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there is a general understanding that hell is a place destined solely for punishment.
sure, as acheans, odysseus didn’t believe that. he believed that, regardless of how great of a hero he was, he would be destined to eternal life in the underworld. no punishment, just plain, eternal existence.
dying, then, came as a surprise. being received in hell by midas and getting thus sent to the supposed “eighth circle” felt like a fever dream. he got told he was “too clever, too deceitful.” why hadn’t lady athena warned him that that could get him in trouble was beyond his understanding, but again, gods act in mysterious ways.
it was lonely, for a while. it hurt a ton, too. having burned ilion to the ground had not prepared him for this severe punishment. fire was plenty hot from a distance, but when you are surrounded by it constantly and for eternity?
some time passed. or maybe not. time was a weird thing in hell. but enough time had passed that penelope became a blurry image in his brain once again, which was perhaps more painful than the fire itself. that for which he had fought so hard and chased for so long was gone, never to be recovered.
at least he hoped her fate was better than his.
but memory is not presence, so the thought of her could not prevent him from being lonely. the other people receiving the same punishment were complete strangers, and even if they were not, the flames were too strong to even try to recognize them, let alone have a conversation with them. it felt as if there was no way for him to be put out of his misery.
one day, however, a shade came crashing down. it caught on fire immediately afterward, so odysseus would not have been able to catch the person beneath the flame had he not been paying attention. luckily for him, he was.
he could not attest how many years had passed since his death. again, time is a weird thing beneath the earth. but he was thankful that it had not been too long for him not to recognize those features he had grown so accustomed to.
as quick as a shade could move, he approached the dimmer flame. the other, barely regaining consciousness, looked up. odysseus caught sight of squinted eyes trying to get used to the light, and his heart softened when recognition tainted the other’s features.
it may be the warmest he has ever felt—despite him being, quite literally, on fire. fighting back a laugh, he said, “son of tydeus, seems we are reunited at last.”
and perhaps “God” had had a bit of pity on them, for the embrace he was engulfed in now subdued his aching heart and burning soul. now, he was barely being punished at all.