Death isn't on my to do list today, Briar mused. Of course it never was, but ever since Greece the universe seemed to be trying to schedule it in.
Briar lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling as she often did. The only noises were the staticky radio in the corner of the room, which was playing classic rock softly, and the faint rustling of her mother downstairs.
Her mind was filled with theories and ideas about books she had read, and Briar took no note of the sights she had seen a million times before; the light grey walls, the afternoon sun filtering through the windows or the faint marks on the ceiling where a year before she had peeled of the glow in the dark stars.
The door opened without a squeak, and Briar did not realize that it had opened, until her cat jumped onto her lap. She looked over, her eyes landing on her mother, while sitting up and scratching the head of the cat.
"What's up mom?" Briar asked. Her mother smiled, and Briar could tell she was pleased about something. She wondered what.
Marie Addison was a short, middle aged woman with long, raven black hair that she typically kept in a braid. She was tan from hours spent from in the garden. Although she had taken wonderful care of Briar over the years, she had become quite distant and forgetful after she had parted ways with her husband a few years before. Briar missed the days when her mother had been as bright and bouncy as the shining sun.
Briar, on the other hand, knew her looks favoured her father. She had short fiery hair and pale, freckled skin which would never tan, despite her best efforts. She was also tall and somewhat thin, which during school other people had loved to pick out.
When Briar came back to reality, her mother was still grinning and had a mischievous glimmer in her dark blue eyes, which was the one trait they had in common. Briar began to become extremely curiously.
"Well, what is it? Out with it woman," she teased.
Her mother's grin got wider, which Briar had almost thought to be impossible, and finally her mother said, almost screamed, " We're taking you to Greece!"
Briar was exalted. "Really?" she asked. When her mom nodded, she continued," It's about time!"
Her grandmother had grown up in Greece, and she had known it was only a matter of time. Her mother began to talk extremely fast about the trip and where she wanted to go and how Briar's grandmother had gotten tickets for a really good price and Briar would have to thank her on the way over and- Oh no, Briar thought.
"Grandmother is coming?" she inquired.
Her mom frowned. "Of course Briar, it's where she was born after all." Briar tried to muffle her sigh.
It wasn't that she was not grateful for her grandmother getting her this trip, her grandmother simply wasn't the average grandparent.
Everywhere her mother was once outgoing and bouncy, her grandmother was quiet and imposing. She didn't bake Briar cookies, she drilled her on the Greek alphabet. She even preferred to have Briar call her by her first name, Thania, and though they could have some good conversations, her grandmother creeped her out sometimes. Briar couldn't imagine spending a whole vacation with her.
Not wanting to think about it or argue, Briar switched the topic. "So when are we going?"
"The day before your birthday, so you better start packing!"
***
Briar didn't really know what she had been imagining for when she finally went to Greece, but the jet lag was definitely not on the list.
The flight over had been mostly uneventful, despite some minor turbulence upon take off. For most of the flight her mother stared out the window, enthralled with being above the clouds.
Briar tried to sleep off the pain in her ears and her slight nausea. When she wasn't sleeping, she would notice Thania staring at her, expectantly, as if she was expecting Briar to do something, though as to what she had no idea.
Mostly, Briar tried to ignore her grandmother by burying herself in a book, and she hoped to god she wasn't being watched while she slept too.
Once they got near Greece, Briar's mother began to chatter to Thania of all the things that she was looking forward to doing. Briar didn't really listen, she was thinking about the book she had finished. Her grandma listened silently.
How a woman as stoic as Thania had had a child as outgoing as her mother was beyond Briar's comprehension.
It was quite late at night when they arrived in Greece. The hotel was quite close to the airport, and Briar was disappointed she didn't get to see much of Athens on the ride over.
When they got there, she struggled to drag her bags to her room. I need more arm strength, Briar thought, annoyed. Her rooms were separate from those of her mom and Thania's, which, being tired and out of whack from the time zone shifts, Briar didn't find odd at the time.
The room was clean and respectable, with a single bed and a tv in the corner which Briar doubted she would use. The light in the room came from a lamp on a nightstand next to the bed.
From what she had gathered from her mother's ramblings on the plane, they would spend a couple days in Athens and then go to Thessaly where her grandmother had grown up. She had also mentioned something about giant hills made of sandstone, and though it had all sounded kind of interesting, Briar had been a little distracted at the time.
After changing and getting ready, Briar flopped onto the bed and was so tired she didn't have any trouble drifting off into sleep.Hey! Welcome to my story. I do warn you its a working progress, so any constructive criticism or feedback is fantastic. I have recently changed the main character's name from Ara to Briar, so if you see anything I missed or any errors or plot holes, pointing them out is appreciated. A short and slightly boring chapter, but I promise they got longer and better.
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Of Soul And Spirit
FantasyBriar Addison always knew she would end up traveling to Greece, her grandmothers childhood home, and is taken there for her as 18th birthday. There, she is submerged into an unexplainable world full of angels, hidden societies, powers, and war. Naa...