Simon stands in front of the tall, marble doors, his heart thrumming in his chest. The quake in his bones and joints doesn’t come from exhaustion of fighting off the many suitors who threatned his family. The pesperiation on his rough, grime coated skin isn’t from the 20 years of fighting to return home. None of his warring emotions isn’t caused by the God of the ocean himself, who hunted him down for years in revenge for not mercy killing his son. It is not from being trapped on Calypso’s island or watching his fellow soilders, his brothers, die. Hell, definitely not from when he fought the war in Troy.
Because the real challenge is behind the very doors he built.
Wanda.
Last time he’d seen her was 20 years ago before heading out for war. She held their infant son against her chest, her hand cupping her husband’s cheek. The sun shined against her beautiful olive brown skin, causing her to glisten. A cool wind wafted by, lifting up her silky, dark brown curly hair, having the curls dance. Concern lingered in her emerald green eyes but it did not outweigh her love for him.
Her thumb swiped a lash from his cheek as she whispered, “Promise to come back to me.” Her voice shook as she spoke, and she fought back tears. His beautiful, darling wife held the strength not to break down right then and there, clutching their son to help remind her to stay on her feet.
Simon cupped the back of her head and pulled her forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I don’t need to promise, as that’s a given. I’ll come back to you always, my love.”
He remembers her standing at the edge of the docks, their son squirming against her chest, and she kept staring at her husband. They locked eyes with each other for a long time until the ship became a spec in the distance. Even when Ithaca was no longer in view, he couldn’t remove himself from his spot. He thought of his loving wife, who’s much braver than him. He might’ve been going to war, but she’s left behind to raise their son and manage the throne. On her own.
He was so close to returning home if it wasn’t for one of his crew mates opening the wind bag. He saw Wanda in the stars. Her alluring smile. The smell of her hair. How soft her skin felt in his calloused hands. He was ready to be home to be by her side again and be the father he never was. Well, to finally be a father.
20 years apart, and Simon has changed so much. As of now, he’s covered in the suitor’s blood. Not that they didn’t derserve it, of course. He felt no remorse slaying them. Watching as their bodies fell to the ground, choking on their own blood. They wanted to harm his family—no one harms his family.
Simon stares at his hands now, his fingers twitching. Tossing the face of innocence over the side of a building until that innocence turned to dust, left to disappear into the wind. Bodies piling on top of each other, him standing on the very top staring down with hooded eyes; the smallest body held in his arms. Blood forever stained in the crevices of his palms. This is the burden he’s forced to carry. The burden of a man longing to return home. A darkness buried deep within his chest, reminding him that he’ll never be the same.
He left home a warrior, and returned a broken man.
“Wanda,” he whispered, love lingering in his aching plea. He begins to shove the door open. Would she still love him after all he’s done? Or would she turn his back on him, knowing this wasn’t the man she married. The thought of her no longer loving him hurts just as much as it did when he watched helplessly as his crew died. Her choice is her choice, as he would never force anything upon her. He will respect her choice with a weeping heart, and not once will he hate her for it. He could never hate her. His heart is full of her.
The door swings open with a heavy groan, announcing his presence. His eyes immediately spot her standing by the balcony and just like the day they met, his breath is taken away. The sun casts a glow upon her gorgeous olive brown skin, casting an golden aura around her body. A goddess. He’s married to a goddess. Her silky hair is dark brown pepper with white streaks. Oh, how he longs to run his fingers through her hair again. She still has her high cheekbones. Cute nose. When she turns slightly, her eyes are as green as ever, with a bit more lines beneath them.
She wears a long, creamy white dress with golden details. The dress compliments her figure perfectly.
“Is…Is it really you?” Wanda whispered, her voice full of honey and soft. Unsure. Suspicious even. Yet in her eyes, there’s hope. She turns her body fully now to face him, her hands at her side. She clenches and unclenches them. Her guard is up. She takes in his tattered appearance, her lips turning downward. “Oh, how tired you must be. You look so different.” She tilts her head, squinting her eyes. “Is it you?”
The countless nights of crying herself to sleep, the opposite of their bed cold and empty. She prayed to the gods for her husband to return home once the weeks turned to months into years. Watched as the sun climbed up the sky and back down the horizon. The ocean sloshing and the birds singing in the sky. She counted every star in the night sky, hoping if she distracted herself long enough then maybe she’d miss the boat returning to shore. A little surprise for herself.
The suitors in the castle, they had grown antsy. Dangerous. Demands of her finding a husband so they could have a king once more, and she hated how their eyes picked her apart as if she were a roasted pig ready to be devoured. She promised once she weaved her shroud she'd pick a husband. Yet every night, she unthreaded the shroud.
Did they really think she’d let them win?
Wanda belongs to one man only: her husband, who’s gaze never made her feel like ripping off her flesh. No, how he looked at her, it’s as if she was the only woman in the world. As if his life now had meaning because of her. With him, she’s safe.
The shroud trick was working until one of the palace maids leaked her plain. The wretch. So she set up a challenge only her husband could win. String his bow and shoot the arrow through 12 axes. She sat in front of the 12 axes for hours, because whoever won would not win her. Her mind, body, and soul is her husband’s. She wouldn’t allow another man to disgrace her body with his filthy hands. But the hours grew long and tiring and she went to her chambers.
Leading up to here now, where Simon slain the suitors in order to protect his family.
“Would you fall in love with me, Wanda?” he asks, his question hanging heavy in the air. “I am not the same man you know. I might be a stranger, honestly, but my heart is true. I’ve done horrible things to get here. Things I can’t take back. But would you love me all the same? Because, I am sorry for how long you’ve waited. I’ve thought about you every night.”
“I…what did you do?”
Simon opens his mouth and closes it, pursing his lips.
He’s scared.
He’s scared that by saying what he’s done, how he’s changed, their love will be gone. But he won’t forget that he’ll respect her choice. Her rightful decision.
She’s the love of his life, and he’ll always want the best for her.
“I’ve done many things to make it back here,” he whispers, dropping his gaze in shame. “I fought in a war, I fought against gods and goddesses, I’ve left behind my crew as if they were nothing to me. As if…as if we hadn’t spent years fighting side by side together. And I threw their lives away.” He grits his teeth, pushing down the rush of choking guilt. “I…I faced a monster.”
“A monster?”
He nods. “Yes, a monster.” He turns his head to stare into a mirror, the reflection showing him the monster who had followed him to this very room. “But it is the monster who helped me on my journey. To…To return to you.” The vulnerbility in his voice catches them both off guard. But it is always her who brings this side out in him. “Wanda…woud fall in love with me again? After all I’ve done to come back home? I may not be the same man you’ve fallen in love with. I know that you’ve been waiting for a long, long, long time but…I promise to love you, Wanda. Even if I’m not the same man.”
Wanda peers over her shoulder, back out to the horizon of the ocean.
What is she thinking?
What is going on through that beautiful head of hers?
She sighs, nodding. She turns back to face him. “Okay, but I only ask one thing from you.”
“Hm?”
Wanda points to the bed. “I want you to lift the bed high on your shoulders and take it out of here. Far away as possible, please.”
It’s as if a sword impaled his heart.
“You…what?” he shuddered out, following her finger to the bed. “How…how could you?” he choked, clenching his fists. He stands in front of the bed, trembling. He’s hurt. His fingertips trace along the wood, his heart threatening to shatter. “I built this wedding bed with my own hands. Into the olive tree where…where we met.” It was silly. He fell out of the tree when attempting to get his arrow and fell onto the ground, right next to the beautiful maiden reading her book. “I carved the bed in this tree for our symbol of love and devotion for each other. The only way to get rid of it is to cut the tree down!”
He turns around, tears welled in his eyes, but he finds Wanda has beat him to it.
Tears stream down her heavenly face. “Only my husband knows that,” she says, bottom lip quivering. “So…So that means it is you. You finally came back to me.” The pain and hope and happiness in her voice surges from her into him. The weight of her words struck him.
She waited so long for him.
Simon doesn’t know what to say. His heart is beating so fast now.
Wanda bundles up her skirts, slowly strutting up to him. “I will fall in love with you Simon, over and over again. I don’t care! You’re my husband! You’re mine!” Her words echo in the chambers of their room. She shakes her head, her curls bouncing against her shoulder. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re not the same person! Don’t you dare!” She stands in front of him, pounding her fists against him. He gently takes her wrists as she trembles, crying. “I will always love you! You’re mine, Simon, I’ve waited for you! I will always wait for you!” She peers up into his face, and as he’s always done, he wipes her tears away. “I’ve waited years for you to come back to me, like you said you would.”
Her voice breaks, breaking him. He cups her cheek and she leans into his touch, trembling. “You’re my husband, Simon. The only man in this world perfect for me. I will always fall in love with you no matter the lifetime.”
Then, finally, at last, they hug.
Simon squeezes her tightly, trying not to break down. His darling wife, the woman he fought so hard for to return hom to, is finally in his arms. He can breathe in her scent. Feel how warm and soft she is. They’re together. They’re together at last.
“Simon, I love you.”
“I love you too, my everything.”
The reunited couple stare up into each other’s eyes before their lips make contact, their love bursting through each other’s chest.
20 years apart…
…and their love is just as strong.