Restored (A Caleo Selection)

10 ~ A Memory So Painful

   "Is that even legal?" I stared at the floor. "Look, just leave me alone. You have Annabeth now."

   Percy winced. "Yes, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends."

   I held back the sudden urge to cry. "Percy, I think you gave up that chance a long time ago." Then I walked away, forcing my head up and my shoulders back. I didn't look back until I had reached the corner, and saw Percy still standing there, staring at the wall. The I ran, out of sight and broken, tears finally coming to my eyes. I flew up the stairs to my chambers.

   My room was quiet, my maids absent for some reason. I didn't care why. I threw open the balcony doors and grasped the railing, my silent tears leaving wet droplets. Then I laid down my head and allowed myself to cry.

   When I could cry no more, I sank into a heap on the marble floor, breathing in the cool spring air. I calmed myself, bit by bit, my mind fighting me with memories. Finally I gave up and let the memories come.

. . .

   I walked through the quiet forest near the seashore, searching for the very best blackberries. Then I heard an groan just beyond the edge of the woods. Peeking out from between the trees, I saw a crumpled heap lying on the beach. Then I realized it was a person.

   I dropped my basket and ran to the figure. As I knelt, I saw it was a boy -- one with black, messy hair and rumpled clothing. I held my fingers in front of his lips, releasing a sigh of relief as I felt a feather of breath. He was alive.

   The boy groaned, and I touched his shoulder. "Stay still. You're too weak to rise."

   The boy's eyes fluttered open, revealing strikingly green irises. "Who?" he croaked out.

   "Shh, brave one," I said soothingly. "Rest and heal. No harm will come to you here. I am Calypso."

   The boy's eyes closed again, and I shifted my arms underneath him, lifting him slowly. I staggered toward the woods. How could one lean boy be so heavy?

   I managed to haul him to the house, where I laid him on a cot against the wall. I didn't know who he was, but I could take care of him until he was strong enough to tell me his story.

. . .

   A few days later, the boy could sit up and walk around a bit. He told me his name was Percy, and he told me his story, how he'd been on a ship, travelling with his uncle and his three friends when the ship had caught fire. He'd been on a section that had blown up, and he'd been hurled to the shore of my island. It was a miracle he was alive.

   Several days passed, and the boy seemed torn about leaving. I hoped he would stay. He helped me garden, and he gathered fruits and berries for me. He made me laugh and think and smile. I could not help liking his messy black hair, his sarcastic smile, his green eyes.

   Eventually I told him about my past, about my traitorous father and my punishment. He seemed shocked that I had been punished for supporting my father so young. "It's not fair to punish you for what your father's done," he protested. I smiled at him, and felt my heart do a flip in my chest.

   But he didn't intend to stay. He had begun building a raft the moment he was strong enough to walk. I tried my best to distance myself, until he gave me the news that it was ready.

   "You could stay," I offered anxiously. "Free from palace life. You and I....we could build a life together here. You could help me -- free me."

   Percy considered it. I watched him, biting my lip, wondering what he would say. Then he slowly shook his head, and my heart sank. "I can't. There are more dangerous things happening than you know. My friends need me, and I know how to help them. I have to get back."

   My shoulders slumped. "Then go, my hero. We will send you on your way." 

   "Come with me," he begged.

   I smiled sadly. "Do you think I have not tried? Every time I have tried, I am caught and quickly sent back. It will never happen. You will be questioned if you are seen with me."

   I gave him a basket of supplies to ride him over until he found transportation back to the palace. He took them reluctantly. "Maybe I can visit you."

   "No, Percy. You will not be able to find me again. Go back."

   "But--" His voice broke.

   "Go, please. Just remember me." I smiled a little, fighting to keep my composure. "Plant a garden for me at the palace, will you?" I pulled a spring of moonlace, a beautiful silvery blue flower native only to Ogygia, from my basket and held it out.

   He took it and tucked it into his shirt pocket, his eyes sad. "I promise."

   Then he turned and wove through the trees, headed along the shore, towards the marketplace, where he would find people who would take him home. He looked back once, at the edge of the woods, and I raised a hand in farewell. Then he disappeared through the trees.

. . .

   I crouched there, crumpled and broken, as the breeze whistled through the garden below me. And I wished, with my whole heart, that someone could find me and help me out of the crushing, terrible void of my past.