Sure, it was the snake, but it was the trees too. I miss the trees. When I died, I was beautiful. It was on the day I got married. They tell stories about me, you know. Everyone forgets about the trees, about wood nymphs and trees. You realize that wood nymphs cannot live any longer than the trees we live in. So, it was a matter of time anyway, it always is. The point is trees are very important to us, and to you too. Oh, by the way, my name is Eurydice, and if you have not guessed by now, I am a wood nymph. You know, I was perfectly happy in Hades. Sure, I loved Orpheus, I mean, everyone did. Maybe he loved me more than I loved him but isn’t that the way it is supposed to be. Anyhow, I am getting ahead of myself.

First thing you must realize is that I loved to dance in the Thracian fields with my tree nymph sisters more than anything. People think wood nymphs dance all day and night. Well, people are right, we do. Did you ever think that maybe people should dance all night and day too? When you dance, no one fights, no one gets hurt, most of the time. When you dance in the woods, no one cuts it down. Spirits rise, there is harmony, and the gods love it. Some of them, anyway.

Oh, sure, I was crazy about Orpheus. Everyone was wild about him, the animals, trees, birds, rivers, air, stones, deer, insects, clouds, you name it. I was head over heels for Orpheus. When he played that lyre and sang, I swear I could see stars. He would sing and I would dance. Why me? Why did he focus on me? There are plenty of beautiful wood nymphs. What made me so special? It’s as simple as this. I was the nearest one. I saw him, he saw me, it was love. We were ready. It could just as easily have been Morea, Alsedes, or Daphnaeae. But there I was and there he was.

I was the nearest wood nymph, and besides, I was a funny wood nymph. I made him laugh. He was the romantic singer of songs, and I made up funny dances that made Orpheus and my wood nymph sisters laugh. In one of my dances, I would lean way back, kick my long legs up as high as I could, one at a time, look at the audience and smile, then lean way forward, kick my legs back and smile, while all the time waving my hands like fans from side to side, kind of like a tap dancer. It cracked them up. They would roll around in the meadow, roaring with laughter so hard, they could not catch their breath. Orpheus too. You never think of Orpheus laughing, but he sure did, ubet. I think he was mostly attracted to my sense of humor. He was so romantic and serious. I, on the other hand, took nothing seriously, and cracked wise all day long, like when is a cat not a cat? When Zeus says so. Anyhow, I did a lot of other funny dances too, but I will not describe them because you got it. I admit that his singing did something to me. It did something to everyone. How could I resist? I delighted him and made him laugh. He made me feel things in other ways that I have too much dignity to tell you.

Anyhow, this is what happened. I was dancing in the fields and whooping it up with my sister wood nymphs, swinging my long red hair around, you know, celebrating mine and Orpheus’s wedding. We just got married. Meanwhile, Orpheus with his square jaw, wavy hair, and white teeth was on the riverbank, reminiscing and drinking wine with his noble Argonaut pals, the ones that were left anyway. There was Castor the horseman, Polydeuces, Euphemus the Caledonia hunter, Calais with his goofy wings, and Mopsus the seer. Some seer!

He sure did not see what was going to happen next. I could hear Orpheus talking about the time when the Argo was in the waters of the Sirens, a treacherous place, but he sang and charmed and soothed the Sirens and hypnotized them with his song and saved the lives of the noble Argonauts, his finest moment.

I was dancing and listening to his story when it happened. The happiest moment in my life and then the saddest. That beekeeper, Aritaeus, came after me. That’s right, in broad daylight he came after me just like that, right in front of everyone. He had his eye on me. He was jealous of Orpheus. I remember there were apple trees. I was dancing and listening, and… oh, yes, now I remember.

My sister wood nymphs and I were picking apples, playing catch with them, biting into them, and I was juggling them. Oh, did I tell you I was a juggler too. So, I was dancing and juggling and spinning apples, one on top of another balanced on my head, and one spinning on a stick I held in my mouth. It was quite remarkable. The wood nymphs loved it. They are easily entertained. Then this rat, this Aritaeus, we called him Arateaus, jumped out of the bushes. The wood nymphs immediately tried to stop him. Some ran for Orpheus and what was left of the noble Argonauts. It was our wedding day. We were celebrating. How quickly light can turn into darkness.

Orpheus was with his pals. I was with my wood nymph sisters; you know what I mean. We were joyous. I ran. I dropped the apples and the stick and ran. Orpheus and what was left of the noble Argonauts came running. I do not know exactly how it happened. I was on my side in the grass. I could taste it. My ankle was stinging, and I felt my leg go numb, and then my other leg. I tried to get up. It was no use. I felt like I was falling into a deep sleep. I heard running footsteps and the voices of women screaming and men shouting and the cries of Orpheus, “Eurydice! Eurydice!” Then I heard him spitting, which I thought was strange, until I realized he was on his knees spitting out the venom from my ankle. That was it. A snake bit me while I was running away from that rat, Arataeus, that rapist, Aritaeus. “Orpheus, Orpheus…” I said over and over, but it was in my mind. I felt his teary wet face on mine, and the world went dark. I was done for.

I was on the ferry across the River Stix. I was on the other shore, Hades. That’s how fast it happens. Hades, the other shore. I saw the shadows. Penelope, Achilles, Patroclus, Helen, Elpinor, Paris, Hector, Ajax, Electra, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Clytemnestra, you name it, the whole gang, but no Orpheus. It was clear to me now. Boy, when you are dead it really puts things into perspective. 

My tree was dead too. It died when I died. Here’s the thing. It was OK. In life I danced and juggled and loved and it was OK. I didn’t want to go back, not because I didn’t love life, but because I did love life. I do not know if that makes any sense, but nothing lasts forever, even stories change and eventually go away too. The next thing I remember is Orpheus took my hand. I saw the back of his feet walking and he led me through a dark cave with roots and rocks and water dripping. There was a faint bit of light and cool air and Orpheus. I thought I was dreaming.

You cannot come back from the dead. You cannot. I figured that Orpheus must have charmed them with his music and song and convinced Hades to let me go back. He even persuaded Persephone to let me go. And let me tell you, she is one tough cookie, after all she has been through. And then there was Cerberus, that three headed dog, and Charon. If anything can move them, it is Orpheus. At the time, I didn’t know anything about the deal he made with Hades. Hermes told me all about it afterwards. Orpheus loved me, probably more than I loved him. He could not control himself. It was the old hubris thing. “Deluded rejection of human limitations.” You cannot defy the gods. You think you can. You think you are the only one who can, and you almost do. You just cannot do it. You think you are better than the gods. He looked back just before we got out, and I vanished into thin air. You cannot change the order of things. You cannot do it. You think you can. You cannot. We are always dissatisfied because there is always something we want. When you do not want anything, that longing goes away, and you are happy.

I danced and juggled and cracked jokes and loved and then I was gone. What more does anyone want? As a member of the tribe of the Hamadryad, my life depended on my tree. My tree could not save me, and I could not save my tree. When I died, so did my tree. As far as what happened to Orpheus, well, it did not go too good for him. Orpheus upset the order of things. He loved me too much. Remember the motto: “Nothing too much.” The Maenads tore him apart. They were jealous of his love for me. As you know, they loved him once. And besides that, the Maenads are raving maniacs. The Muses gathered the parts they could find and buried Orpheus at Mount Olympus. Another weird thing was that his head ended up in the River Hebros, still singing, it made it all the way to Lesbos where they buried it. Even though I am on the other shore, my soul is dancing and juggling and cracking jokes. I’ll tell you though, the thing I miss most is the trees.