That fragile scrap of glass plummeted to the floor and exploded into thousands of shards.
"Can I tell you a secret?"
Alex and I were climbing up a sturdy, aged Oak Tree in the park. In case you were curious who won the Race, it was me. Obviously.
"Yeah sure."I replied to Alex as I shook a thick branch above my head to make sure it could my weight. The branch didn't snap or sag so I swung onto it easily and watched as Alex clambered up besides me."What's up?"I asked.
"You'll think I'm..crazy."Alex muttered softly, mostly speaking to himself, rather than me.
"Try me."I shredded a red-leaf-turning-black into small little minuscule pieces. Wherever I went plants always shriveled up and died. Another GREAT ability I have as a daughter of the Lord of the Dead and Underworld himself. Lucky me.
"I...I see...creatures..monsters..sometimes"My new, I guess you could say, friend, said so softly, I had to lean in closer to be able to hear."No one but me sees them."Seeing my dark eyes widen, he exhaled in a disappointed kind of way."You think I'm insane."
"No."I breathed. Was it even possible for a mortal, a MORTAL, to see through the mist?!"You..you're not insane Alex. They're..real."
Alex just laughed at me. A laugh that didn't believe. I could tell through the laugh that he WANTED to believe..believe what I said. But it just didn't seem possible. It didn't seem like that could even happen. He didn't believe me.
"Alex, I'm serious."My darkened eyes met his warm brown ones,"It's real."
Alex ripped his eyes away from mine."No...it's..it's not possible."He shook his head,"You're just as insane as I am...aren't you..we..we're both crazy.."
I bit my lip and looked down at the ground below us. "Then how do you explain the monsters that you see?"I demanded, speaking up and leveling my eyes back to Alex. I wasn't going to give up just because this mortal didn't believe it."You KNOW they exist It's not just a figment of your imagination. It's too real."
"I.."Alex's shoulders sagged."I don't know."He finally replied.
"Do you know anything about Greek mythology?"
He turned his head to look at me."What? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Those monsters you see, they're basically Greek monsters."A hydra, for example. It was slain by the famous Heracles. Well, hydras exist. And let me tell you, they are fierce, vicious, monsters that you never want to deal with."
The time when I was in Ohio, I remember, roaming the streets of Uptown Westerville, came to mind. I was just rounding the corner after that really good Ice Cream place, Graeter's, and then cutting through that Parking Lot behind the buildings and shops. And then that Hydra attacked me. It's Nine scaly heads snarling at me..the sharp teeth bared..the-
"Viola? Earth to Viola?"
I blinked several times to return back to reality and said,"S-sorry. What'd you, uh, say?"
He was looking at me strangely."You okay?"
"Yeah..totally fine."
He didn't believe me, but continued,"So..Hydras..exist?"
"Yup."
"What about..Minotaurs?"
"Those exist too."
"So let's assume these..monsters..do exist."Alex shrugged."Then why can't anyone else see them?"
"I..I don't exactly know."I admitted sheepishly."I never knew Mortals could...see through the mist."I added to my comment.
"..Wow."Alex said, his voice quieter than a whisper. But I didn't have to lean in this time to know what he said. It was kind of obvious he would say that. I bet anyone would.
"And, monsters aren't the only ones that exist."I explained. Hey, he knew about the Monsters..so why should I not tell him about the rest?"The Greek Gods exist."Seeing his astonished face, I continued my terrific explanation."And the Fates. And...Demigods."
"..Demigods?"I take it he obviously didn't have much knowledge on Greek Mythology.
"Offspring of a God, and Mortal."I clarified.
"Offspring of a God..."Alex swallowed."And how..may I ask..do you know about all of..this?"
"Well..um.."He knows about Monsters, Demigods, and Gods. Why not tell him my secret? But I barely knew him. I just met him. He could tell other people. But would they listen to him, nor believe him? Most likely..no. What harm would it do? Would Dad be erm, upset with me? Who cares about Dad. He's nothing to me."I'm a Demigod."I blurted out.
Awestruck, Alex said,"R-really?"He shook his head."This is crazy man. But...I-I'm not crazy! I'm not insane!"He grinned, overjoyed."I'm not insane, Vi. I thought I was, but I'm not!!!"He nearly shook with happiness and relief.
I gave him a simple, blunt nod.
"If you're a..demigod,"Alex said the word 'demigod' like it was a foreign word."Who's your..godly parent?"
I hesitated for a nanosecond before saying,"Hades."Take that Dad. You told me not to tell anyone about me. About my history. But I'm already going to. You haven't done anything major to help me. You won't tell me where my siblings are. You just want ME to be the person in that STUPID prophecy so YOU can PROVE to your STUPID GODLY FRIENDS that your children are worth something too. Well guess what Dad, you cannot just dump me out here BY MYSELF. A FOURTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. AND LEAVE ME ON MY OWN. That's just messed up on so many levels I cannot explain.
"The Lord of the Underworld-"
Before he could continue I said simply,"Yes."
Alex then asked me curiously,"Where's you..mortal mom then?"He also said the word 'mortal' like it was a foreign word. But I don't blame him. I guess Mortals don't call each other mortals..
"Dead."A flash of anger and hatred clouded my eyes for a millisecond. Then, it was gone.
"Oh, I'm s-"
"I'm sorry?"I snapped."I'm sorry for what, exactly? I'm sorry for doing absolutely nothing related to my mom's death?"I let the tears fall freely, not bothering to wipe them away."It wasn't your fault."
Alex's lips twitched into a smile."How'd it, er, happen?"
I brushed away the few tears that had fallen with the back of my hand."Zeus."More hatred seethed inside of me."He struck the hotel with lightning. Dad saved Nico, Bianca and I. It was Seventy years ago."
"Seventy years?!"Alex exclaimed.
"I was in the Lotus Hotel and Casino with my siblings. Time passes strangely there. Then a fury had us bathe in the River Lethe to wipe our memories."
"Why do you uh, look Fourteen?! Where ARE your siblings? How do you remember all of that if your memory was wiped?!?!"The words rushed out quickly.
"Physically, I'm Fourteen. Mentally, I'm Fourteen. In reality, I'm..well..old. Bianca's dead. I don't where Nico is. And two years ago I met my dad..Hades. He told me almost everything."
Alex tried to absorb all of this new information."So you've been hunting for your brother and hunting monsters?"
"Hunting monsters is more of a hobby."It was a dry joke. A stupid attempt to lift MY mood, rather than his. But it failed.
"Wow."He repeated for the umpteenth time, absent to the fact that he's said that about a million times already.
"I have no idea where Nico is."I stared at the crumbling leaf in my hands.
"You'll find him sooner than later."
"Are you sure about that? I've been looking for TWO years. He could anywhere here."I nearly exploded with a concoction of emotions.
"I wonder if he's forgotten me. I think about that everyday. I wonder if he's moved on. Without me. He's TEN. I missed TWO years BLOODY years of his life. I wonder if he even needs me anymore."That's when I broke into pieces. And I didn't cry jut a tear or two. It was a marathon of tears running down my cheeks. The emotions and feelings taking over me.
That fragile scrap of glass plummeted to the floor and exploded into thousands of shards.
