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Orpheus glances up at the large temple, squinting to see it clearly in the early morning sun as it shone off the bronze building. He stared at the words “Know Thyself”, carved clearly into the metal.
“That’s what I’m trying to do.” He thought to himself as he began to make his way up the stairs, one by one.
It was the crack of dawn but Orpheus had been up for hours before the sun had even come up. All night he had been pacing in the kitchen and thinking about his family.
His mother had left the minute he was born. His dad kept him around a little longer, teaching him how to play the lyre before he dropped him off, at only six years old, on Hermes doorstep.
Thoughts of him being just like his father, swarmed through his mind and looking at Eurydice’s swollen stomach didn’t make it any better. He had to leave the house.
So, with a note left on the table, he went to the one place he hadn’t been to since he was a teenager.
Apollo’s temple.
He pushed open the heavy metal door and saw a long empty room with an altar at the end. It was too early for anyone to be worshiping, even the people who worked there were asleep.
Stepping closer to the altar, he saw things painted on to the wall, images of suns, of arrows falling from the sky, and one big mural of a man playing a lyre. Orpheus remembers how much he used to study that image, looking for a single similarity between their faces.
“Hey dad,” He muttered, not really knowing how to start, “I-i know I haven’t been here in years but umm, I just wanted to tell you that Eurydice is pregnant and, uh, I’m going to be a father soon.”
Orpheus kicked at the ground, suddenly shy even though no one was there. His stomach knotted tightly and he wanted to do nothing more than turn around and run back home, back to his wife and their warm bed and watch the sun rise with the light shining in her already glowing face.
But he knew that this was what he had to do. He wouldn’t be able to go on if he didn’t.
“Eurydice wants a boy but I want a girl. I think it’s ‘cause her younger siblings were all boys from what she told me, she thinks it’ll be easier.” He laughed back the tears.
“We don’t really know a lot about good childhoods but we’re gonna try really hard to make sure this little one has the best one we can give.”
For a minute, he felt like a teenager again. He felt like he was 14 and snuck away from work without Hermes knowing to go pray, hoping maybe this time he would listen.
That innocent hope wormed its way back into his heart as he fell to his knees.
“Why did you leave me, dad? You loved Troilus so much, you killed for him. What’s wrong with me? Was I not strong enough, was I not good enough at playing the lyre? Please answer me!” He shouted, eyes cast to the ceiling.
Orpheus stood by, waiting for a response, a sign, anything.
Nothing.
It had always been like this. A man, so desperate for approval from his father that he never received. He can’t even remember what he looked like besides the art he had seen. All he could remember was his melodic voice, correcting him if he made a mistake on a chord. Apollo’s voice was so enchanting, when he spoke it sounded as if was singing the most beautiful aria known to man.
Orpheus wiped his freely falling tears as he stood on shaking legs. Wrapping his arms around his middle, he turned around and walked down the hall, the sound of his footsteps echoing off the high ceiling.
The temple didn’t give him the answers he needed, so he was going to try the next place he could think of.
Hermes’ place.
—
Knock, Knock, Knock.
Orpheus wrung his hands nervously as he waited for the door to open. While he waited, he started at the door with its chipping paint, showing the white primer underneath.
After a moment, the door swung open to reveal Hermes who held a steaming cup of coffee in his hands.
“Hey, Poet. Here, come on in, it’s too chilly to be outside.” His brows furrowed into one at the sight of his tear stained face.
He walked in and they made their way towards the couch in the living room, where the sat down.
“Alright, what’s wrong? Where’s Eurydice?” Hermes asked, placing a hand on his knee.
Orpheus immediately placed his head in his hands and began to sob. If he couldn’t do one thing, it was to hide his feelings.
“I’m so scared, Mister Hermes. I-I’m so scared I’m going to be an awful dad and this kid is going to be like me, 25 and crying because their dad doesn’t l-love them and maybe they weren’t good enough and-“
“ Orpheus! ” He cut the boy off sternly, with a hand on his shoulder.
Orpheus looked up, his entire face red and puffy with tears in his eyes. Bags were a dark purple, marking his lack of sleep over the past few days. He looked like a mess.
“Your father abandoned you, yes. He’s a deadbeat and so is your mom. It hurts but that has nothing to do with you. You’re nothing like him. You are kind, generous, and wear your heart on your sleeve when you could have become a recluse. You’ve proved them wrong time and time again. Why should this time be different?”
The younger man nodded before wiping his eyes, trying to forget any moment of weakness. “Thanks, Hermes. I needed that. I’m just- I don’t know.”
Hermes heart softened (though he never would admit it) as he knew what Orpheus must have been going through as Eurydice neared closer to her due date.
“Why don’t you get home to your wife, son? They’re the ones that need you right now. Let me get you something real quick and you can go and hold her and be all gross like you guys usually are.”
Orpheus laughed and watched as Hermes left the room only to come back a moment later with a wooden chest in his hands. The boy’s heart stopped as he saw the all too familiar box, a wave of memories washed over him.
Hermes remembered the day it was shoved to the back of the closet in anger and he hoped that maybe he could find some closure with this.
“Go look through this sometime. Maybe you’ll find something for the baby in here,”
After the two bid their farewells, Orpheus made his way back to the cottage the sun finally making its way towards the top of the sky. He could feel Persephone’s restlessness from miles away in the underground. Spring was coming and it was coming fast.
He edged open the cottage, not wanting to wake his sleeping wife. The whole house was dark except for the light that was coming through the window. He made his was towards their bed and could see Eurydice curled around a pillow as he slid back in to where he was laying only an hour or two ago.
“Mhmm, you’re back.” Eurydice hummed, reaching her hand back to grab his and wrap it around her middle, his palm resting just below her ribs.
“Couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you. Went to Hermes’ for a little while.” He lied slightly.
Orpheus would tell her the truth later but he could tell that she’s still halfway through waking up and telling her what was really wrong would just worry her.
“I was thinking, what are you gonna do when the baby’s born? You’ve have to split your attention between us.” She teased.
The boy shook his head and gave his wife kiss on the shoulder, “You’ll both get all of my attention. You guys are the most important things in my life and I would rather die than see you two hurt.”
Eurydice was shocked at the sudden revelation, not expecting it this early in the morning.
As their hands rested on her stomach, there was a sudden shift underneath the skin, the baby moved and gave a slight kick.
Immediately, Orpheus pulled his hand away, scared of his touch possibly hurting Eurydice or the baby.
“It’s alright, he’s just kicking, ‘Phe.” The woman laughed
She grabbed his hand to place it back, moving it for a minute before finding the source of the movement.
“That’s our son.” She whispered, looking him in his widened eyes.
“Or daughter.” Orpheus whispered back with a smirk, rubbing the stomach gently as if he was holding his child right in the moment.
Eurydice leaned back to knock his shoulder. Their bet on the gender was still going on strong, being brought up in almost any conversation about the baby.
He moved down placing his face right on the stomach, giving is a soft kiss just above her belly button.
“Hey kiddo, I know you haven’t met me yet, but I just want you to know that I love you so much. I’m gonna take care of you and your Mama forever, no matter what. I’ll hold both of you so close, you guys are my world.” He muttered.
The moment was too tender for words, neither of them knowing what to say after that declaration. Eurydice reached down and ran her nimble fingers through his hair as he rested his head on her stomach and he smiled.
“Hold on, I want to show you something.” Orpheus said, getting up out of the bed.
She sat up on her hands as she watched her husband leave the room, only to come back moments later with the chest. He set it down on the bed, allowing Eurydice to read what was carved in the top.
The names of his parents were etched neatly into the top, with his own name just below it.
Apollo Calliope
Orpheus
“‘Phe…” She trailed off, not knowing what to say.
He turned it over in his hands. On the back, it was marked with a capital “A” with one side curved as an arrow stuck out the side. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the box was from Artemis, his father’s twin sister.
“Hermes gave it to me. Earlier, I went to my Dad’s temple and it…wasn’t good so I went to his place. He said I should look through it, find something for the baby…I don’t really remember what’s in the box, I haven’t looked through it in years, to be honest.” Orpheus spoke in a sotto voice.
His fingers traced the carvings gingerly, face dark and closed off.
Eurydice always joked that she could read Orpheus’ face like a book but the look on his face was a new one. She had never seen it before
She placed a hand on his knee, “Well, let’s not wait any longer, hmm?”
He lifted the top off and set it to the side his hands still resting in the carved letters.
The first thing they noticed was the shiny pair of golden baby shoes that sat at the very top that was almost painful to look at as it picked up any bit of light and reflected it back at you. It was wrapped in a tag, stating that it was a gift from the god Chrysus.
“Those are beautiful.” She whispered as her husband handed them to her.
Maybe he was just too focused, but Orpheus didn’t respond and continued to go through the box.
Underneath the shoes was a yellow knit baby blanket that was nearly worn to a pile of fuzz from years of washing over and over. Orpheus held the blanket up to his face and rubbed it against his cheek, remembering how he used to when he was little. It was comforting in a way.
“They told me Calliope got me this blanket. Mister Hermes said I carried it everywhere,” He said as he ran the yellow thing through his hands, “And look, you can see where ‘Seph had to darn the holes cause I would pick at it.”
Eurydice smiled as she touched the soft blanket, imagining a young and tearful Orpheus asking for Persephone to fix the newest hole that he managed to poke through.
“That’s adorable, ‘Phe.” She giggled.
The rest of the chest was uneventful, mostly just letters that the two didn’t want to read right then and they probably wouldn’t have even understood the context if they did read it then.
Except for one thing. In the corner was a tiny music box and once he opened it, he could see the image of a silhouette of a family. A mother and a father on each side of a child, swinging him.
Orpheus cranked the wind up key and listened to the song that played. A song that was all too familiar.
The two turned to each other with their eyes wide as they both recognized the melody.
“La, la, la, la, la, la, la.” He sang along as he traced the photo with his finger.
He turned over the box and saw a note scribbled on to the bottom.
This song used to help Zagreus fall asleep when he was fussy. Hope it works for little Orpheus!
At the bottom, Persephone’s name was written with a flourish while Hades’ name was scrawled out, probably at the last moment.
Orpheus was quiet for almost a full minute after the song ended, his hands trembled slightly.
“Hey, are you alright?” Eurydice asked, grabbing his hand.
He shook his head, smiling but you could still see the tears in his eyes.
“I was just thinking. I need to write this little one their own lullaby, what kind of Muse’s son would I be if my child didn’t have their own song?”
She gave him a knowing look. He was trying to hide what was hurting, trying to be strong and she knew it. But him holding in his feelings wasn’t going to help them out in the long run.
“Orpheus, please. Tell me. What’s going on? What happened at Apollo’s Temple?”
He rhymically tapped against his leg, a nervous habit he had since he was little before taking a deep breath.
“Fine. I-i went to his temple to tell him about the baby and just...everything came back to me. I’m terrified of being like him and hurting her and I don’t think I could live with myself if I did.” He confessed
Tears formed in his eyes as he continued,
“And, I’m scared that maybe I’m not going to be able to support you guys and you guys need me, I need to provide but I’m just a poor boy with some words.”
Eurydice’s heart faltered at these words. She knew that Apollo got into his head but she didn’t know it was this bad.
She scooted over and sat on his lap, which was a more difficult with the growing size of her stomach.
“You provide for me everyday. You gave me a life that I never thought I would have. Bread on the table, fire to keep me warm, a bed to fall into. A hand to hold.” She punctuated her sentence by tracing his palm.
“I don’t need anything more than that. You work so hard, taking double shifts at the railroads, working nights at the bar. We have enough right now. This baby is going to grow up with everything he needs. We’ll be okay, I promise.”
Eurydice finished off her heartfelt speech with a passionate kiss, cupping his jaw as he kissed back.
They pulled away, and blushed at her declaration before she leaning forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Y’know, this is how we’ll be like for forever.” He muttered into the skin of her shoulder.
“Like what?” She asked teasingly.
“Well, you, of course, and me. And our daughter.”
Eurydice groaned and he laughed heartily, before giving her another kiss, cementing what he said as true.