The Sound Of The Ocean

I Take A Permanent Vacation

|Percy|

I woke up feeling like I was on fire. My skin stung, and my throat felt as dry as sand.

I saw a blue sky and trees above me. I heard a fountain gurgling and smelled juniper and cedar and a bunch of other sweet-scented plants. I heard waves, too, gently lapping on a rocky shore. I wondered if I was dead, but I knew better. I'd been to the Land of the Dead, and there was no blue sky.

Why does this seem familiar???

Suddenly, the memories came rushing back to me. I tried to jerk myself up and look at my stomach, but I couldn't move. My muscles felt like they were melting.

"Stay still" I hear a girl say. "You are too weak to rise." I know I should be terrified, but the girl's voice soothes me as if it belongs to an old friend and I close my eyes. I feel a cool cloth cover my forehead along with a warm chocolaty liquid dribbling down my throat making me feel slightly stronger.

I recognized it almost immediately. The liquid was Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods. I feel a shadow cast above me and I open my eyes. The girl appears above me. I immediately recognized her. It was Calypso.

"Calypso..?" I said, my voice sounding different. She looks the same as she did around 2½ years ago. Still around 15 or 16, almond eyes, caramel-colored hair braided over one shoulder.

I lift my hand, putting it on her cheek. I am put in an instant state of shock. My hand, along with the rest of my arm is practically covered in burns. And my hand seems..smaller along with my arms being way less muscular.

Calypso looks shocked at my gesture, grabbing my hand and putting it on my chest. "Shhh, brave one." She said. "Yes, it is I but that is not an importance. Rest and heal. No harm will come to you here." I fall back asleep.

~~~~

The next time I woke up I was in a cave, just like the last time I was washed away on Ogygia. Nothing has changed from the last time I was here. The ceiling still glittered with different color crystal formations- white, purple, and green. It was like I was in one of those cut geodes you see in souvenir shops.

I was lying in the same comfortable bed with feather pillows and white cotton sheets. I looked around at the white silk curtains that divided the cave. Against the wall, there were still shelves with neatly stacked jars of fruit preserves. Dried herbs were hanging from the ceiling: rosemary, thyme, cumin, mustard, celery seed, dill and more. After spending so much time with my mom I could practically name them all.
The fireplace was running and there was a pot bubbling over the flames. It smelled awesome, like the same beef stew I had last time.

I sat up as I tried to ignore the throbbing pain in my head. I looked down at my arms expecting to see the burns I saw earlier, except they seemed fine. A little pinker than usual, but they seemed fine.

I was wearing the same white cotton T-shirt and cotton drawstring pants as last time. How did they still fit? My feet were bare... and smaller like the rest of me seemed to be.

I quickly felt in my pocket, finding riptide. Weird.. I didn't have it when... when that happened. I also felt something almost freezing in my pocket. I pulled it out and it was... the Stygian ice dog whistle that Quintis/Daedalus gave me back when I was going into the labyrinth."What...how do I have this?" I mutter.

With difficulty, I stood. The floor was freezing. I was scared to turn around and face the mirror, as I could slightly expect what I was about to see. I slowly turn around to face the bronze mirror.

"Holy Poseidon," I gasp. I look the same as I did back when I came here when I was 14. Literally though... I looked EXACTLY how I looked when I was 14, except I had looked like I lost 20 pounds that I couldn't afford to lose, and my hair was singed at the edges like Hephaestus's beard. I look away, barely able to breathe and head outside. 

Just like last time.