Heart Of Stone - Male!Medusa

Memories

I wasn't sure how I was supposed to explain my absence to Stelios when I found out he had been looking for me most of yesterday while I was on the island with Medein. I could barely even keep my thoughts straight right now, my mind constantly shifting back to memories of a sun-warmed hand resting on my cheek before moving to gently push the small boat free of the island's sand.

Stelios had been the last thing on my mind for hours now. We hadn't been scheduled to meet up again until tomorrow morning. It was only when I got back to the inn and found out that he had come looking for me since yesterday afternoon that had me suddenly wondering if something was wrong. The guilt that came with thinking I might have worried the man, not having thought to leave a message for just in case, had me quickly shoving my things in my room before I went looking for the man.

I could only hope that everything was okay and I was just worrying too much.

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Giving Stelios a relieved hug, I assured him that I was alright and I hadn't changed my mind about hiring his services as my boatsman. I should have expected that he would hear about me hiring another boat yesterday morning, but I hadn't even thought about it, nor about what he might think it meant.

For him to have worried that I didn't want his services any longer had me quickly shooting that thought out of his mind with almost frantic explanations of just how close I had come to wrecking the boat I had rented on the way back. I had barely noticed the rocks sticking out of the water at one point until it was almost too late to turn. I was most assuredly not meant to pilot a boat by any means.

I was barely able to sit in the driver's seat of a car these days, only forcing myself to do so because I didn't want to burn through my money taking taxis everywhere when I could spend it on more enjoyable things like this trip or my new home. The idea of what could happen if I screwed up again had me feeling stressed every time I got into a car, my back and neck aching by the time I got where I was going. I walked whenever I could and saved the driving for when I absolutely had to.

Maybe that is what I liked about cities like this one. Everything you could need was in walking distance and to explore the islands, there seemed to be plenty of sailors willing to take you out for some extra pay. That and wrecking a small boat would usually only mean you hit a rock or some such thing in the water. Rarely would it involve another boat, keeping the suffering to yourself most of the time.

Of course, most of these thoughts I kept to myself, simply telling Stelios that he was far more able than I when it came to steering a boat and that I had no plans to continue this journey without him. He was valuable to me, both as my boatsman and as my friend.

That was why I felt a twinge of guilt for not telling him about Medein being on that island, but I couldn't take a chance that he would either stop bringing me to that island or he would find out about the things written in my notebook. Things I did not want anyone to ever read, especially a friend I treasured so much.

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We decided to spend part of the day together, sharing lunch before wandering the city while Stelios pointed out places he thought I might be interested in and told me what changes had been made during his lifetime. Not that many changes took place here outside of maybe new curtains or the parents retiring and their children taking over a business. He talked about who married who, which child ran off for a scandalous relationship (usually with a foreigner) and what children grew up and made a place even more successful than it had been.

For dinner, we ended up going back to Stelios' home and shared the meal with one of his sister's children who had no family of her own to care for and instead would come cook for him from time to time. The food was less touristy than what I had been served so far, a definite adventure for my taste buds, but I enjoyed every bite of it.

Of course, since this was a coastal town, most of the dishes on the table included fish or other seafaring creatures, but there were also other things like the plate of bread and homemade cheese or the stuffed grape leaves piled in the center of the table. I couldn't help taking a second helping of those after trying one, the taste of the herbs and rice hidden within almost causing me to melt in my seat.

The only thing that kept this meal from being perfect was how often his neice was caught staring at my face, although I never said a thing when our eyes met over the table. The casual talk would pause for a moment before Stelios would attempt to bring it back, mentioning one of the many fishing ventures he made into the waters, wanting to make sure that he was not overfishing the closer waters along the shore. It took a while before the rest caught on and started following suit, but at least it finally did and helped to ensure the fish had safe territory to recover their numbers.

The many memories he shared did help keep things from getting too uncomfortable, but I was not able to gain that casual ease I had attained in my time with just him. It felt like I was starting all over again, only this time it was a woman and I knew from experience how easily another woman could pick a person apart if they felt like it. After all, I had seen it happen enough back in my school days, all the way to college where I had only managed to avoid it because of Tomas. Tomas...

The night ended shortly after the first tear trailed down my cheek, Stelios walking me back to my hotel as he asked if it was because of his niece that I was crying. Assured that it was not caused by her but simply painful memories, I told him I would get some sleep and be ready to go to the island come morning.

Even if Medein hadn't been waiting for me, I needed the peacefulness that the island held for me. The island had become my sanctuary and I found that Medein had simply added to that feeling with his quick and easy acceptance of me.

What sleep I managed to get that night was troubled at best.