She didn’t want to believe that she was simply barren, but it was getting harder and harder not to think that very thing.
Pressing another kiss to the statue’s feet, Callidora slowly straightened up and swallowed hard before looking back to Aphrodite’s face. “I will do all I can to ensure that you are pleased, my goddess, and I hope you will reward me in kind. Thank you for listening to my prayers today, and I desperately hope they will not be ignored.”
Slowly rising to her feet, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, trying to reinvigorate her pace with the confidence she normally carried so easily. Walking past the priestess who had touched her earlier, she offered a trembling smile, inclining her head in a silent thanks and farewell. The gesture was returned before Callidora’s stride regained its typical vigor, carrying her back out into the world beyond.
It wasn’t everything she’d hoped for, but at least it was a start.
The light blue silk of her peplos fluttered in the breeze as Callidora walked into the temple of Aphrodite, a sack clutched in her hands full of all manner of offerings for the goddess of love and beauty. Her step inside the gorgeously appointed structure was unwontedly timid, artfully arranged golden curls falling across her face when she looked down to watch her feet. This wasn’t a temple she frequented very often, and the reason she was here today was not one she wanted widely known.
The sweet scents of frankincense and myrrh filled the sanctuary of the temple, bluish grey smoke wafting from several small and cunningly placed braziers. Flowers decorated nearly every surface of the room, the varied scents cloying and almost overwhelming were it not for the cleverly cut windows and open doors that allowed a breeze to flow through the structure and keep it from suffocating its patrons. It made for a beautiful effect, even if she was slightly nauseous by the time she reached the goddess’s statue.
Kneeling at Aphrodite’s stone feet, Callidora opened the sack she’d brought to reveal a bouquet of roses, a small bottle of honey, a myrtle branch, and two casks of wine. Arranging them at the base of the altar, she bowed her head and leaned forward to press her lips against the cool marble.
Sitting back and folding her hands in her lap with an almost tearful sigh, Callidora bowed her head and closed her eyes, opening her heart to the divine and hoping that perhaps this time might yield a different result.
“Great goddess,” she began in a broken whisper, unperturbed by the soft footfall of a priestess nearby. A gentle hand rested soothingly on her shoulder, a brief touch that nonetheless bolstered her spirit before it and the woman attached to it were both gone. “I hope that you hear my plea. I know it has been a long time since I last stepped into your temple, but I like to think I have worshipped you well in many other ways.”
Emerald eyes were glassy as they opened to look upward, gazing toward the goddess’s serene face. The last time she had been here had been shortly after her marriage to Demetrius, a time when she was still youthful and full of hope. But thirteen years had passed since then, her youth diminishing and with it, her hope. It was a happy union, one that filled her with love and brought her much joy, but there was one joy which she still lacked. One that kept her up at night with worry as it seemed time was running out.
“Aphrodite, I wish only for a child,” she continued in that same soft voice, her hands moving to her belly and resting there in supplication. “I have tried so hard and wished so long to be a mother, and yet every month is a new disappointment. Every moon, my blood still flows, and my womb remains shut, barren of the life it’s meant to nourish.” A single tear formed in the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek, her hand moving absently along her stomach. “I have tried so hard to live a good life, to love and laugh and see to my family’s well-being. But I want a family of my own, dear goddess, a babe to cradle in my arms and nurse at my breast. Just one. It doesn’t even have to be a boy… just a child to love, to pass on my memory when I’m long gone.”
Hiding her face in her hand, she leaned over again to press her head to the stone, her whisper dropping even lower, “I fear my husband will leave me if this continues for much longer. I fear he will set me aside for a woman who can give him heirs, and that our time together will have been for nothing.”Dora drew in a deep, trembling breath, letting her hand fall from her face. “Please, Aphrodite, if I am being punished, please give me a sign of what I can do to atone. I have done what I can to avoid my… unnatural attractions. To be a good wife and support my husband in his times of need.”
She had long feared that her interest in women was why the gods had not seen fit to bless her with a child, that she was being punished for a long-buried tryst when she was barely into adolescence. The merchant’s wife had long felt the punishment did not fit the crime, and if that’s indeed what it was, that it should have ended by now. She didn’t want to believe that she was simply barren, but it was getting harder and harder not to think that very thing.
Pressing another kiss to the statue’s feet, Callidora slowly straightened up and swallowed hard before looking back to Aphrodite’s face. “I will do all I can to ensure that you are pleased, my goddess, and I hope you will reward me in kind. Thank you for listening to my prayers today, and I desperately hope they will not be ignored.”
Slowly rising to her feet, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, trying to reinvigorate her pace with the confidence she normally carried so easily. Walking past the priestess who had touched her earlier, she offered a trembling smile, inclining her head in a silent thanks and farewell. The gesture was returned before Callidora’s stride regained its typical vigor, carrying her back out into the world beyond.
It wasn’t everything she’d hoped for, but at least it was a start.