Persephone, the beloved goddess of

Persephone, the beloved goddess of spring, works at her nearby farmers market.

No one ever asks why her supply of fruits and vegetables is so endless. She just bats her long eyelashes, hands them a delicious squash, and their question is forgotten. 

Persephone has always loved humans. 

She loves how kind and beautiful they are. Her mother, Demeter insisted that she lives upon Olympus with her, but Persephone refused. How could she? The flowers, the trees, the sun. All of it on Earth. 

One day, a man frequented Persephone’s stall at the farmer’s market. 

He was tall, pale, handsome. Persephone told him he should get more sun, and he laughed. 

She took him pumpkin picking, and he told her he ran a very special kind of hotel business. He said his name was Hades. 

Now Persephone knew who Hades was, and her mother’s distaste for the God of the Underworld. Yet she decided to keep seeing him. He really was so seeet. Every night he braided flowers into her hair, and told her it was her beauty that made the flowers grow. 

Eventually Persephone fell in love. And Hades took her to the Underworld to be married. Demeter was furious, and demanded that he return her daughter. Of course, Persephone refused, but after six months, the flowers died and the farmer’s market closed. 

Hades could see how unhappy Persephone was, and they both decided that she would have two homes. One on the Eatrth, and the other below. Persephone loved Hades, but she loved her farmer’s market and the people on Earth too. 

So they struck a balance. Winter was given to the humans, but so was spring and fall. For how can they appreciate summer if they do not know of winter? 

Persephone was happy, and she knew it was not her beauty, but her love for the world around her that would make the flowers grow.