It took her years to understand
the Sirens aren’t real.
Years of suffering.
Years of being afraid.
One day, finally, she realized
the Sirens only exist in her head.

So the whole story is a fiction, she asked.
Yes, said everyone.
The whole story.
Oh, she groaned.
It was a relief, but she was also very sad.
The suffering was gone,
but the magic too, in a way.

A lot of years passed by.
She has been quite happy,
most of the time.

Now she knows
it was not true,
what everyone said.
Not the whole story was a fiction.

She kissed her Penelope.
They live on forever,
knowing that they are loved,
and fearless.

Marc Chagall, Ulysses & Penelope