I still think this is some sort of weird trippy dream, but the way I understand it is this: if I go to the river, I will be taken to Hades' throne, and if I play for Hades, then maybe I can see Jaewon one more time.

I run away from the mysterious village, over to where the river is. Then, I follow the riverbank, walking until the town disappears out of view, until the sky is black and the ground is black and the river is the only thing that glows. I'm still holding the golden bouquet and Jaewon's recorder.

If I remember correctly, from English class, Orpheus made it all the way to Hades and played his harp, giving a one man concert for everybody in the underworld to hear. Hades was so moved by his performance that he let him have Eurydice back. I don't know if I need to take Jaewon back to the world of the living, but if I'm here, then maybe I can at least get the closure I need to move on.

If I also remember correctly, Jaewon had the myth of Icarus, who flew into the sky with wax wings. He flew too close to the sun, the wings melted, and he fell to the sea and drowned. The irony is not lost on me, and I have to wonder: did Jaewon know all of this strange, otherworld stuff would happen to me? It's too precise, making sure Amber had the key to the roof, and giving me the recorder. No, I feel like he would have told me during that last phone call, just like he told me that he loved me.

Maybe that's all I need to do: tell him I love him.

Maybe then I can let him go.

Something appears on the horizon; I notice it's a tall man, with skin as black as the night sky, and a military uniform on. He does not say a word to me when I approach, but he looks down at the bouquet in my hands. I give it to him, figuring that it must be my ticket to wherever I'm headed next. He waves his hand, and a canoe appears. He steps in, and I get in as well. There are no oars, but the boat moves on its own, floating down the glowing stream ahead of us.

Before long, the riverbanks disappear as well, and all I can see around me is glowing water. I wonder for a moment what it would be like to touch it, but then reconsider. It's probably bad luck for someone from the living to touch water meant for the dead. So I stay in my canoe, holding on to Jaewon's recorder.

The waters move a bit, and when I look, I actually see fish in the water! They're easy to spot because of the water's glowing properties, and some of them jump out of the water towards me. I laugh at them, but I stay careful not to touch them. In the distance, there are fish, and I even catch what must be a dolphin jumping through the air. The fish must be dead, as well. I wonder: perhaps they're wishing me well on my journey?

The boat stops without warning; apparently we have reached our destination. The strange man steadies the canoe, then gets out, holding onto it so I may disembark as well. When I get on the shore, I notice the land is still black, but there is a castle in the distance, huge and foreboding and black as well, black against black, with shadows glowing blue to indicate there's a castle there at all.

This must be it. This must be where Hades lives.

"Thank you," I tell the mysterious boatman, and I wonder if I will be given another golden bouquet as a ticket back to the world of the living when I'm done.

I walk alone. My tennis shoes tap against the solid ground. I do bend down to touch this, since my feet have already, and it feels like concrete. When I look behind me, I see the river, and when I look in front of me, all I see is the castle rising up to meet me. For some odd reason, I'm not nervous at all. It's probably because I still somewhere know that this is a dream, and I'll wake up on the roof in a little bit.

If this is a dream, well, at least this dream is giving me more closure than reality ever will.

When I approach the castle gates, there are two guards waiting on either side of the gate. They open the doors for me without saying a word, and I walk in. There's a long corridor leading to the throne room, decorated with blue banners, and the shadows indicate the castle is made out of limestone. There are words written on the banners in strange letters, of every country known to mankind. I try to look for English, but it does not appear to me.

"WHO DARES DISTURB ME???"

The voice shakes me so hard that I drop Jaewon's recorder. I recollect myself, then grab the recorder off the floor and head into the main hall. That's got to be Hades.