Page 195 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

‘Your precious Nicholas did not care about families, and neither do I. She will come.’

‘Take me in her place.’

The guard began to laugh raucously. ‘No, I don’t think so. The men would be very displeased.’

Lapetus’s muscles constricted. ‘Please. She is sick.’

‘Do you see this face?’ the guard asked Lapetus quietly. ‘Take a good, long look at it. This is the face of a man who does not care.’ He moved towards the door. ‘The choice is simple. You will come now. Or you will be shot.’

Lapetus returned to his feet and embraced Clymene. Unending tears started streaming from his eyes. ‘Clymene...’

‘It’s all right, Lapetus,’ she whispered. ‘It’s all right.’

‘This can’t happen,’ he sobbed. ‘We’ve come so far, my love. So far...’ He gripped her tightly.

‘You and I both know that I am not long for this world anyway. I cannot stop the bleeding.’

‘If we can just get you to a doctor...’

‘There is as much chance of that as our child standing up and walking today. To these people, we are an embodiment of everything they hate.’ Gathering as much strength as she could, she grabbed her husband’s head and kissed him. ‘I have to go now, Lapetus. Be brave. For our child.’

‘I will be,’ Lapetus whispered.

‘Protect him.’

‘Always. I love you, Clymene.’

‘And I love you, Lapetus. Now then, little one.’ She focused her attention on her baby. ‘We only knew each other for a short time. I’m sorry for that, for both of us. Your mummy loves you more than anything.’ A single tear fell from her eye onto her son’s cheek. ‘I only have time for one lesson. Be kind, little one. It is the secret to happiness.’ She placed a gentle kiss on her baby’s head.

Then Clymene Tanit took a deep breath and staggered towards the door. She and the other two women were marched outside and bundled into a horse-drawn carriage. Lapetus watched on, holding his son in his arms and weeping desolately. The driver whipped the stallion, and the carriage lurched away, taking Clymene and the other girls away and out of sight.

Lapetus looked down at his son, who mewled gently in his arms. ‘I am sorry, my son. So very sorry.’ Then, for the first time, the baby opened its eyes, revealing two deep brown pools. ‘You hold the weight of the world on your shoulders, my boy. I shall call you Atlas.’

As the day passed, the Eszus did all they could to comfort a distraught Lapetus, who had spiralled into a realm of despair.

‘How will I feed Atlas? Oh God, I can’t lose him too.’

‘I saw goats with young yesterday,’ Rhea said. ‘Perhaps a mile or two away. Cronus will bring the mother back. Her milk will suffice.’

‘Where did everyone go, Daddy?’ Kreeg asked.

‘Just for a little walk, that’s all. Like the walk I’m about to go on, to make friends with a goat.’

Lapetus grabbed his friend’s arm. ‘Cronus, it will be dangerous. I don’t know where the guards might have gone, but if they spot you...’

‘Then they spot me,’ Cronus replied softly. ‘But your child needs sustenance, Lapetus. As do we all. We have no idea how long we’re going to be here. It has to be done.’

‘At least let me come with you,’ Lapetus asked.

‘You said it yourself, if I am spotted, in all probability I will be shot. Young Atlas does not deserve to lose two parents in a day.’ He put a comforting hand on Lapetus’s shoulder. ‘I’ll be fine. Now, help me rip up a blanket. I will require a leash.’

True to his word, Cronus returned two hours later with not just a mother goat, but a large male and kids in tow, too. ‘It seems the family did not wish to be separated.’ He chuckled.

Rhea milked the doe, and showed Lapetus the painstaking process of feeding Atlas by dipping his thumb in the milk and placing it in his son’s mouth, which was gratefully received.

By the end of the day, the poor doe had been milked dry, with the five occupants of the carriage enjoying fuller bellies than they had for a while.

As the sun was beginning to set, the sound of distant horse hooves drifted into the carriage.