Thieves Of Olympus

70

ERINA

Pessinus, Turkey

"Ever heard of the fairy tale King Midas and his Golden touch?" tanong ni Lunox.

"Yeah but it's not a fairy tale... That was a real story," Gareth answers.

"May laman din pala iyan," tinuro ni Kaito ang utak niya.

"Oo, 'tol. Hindi puro tubig tulad ng iyo," ganti nito habang ginaya ang katabi ko. Naas tabi kasi siya ni Lunox. Kaito can't hit him dahil katabi niya ako.

Currently, papunta kami sa Phrygia. The city's in ruins... For normal people. Pero para sa amin buo ang lugar na iyon. Lalo na't andoon ang pakay namin.

The chill in the air has bitten my exposed hands and face. Gamit ko ang jacket na binili ni Mama. Sayang naman kung itatago ko lang.

"You know the fairytale version but we know the myth where it came from," sagot ko sa kanya.

"Is it also based on mythology?" he carefully drives through the city.

I nod, "Everything—old and new—has an origin."

Nagsimula akong magkwento tungkol kay Haring Midas. He is a King of the kingdom in Pessinus. He lived with his daughter Phaedra. Noong nakita niya si Silenus—a satyr—ay tinulungan niya ito. Offered food and shelter. He did not know that Silenus is Dionysus friend. After finding out what happened the God of wine grants him one wish: everything he touches turns to gold. Overwhelmed by joy... He becomes greedier than he already is. Until he made a mistake. Turning foods to gold that he cannot eat anymore, worse he also made his daughter into a gold statue. Out of despair he cried out to Dionysus to return Phaedra back to normal with a price: He can no longer turn everything he touches into gold. He poured her some water and she became human again. He did not want more material things than Phaedra's love for him.

That's how greed works. It goes inside your head like an ego, feeding your desires. It plants itself in your head and grows in your heart.

"Hindi ba mas okay iyon? Hindi ka na bibili ng gold."

"Oo nga 'no, 'tol!"

Napatampal naman ako sa noo ko noong marinig ang sinabi nila. Here I thought Gareth learned a lesson but lo and behold he wants it too. Sumangayon pa si Kaito sa kanya. Are their braincells one and the same? Baka naumpog silang pareho sa bowl noong baby pa sila.

"Akala ko may natutunan ka?" tanong ko kay Gareth.

He snorts at me, "Mayroon nga!"

"Ano?" tanong ko.

"Tumulong ka at may reward na ibibigay sa'yo!" he proudly answers.

Nakipagfist bump si Kaito sa kanya, "Tama ka diyan, Pare!"

They should get an x-ray of their brains. Baka buhol-buhol ang mga braincells nila o di kaya'y baliktad ang left at right hemisphere nila.

Lunox chuckles at my expression. Hindi ko alam kung matutuwa ako o maiinis na may natutunan sila. I sighed as I admit defeat. I should forget this kung ayaw kong mahawa sa kanila.

"Sleep for a while Erina. Kulang ka lang sa tulog," Kaito puts my head on his shoulder. He caress my hair, playing some of it's strands.

Ako pa ang kulang sa tulog?!

Oh my goodness!

Ginawa ko na lang ang sinabi niya. I close my eyes and let myself drift to ease the after effects of travelling. Ginising lang nila ako noong narating na namin ang mga ruins.

The dust and rubles are all around us. Some lone columns still stand but most of them are in group of ruins.

We found King Midas' Castle in ruins but a strong mist is around the area. Looks like an excavation is happening right now. May mga archaeologist kasing nandito.

"Excuse me?" I approach someone near us, "What is going on?"

"Hi!" a male's accented voice greets me. He faces me and removes his cap, "We heard that some gold are around here. So we came. We will bring them to the museum if we found some."

Kinakabahan akong tumitig sa kanya. "Have you found some already? I'm sorry for being nosy. I'm also interested in those," nginitian ko siya ng matamis.

He blushed and stammered, "N-none... We're just starting."

"She's tak—"

Hindi ko pinatapos si Kaito. Alam kong kokontra siya sa gagawin ko but we can't let them see those "gold" yet. They need to leave... For now.

I used my charm, "What's your name? I'm Sab and this are my friends."

"Dominic," we shake our hands together.

"Don't you think it will rain? The clouds look dark," palihim ko namang sinesenyasan si Lunox.

Tumingin pa ito sa langit, "Not really."

Dark clouds started gathering above us. Malalaki at mukhang mabibigat ang mga ulap. Then, a thunder rumbles above us. Plus, the cold gale that swirls around us. Drops of water begin falling from it.

Nakita ko ang dagliang pagaayos ng gamit. Inaya pa nila kami pero tumanggi kami. Nagtanguan sila Kaito at Lunox. We found the right doorway and columns with the thickest mist. Pumasok kami doon at bumungad ang mga marmol na haligi at sahig. Some are furnitures are gold, too!

"May basement kaya dito?" tanong ni Kaito.

"Basement o underground storage room?" gatong ni Gareth.

"Whichever. We have to find the gold apples before they do that," he started searching the rooms one by one. The dusty curtains made him sneeze.

Bumitaw ako kay Kaito saka tinignan ang ibang kwarto. I keep walking until I stepped on something. Like a button on the floor. Noong tumapak ako sa hagdan ay naging madulas ito. The stairs turned to a slide.

Eto ang hinahanap nila kanina.

"Ouch," hinimas ko ang balakang. Pinapagan ko din ang damit at pantalon ko. I cough when dusts went to my nose.

I can't see anything. Kinapa ko ang sahig hanggang sa makapa ang isang torch. Gumawa ako ng apoy para masindihan ito. Kasabay ng pagsindi nito ay nakita ko din ang mga ginto—tinapay, kupita, pinggan at iba pang gamit na hinawakan ni Haring Midas.

Ang kinagulat ko ay ang mga makatotohanang estatwa ng mga tao. Some are shocked but most of them are scared.

They were not in gold but in concrete.