Forgotten memories

Strawberries delight

The strawberry fields were absolutely brimming with ripe berries, glowing red under the warm sun. We were lounging around, just sitting there and eating strawberries, savoring the sweetness while soaking up the sunlight. Percy and Annabeth had finally gotten together—took them long enough.

Now, I was lying flat on my back, hands folded behind my head, the sun beating gently down on my face. Christine was stretched out next to me, and the others were scattered nearby, casually munching on strawberries. It felt... peaceful.

Nico was sitting with us, his gaze fixed on the Big House in the distance, silent for a while before he finally spoke up. "There's something that's been bothering me..." His voice was quiet, but it broke through the lazy hum of the afternoon.

I cracked one eye open, groggy and not in the mood for deep thoughts, but I raised an eyebrow to let him know he could go on.

"You said the word: Marionette," he said slowly. "What do you think that was about? Do you remember?"

That woke me up a little. I pushed myself up onto my elbows, squinting at him. "I... don't remember anything. It's like when I first got here—just this faint, blurry recollection of what happened. But that one word? Marionette. That stuck."

"Like... a marionette doll? With strings?" Christine asked, lifting her hands and wiggling her fingers like a puppeteer.

I gave a shrug. "Like something's gonna Ivo Caprino me? No way," I said with a short laugh.

Christine tilted her head, confused. "What's an Ivo Caprino?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "Old filmmaker. Used dolls for movies way back in the day. Norway. Not really important."

Just then, a soft breeze swept through the strawberry fields, rustling the grass and leaves, carrying with it the sweet scent of summer. And then—I froze.

Tik tok. Tik tok.

The voice was back. A woman's voice, soft and sleepy, whispering like it came from inside my head. And just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

Christine's eyes were on me now, worried. "What's wrong?"

I hesitated for a moment. No one else had noticed—of course they hadn't. And even if I told them, they wouldn't believe me.

"It's nothing," I muttered, leaning over and kissing her before I could think twice.

The others immediately erupted into snickers, but Christine froze for a second before kissing me back.

"Well, have you two actually become a couple now, or are you just... you know... snogging?" Annabeth asked, her voice dripping with amusement.

I broke the kiss with an exaggerated sigh. "Never use the word snogging ever again," I said, glaring at her while everyone burst into laughter.

"I'm genuinely curious," Percy added, raising an eyebrow. "So... are you boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

I glanced at Christine, and the look on her face told me she was wondering the exact same thing. So, I turned to her with a little smirk. "So... you wanna be?"

Her cheeks flushed bright red as Annabeth tried—and failed—to stifle another laugh. Christine bit her lip, shrugged like she was trying to play it cool, and said, "Might as well... you kissed me first." Then a mischievous smile crept across her face. "Without my consent, too."

Everyone's heads snapped toward me like what did you just do?

"You kissed me without consent too!" I shot back defensively, and that did it—everyone completely lost it, laughter spilling across the strawberry fields. Even me.

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What's up, buckaroos! It's me, ya boy.

So, here's the deal—I'm thinking I might take a little break after finishing this up. Just, you know, recharge a bit before diving back in. Then, I'm planning to pick things up again in the next book series.

Right now, I'm leaning toward starting somewhere in the middle of The Son of Neptune, mainly because I've got a bunch of cool ideas for how to weave my characters into that storyline. Honestly, I think it could turn out pretty awesome.

Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoyed this little story. It's been a blast putting it together for you.

Alright, that's all from me for now.

Peace out,- B