The odd thing about this whole affair was that whenever I looked up into the sky, there was always this strange apparition. She didn’t have a physical appearance so much as a translucent form, and she carried a golden sceptre. She was a great source of comfort to us all. We sailed for a couple more days before we entered the mouth of a cave. Orfeo and I were gripped with absolute terror. This made the past tribulations look like a Sunday School picnic. Hellish beings right from the corridors of hell itself flew overhead and bid us welcome. We sailed until we came to a small harbour and docked. The captain took Orfeo and me aside and said, “You must travel the rest of the journey alone.”
Orfeo threw his arms around me and we both wept bitterly. I had never experienced such terror. I looked up into the air and there in the far recesses of the tunnel was this apparition and I cried, “Look. Orfeo, there’s our guardian angel!
With that, we walked down the gangplank onto dry land, but as I looked back at the crew, I knew they doubted they would ever see us again. This was- au revoir not bonjour. As we walked along, we were visited by the most grotesque creatures imaginable, though they did us no harm. We walked until we came to a river. In the middle was an island and there, petrified with fear, on a rock, was Euridice. The moment she saw us she cried out, “Orfeo, you’re here.”
The look of absolute desperation that permeated that girl’s face I will carry to my grave. That was the good news; the bad news was how would we ever rescue her? Flames leaped off the river, and I felt like I stood at the precipice of some volcano; the minute we stepped into the river we would surely be evaporated. Orfeo and I looked up to find our guardian angel was nowhere to be found. We grasped one another and cried. Then Orfeo shouted, “Let’s pray.”
We both knelt on the ground, Orfeo raised both hands to the heavens and cried, “Dear Goddess Eros, protector of our people from time immemorial, your servants kneel before you with a contrite hearts to solicit your help. In the face of appalling adversity, we are sent to rescue Euridice and without your help we are doomed. Give us the courage to continue the battle, the faith that you are with us and the unwavering knowledge that each of us will be reunited with our sweethearts again.”
