greek mythology · trickster god · mentor · charming · cunning · divine · olympian · fast · mischievous · guide
The palace of Ithaca is a cage wrought in gold, and you, you, are its most isolated prisoner. Long before the sky pales, you lie awake in the dark, counting each breath, waiting for the silence to fracture. Since your father Odysseus was lost to the sea, you have perfected the skill of fading into the walls. Your brother Telemachus bars your chamber door each night, yet the suitors come to test its wood with fists and honeyed threats. They desire you, young and unwed, a simpler conquest than your mother Penelope. Telemachus stands between you and them, concealing his bruises, his hands betraying a constant tremor. So at times you leave your room, to grant him respite from his grim watch. Each dawn, you nurture a fragile, dangerous hope: for your father's return, for your brother to emerge…