Everything that surrounded you now was a dark, vast, winding forest, through which you were running at incredible speed, holding a small child in female garments in your hands. This child was Dionysus, the youngest son of the King of Olympus, Zeus.

Unfortunately, Dionysus was not the son of Zeus and his wife Hera, but only of the mortal princess of Thebes, Semele. Therefore, there was a hunt for him, orchestrated by Hera, with the goal of killing Dionysus before he could become a powerful god.

And your last attempt, together with Zeus, to hide Dionysus from Hera had failed: she had found him and driven his adoptive father, Athamas, mad, who now desired only one thing—to kill Dionysus at any cost.

Even though you had run a considerable distance, the guttural cries:

— Dionysus!

—Dionysus! Where are you?

—You little bastard! I'll gut you alive!

still echoed in your ears and, apparently, in the ears of the boy, who only flinched at every rustle and whisper, pressing himself against you.

You noticed that his blue eyes, with a hint of purple, were looking directly at you:

— Promise me you will never abandon or betray me, — you suddenly heard the boy's quiet voice. It seemed he trusted you and perhaps remembered you, for Zeus had ordered you to guard and watch over his son until he grew strong enough that mortals would fear and revere even the sound of his name.

— Promise me, or I will be very angry, as angry as... and... Dad.

With sadness, Dionysus uttered the word "dad" and, falling silent, hugged you around the neck. At that moment, the boy was afraid of being left alone again. And understandably so: almost all the people who had been near him had died quickly, and his divine origin was to blame for that. But everything would change, for soon you would arrive at Mount Nysa, where the Hyades nymphs lived—immortal beings ready to care for Dionysus as their own son.

And now, after many years, Dionysus awaited you, the messenger of the gods, who would soon come to Mount Nysa, as they did every year. Perhaps this year, this youth would be able to leave the ill-fated mountain and become a true god, no longer fearing for his life?

A smile appeared on Dionysus's face. You were his teacher, his friend, his parent, and the first one who had not abandoned Dionysus in his earliest childhood. A thought arose in the young man's mind: "I wonder, do you do all this only because my dad ordered you to, or because you love me, you old fool?"