A Soul to Keep

The gift of the horn decoration that Reia crafts for Orpheus is a symbol that represents Reia and Orpheus’s romantic relationship. She first wants to make him a gift after she sees the first protective trinket she made displayed above his bed. When she offers to make him a gift, “[b]right flamingo pink [takes] over [Orpheus’s] floating orbs” (261). Later, Orpheus and Reia realize that when Orpheus’s eyes turn pink, he is experiencing love. When Reia first suggests a gift in the abstract, he experiences love. Reia spends a lot of time on the gift. She “remade his gift multiple times because she’d hated everything until she finally came up with her final idea” (270). The amount of thought that Reia puts into the gift reflects how deeply she feels for Orpheus. When she finally gives Orpheus the gift after they visit the demon village, his eyes turn pink again, and it inspires them to consummate their relationship physically. When Orpheus sees Katerina again, she breaks one of the bells on the decoration. This is an attempt to damage his relationship with Reia and cause him pain. She does not fully break the decoration or both bells, though.