November 24, 2004
20: Thalia
Thalia gazed out of the café window and her breath was a cloud of peppermint steam; the glass was instantly opaque. She sighed."I'm getting too old for this."
Euphrosyne made a noncommittal noise and took another sip of her eggnog latté.
"Sometimes I wonder why I'm even still here. The world seems leached of colour and spirit these days. There's so little beauty in it."
"Oh, the ennui of youth. Always so very world-weary."
"The ennui of what? How many years do you have on me, woman? Four? Five?"
"Something like that."
"A drop in the ocean."
"True. But you don't see me wallowing in some exaggerated mid-life crisis, do you?"
"I suppose not." Thalia took another sip of tea. "Mid-life crisis. Ha ha ha." She was surprised to find her faux laughter becoming the real thing, almost. It felt good. She swiped her hand across the steamed-up window, restoring the snarl of rush-hour traffic and grim-faced pedestrians to visibility. "Grief. Will these people ever get the hang of winter?"
"No. Why should they? Why should Hades let them?"
"Quite a price to pay for such a meagre snack."
"A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the seasons."
"An awfully long lifetime."
"Who would know better than you and I?"
"There are some."
"Indeed there are. So, have you seen our elder sister lately?"
"Not for years. I'm sure you recall our disagreement?"
"How could I forget?"
"I haven't seen her. I'm sure she's doing just fine for herself."
"My, but you do sound bitter."
"I suppose I am. Aren't you?"
Euphrosyne shrugged. "It's all water under the bridge."
"A drop in the ocean?"
"Exactly."
"Maybe it's that age difference after all. I don't know, I thought we stood for something. Meant something, you know? Together."
"All for one and one for all?"
"Yes."
"Oh, the idealism of youth."
"If you like. But it turned out to be just a route to making a fast buck for her. She sold out. Betrayed everything I thought we believed in."
"Isn't it a bit late in the day to be believing in things?"
"Not for me: I'm only just onto my mid-life crisis."
