Defying Fate

Chapter 20 p2

Eventually, Hermes pulled into a crowded lot among one of the larger clusters of houses on the northern half of the island. People milled around the cars like they weren't even there, and Hermes had to navigate carefully to find a place to leave the car. Through a gap in the buildings, Odysseus spotted an equally crowded marketplace.

Hermes leapt from his seat and the doors to the car sprang open. "Everyone out, boys with me!" He called.

Odysseus, Eurylochus and Polites began to follow, but Athena grabbed Polites by the shoulder.

"I want this one," she said simply. Polites looked at Odysseus, his eyes wide and almost frightened.

Odysseus felt his own shoulders tense once again. "If you hurt him—"

"Relax, we're going shopping," she reached up to adjust Polites' collar, and he cringed a little.

"That tickles," he said.

"I don't know why, but I can see you in glasses. Cass, you too, come on." The three went, Athena leading the way like a general into battle.

Hermes patted Odysseus and Eurylochus on the shoulders. "Our job is the food," he said, drawing a small notebook from his pocket. "Shopping list."

The market was filled with stalls full of produce of every color and shape imaginable. There were endless jars of spices, vegetables both whole and jarred. Pickles, Potatoes, Tomatoes, chickpeas.

"You have to try the falafel," Hermes indicated at one stall.

"What's falafel?" Eurylochus asked.

"A traditional recipe I'm certain you will love," Hermes ordered some, and passed them along. Odysseus took a bite, it was rich and flavorful, but, he passed most of his to Eurylochus, who ate both with fascination. The spices they encountered made Eurylochus's eyes go wide, and he counted them off, studying them, as a world of flavors and possibilities opened up to him.

"If we were to fill our hold with this bounty and bring it back, Ithaca could become the richest kingdom in Achea."

Odysseus shook his head, "We don't even have our ship right now, or know how to get back—"

Eury looked at Hermes, who was haggling with a shopkeeper a few stalls down. "We have the gods helping us," Eurylochus said, with more hope and optimism in his voice than Odysseus had heard in years. "We'll get our ship back, and the crew. If we kept some seeds from this... tomato, for example," he hefted one of the red vegetables. "Or other small things, we could truly become a great kingdom." He turned to the stall's owner. "Where did you say this spice came from?" He pointed at a jar, and soon had the salesman pinned down, answering questions with a bemused expression on his face.

Odysseus wandered away from the bustle. He still couldn't shake the anxiety in his heart, the strange feelings that came with the familiar landscape, but the unfamiliar people and culture they'd found. He couldn't stop thinking of the island as home, but none of the familiar landmarks were there anymore. Eurylochus seemed to have written it off as just another stop, another mysterious land, but Odysseus couldn't make himself do that, and he kept looking for familiar faces in the crowd.

Beyond all the food stalls were some clothing stalls, open shop fronts, and other goods. Handcrafted jewelry, and.. books. A sign hung on that stall. " Summer Deal on Classics—Homer's Odyssey. 50%" It read. "New translations!"

"Odyssey?" He repeated the word, stepping closer and picking up one of the books in question: a number of identical, small volumes, bound in blue cloth, stamped with ink.

Suddenly, Hermes was there at his elbow, and he gently pushed the book back down to its place on the table.

"It has my name on it," Odysseus said. "Sort of."

"It's your story—" Hermes said, his expression more solemn than Odysseus had ever seen it. "Trust me, you don't want to know too much about your future."

"My future? We're standing in the future!" Odysseus's voice rose, "and you're saying this story is about me?"

Hermes made a shushing gesture with his hands as the shopkeeper looked toward them. He made to push Odysseus away from the stall, but he resisted.

"Athena can explain it better," Hermes said, almost apologetically," and after four thousand years, the details get a little... confused."

Odysseus went to pick up the book again. He held it firmly in his hands, staring at those unfamiliar letters until they rearranged themselves into a word so similar to his own name... but he couldn't work out the meaning.

"An Odyssey... it means a journey." Hermes said. "Congratulations, you had a whole word made up after you."

"It's better than the original meaning," Odysseus muttered. He went to open the book, and Hermes stopped him again.

"No, you don't want to know," He said more firmly, and took Odysseus by the shoulder.