Letter to Versi (#20)
(Left in the Bathhouse for Versi just before Calliope snuck out before sunrise. Written in a careful and beautiful script, the tone is far from her usual casual writing style with Calliope having put a fair amount of thought into trying to convey her feelings to her love - albeit getting side-tracked by her emotions part-way through.)
My beloved,
I cannot express how glad I am I got to see you before having to leave once more. I wish my heart were altogether more in tune with the solace you have provided me this evening through just your presence, your voice, and your touch…
So, I ask that you please do not mistake my deep-seated sorrow tonight as anything more than the fickle throws of a Siren’s heart beset by problems she is ill-equipped to solve. And know that you have provided me with a much needed respite from the demands of a war I ne’er wished start again.
For, as much as everyone else seemed to treat it as a joke, we did start a war today: in earnest, not just in posturing. Though Yala, I am certain, came to us for other reasons than just to declare it out loud…
And, then, of course, there are the memories. The loss of my home, my flock, is becoming more and more tangible by the day. You would think that it should be easy, with the wounds so old. But all these things I am remembering don’t feel old. To me they are so new and raw: they might as well have happened just yesterday. With every memory I glimpse, I have to remind myself over, and over again, that the people and the places I am seeing don’t exist anymore.
Running away from my problems for five centuries didn’t stop the pain, it just delayed it.
I will never say it was the wrong decision, for it ultimately brought me to you and I would not change that for all the drachme in Mytros… but I do regret forgetting my family, my friends… and myself. After all, if I could remember now, maybe I would be of more use to everyone!
Oh, my love, even this letter - which was meant to provide you with the reassurance that the deep-seated sorrow my kind are cursed with does not reflect upon my feelings towards you - has turned to a list of laments! I’m sorry my love…
Next time we meet, I promise I’ll endeavour to greet you with the joy your presence truly brings me.
With all of my love, my heart,
Calliope