IF YOU HAD ASKED SERENITY CALLOWAY what perfection was, she'd say nothing and no one was truly capable of what society calls perfect. it's like the question "am i normal?" it's a trick question.
ask anyone else, though, and they'd say her, because that's what she presented to them. the utmost importance of her life was her public appearance and the way she acted.
serenity calloway is a performer. she's an actress. when she wakes up in the morning, she thinks of the ways she can improve the way people would see her as she stepped out the doors of her cabin.
that was every single day of her life, for the past, what? four years? she wasn't always like this. as a matter of fact, growing up, she was the exact opposite of what she is now. messy. unorganized. the definition of imperfection.
sometimes, she'd ask herself if she was happier that way.
well! that was years ago. she was a new person now, so it doesn't matter anymore.
doesn't it?
a nine year old serenity's legs swung back and forth as she listened to her father speak, not even wanting to let a word out.
"there's a place you're gonna go to," he told her this morning. "a place that has people that can take care of you in ways i can't."
ways you won't, serenity thought. she was always a smart girl, she could detect emotion. the worst part was she could tell when she wasn't wanted.
"why can't i just stay with you? i mean, you're my dad." she pointed out quietly, in hopes of maybe changing his mind.
she doubted it, though.
"i told you," adam calloway repeated. "i just can't take care of you anymore."
he could. he just didn't want to. she was simply too much to handle. too much to fix.
something she'd learn after spending time at camp half-blood not long after this conversation, was that demigods can't be fixed. they can't be saved.
serenity couldn't be saved. from herself or other people. and she knew that.
serenity was then handed over to an older goat-man named mattias hart, apparently called a satyr, before heading for a place her father requested her to stay. this was the day her life fell apart and it was no longer perfect. the day her father finally acted on the thought that his nine year old just wasn't enough.
"—enity. serenity!" mattias called for what was probably the third time.
"what?" serenity looked up and saw nothing but a forest that looked like it lead...somewhere, so she'd assumed they were almost at their destination.
"um." mattias paused, digging into his pockets frantically and pulling a note from it. "your dad gave me this."
he handed her the note and expected her to take a moment from walking to read it, but she simply unzipped her backpack and threw it in. she didn't need to look at the last thing her father ever told her and cry about it. "okay. whatever. can we just go?" her voice held a certain tone that was just so heartbreaking to hear from a nine year old little girl.
"...yeah!" mattias tried to sound enthusiastic for serenity's sake, but it didn't change anything. "yeah, uh, we're almost there. quite close, actually."
serenity didn't respond back, too stuck in her thoughts to speak. her father sent her away because she was too much of a mess. even a nine year old knew that. so, she realized that the only way this would never happen again is to...grow up, basically. stop being messy and start being more clean. more perfect.
something her father told her before she left was, "as sad as you could be, it's always easier to hide it and seem happier than you are, because eventually, you will be." he told her to always remember that. and she did. growing up at camp half-blood, she always remembered that. when she got claimed by the lady of the underworld, persephone, she remembered that. when she walked through the strawberry patch, she remembered that. she followed her father's instructions.
why didn't that make her happy like he said it would?
EVA'S UNNECESSARY COMMENTARY !
— adam's got some shit parenting and lots of issues apparently !
— published: october 19th 2024
— word count of 725
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𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
Pertualangan𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇, persephone's child, born with perfection and grace, met the boy, poseidon's child. a boy born opposite of her. [ percy jackson x daughter of persephone ! oc ] [ percy jackson and the olympians series: the lightning thief ]
