I opened the bag of bad winds and dreadful storms that casted us away from our destination and relinquished the amiable gift given by Aeolus. I'm distraught that I let my lust for gold and silver disrupt the ultimate goal of getting back to Ithaca. After we were blown back towards Aeolus, he denied us another gift and we had to sail on without the great westward wind. After a few days of dreadful seafaring we reached the land of the lasestrygones. They are quite a barbaric people who enjoyed feasting on the blood of men. I wish we could have avoided them for we lost all but 45 of our men. I survived only because I was aboard Odysseus's ship. I remember hoping crazily that Circe on her island of Aeaea could help us, even though she was considered by most to be a witch of sorts. The ideas about her proved correct, because when we reached their and split up to go in search of her and explore the island, we weren't welcomed, but turned into swine. I was not as smart as Eurylochus was to fear a trap, so I went in and visited. We stayedt there until Odysseus reached us later. I watched as Odysseus was not transformed into what i was at the time. Circe gawked and was entranced by Odysseus and his seemingly magical ability to resist the sinister drug present in his wine. She showered him with compliments and care. She wanted him and needed it in order to gain his trust. I squealed at the thought of him cheating his wife and his homeland as king of Ithaca. However, at the same time, I knew for a fact that it was entirely necessary for me to get out of that wretched form. Odysseus, the noble captain of legends, refused her bed until she promised him that the crew and I would be turned back to men and be whole again. I saw him depart to her quarters and I lay there waiting. A while later, I saw Circe reenter the room and unbolt the sty and stroke are pelts. I felt the metamorphosis move through me, and I felt more human and younger than I have since before the war. Next, I took Odysseus's hand and looked in to his eyes. Salty streams strolled down my cheeks. I even could feel the pity of Circe sweep over the room as not just I, but everyone of us were weeping horrendously. After we stopped, Odysseus left to go to the ship to get the rest of the men from the ship. We stood there for a brief minute, but it wasn't a long one. This is because Circe then took it into her own hands to clothe us in fine clothing of fleecy linings and brand new cloaks. She even made sure that all of us were bathed and were splashed with a sweet oil so we looked the best we could. When I saw my other crew mates, I once again felt a strong sense of grief hit me. I sobbed more that day than on any other day in my life. Circe soon swept across the room to Odysseus to offer a brief bit of consoling. My weeping had died down enough for me to overhear the words she was speaking. She offered him to stay with her, share meat an wine, and restore our health back to the level it was at back when we left Troy. She urged him to think of joy once more and not just the endless wondering. I felt a slight fleeting feeling tell me that it would not be best to stay, but however, my aching bones and weary mind said otherwise. Every one of us consented contently to feast day after day, and month after month. However eventually, my longing for Ithaca awoke and I banded together with a few shipmates and went to captain Odysseus. We told him, to shake off the trance he was in, and think of our original goal, home, if that was where he wanted us to go. We yearned to see the well-timbered hall on the isle of Ithaca. Thankfully, I think we struck deep into Odysseus's heart and we convinced him to finally embark back on the fateful journey to Ithaca. At once, he went to Circe and urged her to hear our plea to leave Circe's magnanimous hall. I was shocked to hear her odd and the lack of amiability in her response, for I had grown accustom to her kindness during our stay. I had forgotten that she was still a witch that had when we first appeared her, turned us into swine and had not done anything to help us. She sent Odysseus into the underworld. She sent him to see Tiresias. I am not sure what will become of us now.
