MASKS

chapter five

TRITON

The ocean. 

The ocean has been my home all my life. I know a few things about the ocean but the one thing that always stands out is the secrets. The ocean is beautiful, dangerous it's many things but beyond all that it the ocean has many secrets.

My father Poseidon is the embodiment of the ocean which implies he also has many secrets. He can be hard or easy to read depending on the day but in the last five years, I've noticed one thing. At the start of summer, he stills and so do the waters of the world. The waves calm and flow peacefully as if trying to soothe an old ache and the look in my father's eyes says the waters are trying to soothe their master. The beginning of summer was supposed to be a happy time but my father got sad and I wanted to understand why.

After the first two years I shadowed him, remained close trying to understand the problem, then one day by chance I found it. It was a small closet, like a storage room in his office inside wasn't what I expected. I expected to find war plans, old house secrets, maybe something he wasn't supposed to have: I was only half wrong.

The shelves had two glass bottles with notes inside and on the wall was a picture of a baby girl. I didn't know who she was and I couldn't see her face clearly so I couldn't identify her. I opened the letter and inside was attached a picture of a girl. I read the letters.

A daughter. he broke the law and had a daughter and hadn't told anyone not even my mother. Yet again I wasn't enough, mother wasn't enough. He broke the law for this one. 

I was angry, I wanted to storm to land and kill them end them just to spite him. How dare he again.  The next year I was determined to track where the bottle came from then end the bastard before she had a chance to grow into anything worth thinking about. It didn't happen like that though. I was sent out to deal with an oil spill close to the beginning of summer and I couldn't do anything, but when I came back I read the letter and decided to wait again for the next year. Again I was sent to deal with two fighting monarchs on the other side of the world and again I missed my chance but not this year.

Anger is a powerful emotion. It can easily cloud one's judgment, for example, the location of this- this abomination, I didn't know how to track her without a definite face and or an address but then the fates smiled down at me and I felt it. A small wave of inexperienced but powerful magic. It had to be how the messages were being delivered to father.

 I met the girl and she opened my eyes, anger had clouded my mind. How could this eight-year-old speak beyond my many years? I was angry at her but she hadn't done anything, she'd been born but It wasn't her fault. Many would-be like me: clouded by anger and would pass judgment before looking at the girl. She was family, I would protect her because the ocean took care of its own. I would punish father but not my little Pearl.