Theseus and the Minotaur

My name is Theseus. I am the prince of Athens. My father, King Aegeus is the King of Athens, sends seven girls and seven boys every seven years for the Minotaur of Crete to avoid battles with King of Crete, the powerful and selfish King Minos, as a deal. Minotaur is a monster, son of a human, son of a bull. I was enraged at the deal and how my father is so afraid to stand up to King Minos. So I, instead, stood up as a sacrifice to kill the Minotaur because my father could not persuade me to not to leave him. He was depressed and upset but I did not care. I desperately wanted the sacrificing deal to end.

      I got to Crete with the others and saw the princess of Crete, Ariadne. Princess Ariadne is beautiful. Her eyes shine with excitement but her emotions on her face are peaceful. She sat in her chair decorated with diamonds and gold but her beauty was undefeatable comparing to the jewelries. She is attractive as the sun in the wide, blue sky. The flowers smile and bloom when they see her. She is calm as the full moon at night. The poets sigh in bliss when they write about her. I was amazed by her beauty and forgot to kneel before her. As she stood up and came to me, I woke up from my day dream and knelt before her. However, our gaze still locked.

      “You are the prince of Athens.” She sounded shocked.

      I smiled and said, “Yes, I am.” Suddenly, remembering the mission I am on and the reason I came here, I put my smile away, and continued, “Theseus.”

      “Why are you here?”

Her move was so graceful I forgot how to talk. I shook my head and looked at the ground, “To kill the Minotaur.” Speaking of this, my heart began beating fast again. I will not fall in love with the princess of the evil and perverted King of Crete, I thought.

She smiled and laughed, covering her mouth. Then walked away.

The next day, the seven girls and boys were gathered in front of the gate of the labyrinth where the Minotaur was trapped.

King Minos asked, “Who would like to go first?”

I did not hesitate and answered, “of course, I will. I am the prince of Athens. I will go first.”

King Minos laughed dramatically and replied, “I admire your bravery and determination, but you will be chewed into pieces in a while.”

I suddenly caught Princess Ariadne looking at me, desperation showing apparently through her gaze. She came to me close and whispered while stuffing something into my shirt, “Tie this to the gate when you are inside. Come back for me. Bring me with you when you are back.” She gave me one last smile and walked away.

      I hardened my heart and told myself I would not be fooled by her outer beauty that simply covers up her evil nature like her father.

      I went into the labyrinth and took out the fluffy object Ariadne put in my shirt. I realized it is a ball of string. I tied it to the gate according what she told me and began my journey to the centre of the labyrinth. I was cautious and nervous.

      After thirty minutes, I felt something furry. I alerted and knew it was the Minotaur. It moaned at me. It was loud and raucous. It was dark but I hopped its back successfully. I grabbed onto its long fur and tried to climb up to its head. I finally caught his horn while it jumped up and down, trying to shake me off. It stopped jumping. I thought it was tired. So I used my bare hand to wipe away the sweat on my forehead. Suddenly, I felt it jumped almost to the ceiling. I had to let go of the horn. My life flashed in front of my eyes. Suddenly, I caught the other horn. Phew… That was close. After a while sitting on the Minotaur’s head, being shaken, I was almost out of energy. However, fortunately, the Minotaur seemed tired as well. While it was slowing down, I got held of the other horn and pulled. The Minotaur moaned loudly. I used all my energy. I tried twisting its head by its horns. Crack… Crack. Crack, crack, crack. The Minotaur moaned louder. Hearing its crying, I felt sad for it. Being locked in this prison for forever. Unable to die. No light. No hope. No food. I felt my hot tears rolling down my cheeks. The Minotaur’s crying was less and less clear. I suddenly realized Ariadne was right. I did the right thing, to kill the Minotaur, to end its misery. Gradually, I gained more power by pitying him, wanting to end his tragic life for him. “Shhh, shh. It’s ok,” I whispered. Feeling the Minotaur relaxing, I continued calming it, “Good boy.  It’s ok. Go to sleep.” Giving it one last twist, crack. It stopped moving and fell to the ground softly. I knew now. Even though it looked like a crazy bull, it had a human heart. It was King Minos that totally destroyed its human nature by locking him in this dark place, giving him no care or love. I bawled out loud beside this dead creature, releasing all my pity for it and anger for the King.

      I found the thread and went out of the labyrinth. I pretended to be proud and powerful, covering the extreme depression in the inside. I saw Princess Ariadne running towards me, yelling into my face happily and hugging me. I did not even care about what she said. Her father is a demon. The real demon. She must is evil, too. Like father, like daughter, right? I pretended to be joyful to see her again. However, I knew I have no love for her anymore, because I knew, even though she is so appealing, it is all fake and empty. She took me to my boat, and told me she was going to come to Athens with me, like I promised. No, I cannot take her to Athens. She is a devil, I thought. So I told her to get some bread for me. She went away quickly, didn’t know I suckered her. I cut the rope that connects my boat to the deck and left alone.

      I had so much to think about that I forgot to change the black flag on my boat to white ones as my father commended me. I suddenly remembered what he said, “If you success, change the flag of your boat to white.” However, I was already so close to Athens. I looked up at Athens and saw a person falling off the edge. No, please no. I thought. I knew who it was. After pedaling so hard toward the place where he landed, I saw it. The body floating. I swam to it and saw his face. Father. Don’t die. I’m right here. I thought. Trying to bring him back to life is impossible now. It’s too late. For the second time, I bawled.