eternal sunshine

𝓣𝓗𝓘𝓡𝓣𝓔𝓔𝓝: 𝓝𝓘𝓖𝓗𝓣𝓜𝓐𝓡𝓔𝓢

The echo of the waves from the Long Island sound crashing on the sand of Camp Half-Blood relaxed Odessa. It was 1 AM and like every night since she created a light dome she was sitting on the beach staring up at the sky or watching waves. Sometimes she wrote songs other times she spoke with Luke when he would meet her. He joined her the night after she had fainted and was relieved that she had taken his advice to bring a weapon for protection from the creatures in the woods. Though he wished she had chosen something other than a dagger. He had told her she was getting rather good at swordplay and would be one of the few children of Apollo skilled in a weapon besides a bow and arrow.

Her second week at Camp Half-Blood was approaching which meant another game of capture of the flag. She couldn't believe they played nearly every Friday. She played once and did not want to participate in it again but she didn't have much of a choice. It had been two weeks without talking to Daisy and Ellie because she could not mention any of this to either of them. She wondered if JD had told Leo about where he actually went for summer camp. She wanted to let them know where she was and everything that was happening to her because that's what they did, they told each other everything but she didn't want them to be placed in danger. She had re-written a letter to them about 3 times but never sent it. She couldn't think of a way to tell them what she had been going through for the past two weeks without telling them what she had been going through.

"What has you so stressed, Odessa?" Luke questioned. She no longer got startled by his voice when he joined her. Her body had somehow gotten to know when he was approaching.

"I miss my friends. I'm sure they're worried."

"Because you haven't spoken to them in two weeks? Do you talk to them every second of every day?"

"Yes. They're my best friends like my sisters. Do you not speak with Chris every second of every day? To Jaime and JD? To Annabeth?" Luke couldn't argue with that. In his time at camp, they were the campers he was closest to.

"Well, Chris is actually my brother and Annabeth is just like my sister," he replied.

"And you speak with them constantly. Just because Ellie and Sky aren't demigods doesn't mean..." Luke cut her off.

"Woah, woah, it doesn't matter whether they're demigods or not. That has nothing to do with the matter."

"It kind of does, Luke. You get to see JD, Chris, Jaime, and Annabeth and get to talk to them freely without wondering if they'll think you're crazy for what you are telling them because they understand. They are aware of this life so it doesn't endanger anyone to know what truly happens in it. My friends are understanding but if I told them my father is the Greek god Apollo and every story they have ever heard about Greek Mythology is in fact not a story but truth they'd ask me if I need psychiatric care." Ellie, Sky, and Odessa were always there for each other. When Skylar's parents got divorced, when Ellie's older brother died in action as a Marine, through every crush, heartbreak, and anxiety attack. But Odessa knew they wouldn't be able to understand this without proof and she couldn't prove them with any. She cared about them too much to provide them with that. She knew what the gods could do to demigods if they criticized them or went against their wishes she didn't want to imagine what they would do to humans. "I might be tho. I've only been here for two weeks and I feel more insane than I have my whole life."

"Are your nightmares that bad?" He didn't need to ask to know the answer. Once a demigod arrives at Camp Half-Blood their nightmares become more vivid and clear. Of course not every dream a demigod has is a nightmare but those are more common. They vary from demigod to demigod not that they discuss their nightmares with one another. But it was unlikely for them to experience the same dreams. But Luke could usually tell when a nightmare was had. The lack of sleep and fear that fell over the demigod was always a clear sign. He saw that on Odessa far too often in the short time she had been there and it worried him.

"Do you really have to ask that?" He shook his head looking at her. "We suffer from ADHD and dyslexia. We're hunted by monsters til the end of our days they couldn't spare us nightmares?"

"I don't think the gods can control that," Luke informed.

"Almighty beings can't control whether or not their children have nightmares but they can birth children from thoughts and change into whatever form they want?" Luke could pick up on the disbelief and slight anger in her voice.

     "You're right. They have the power to do so much and yet they don't. It's not right." Luke knew a handful of demigods could see the unfairness in the actions of the gods and their worthiness of being worshipped and respected and of course, no one ever expressed it out loud because that would be disrespectful toward them. Many demigods believed the gods could hear everything and in turn were afraid to voice their concerns even to each other because of what might happen if heard. Luke liked that Odessa could see the unfairness and injustice and spoke it without fear. He liked feeling understood in his dislike of the gods despite being told to respect them and never criticize them. He was much more critical and hateful toward Hermes. She's perfect, he heard.

      "No. But like you said we're demigods so it's in the title, isn't it? It's late we should head to bed." Luke stood first helping Odessa up. They walked through the woods in silence not wanting to alert any creatures of their presence.

"See you tomorrow night?" Luke whispered as they stopped in front of the Apollo cabin. He didn't want to wake anyone. He didn't want to get in trouble for breaking curfew not because of the repercussions he would get from Chiron more than Mr. D but because he didn't want his late-night conversations with Odessa to stop. He liked getting to know her outside of the camp setting. Getting to know Odessa Reyes not Odessa Reyes, daughter of Apollo.