Myth

Chapter 6: Marcus

I began rubbing my thumb against my index finger to bring my attention away from the fact that I was meeting someone who I heard bits of information about, but was never really given the big picture because I was thought to have been "too new". "Nervous?" Ethelios asked. "A bit." I replied, not wanting to lie. "Don't be, you'll love Marcus." he encouraged tensing my hand, attempting to send his good vibes to me. "I'm not so worried about that as much as I am worried he won't like me." I whispered so quietly that only I could hear.

The door opened quickly and silently by a thin man that looked somewhere between the ages of fifty and sixty. "Hello!" he said instantly perking up and looking at least ten years younger. "You had me worried for a while there, did you get here alright?"

"Yes, of course we did Marcus, you even oiled the garage door for us," Mira replied.

"Well, that was nothing, come in come in!"

We filed through the door one by one into a gorgeously decorated room filled with ornate vases and textured glass. The top part of the wall was lined with blue designs of Greek gods and creatures that were resting peacefully in a continuous field of various plants and cloud shapes. As far as I could tell the design did not repeat.

"Tea anyone? We've got homemade gingersnaps want to try one?" Marcus asked.

"Marcus, Evelyn is here," Nina stated.

"Evelyn? Ah yes our little newcomer, let's have a look-see."

Marcus looked in my direction and stared me in the eyes. I noticed that his held a kind twinkle, the type accompanied by a love of adventure, and meeting new people. "I believe we know a lot more about each other than either of us could have possibly realized," he said in a trance-like tone. I did not quite understand what he meant, but I had a feeling that he felt the same way.

"Well, I think it's best if we show this little one around, but first I want you to meet my lovely wife Mae," Marcus declared, breaking away from the slight awkwardness of the first situation. The floor boards creaked and a metallic scratching sound rang from the other room. A long shadow drifted towards us, and when I looked up I met the gaze of a beautiful lady. Her eyes were brown and held the same twinkle as her husband's. Her mocha hair was held up in a loose bun, though a few lucky hairs managed to escape. She was wearing in a floral print dress with an apron tied loosely around her petite waist. In her hands she held a whisk and a bowl full of funny looking goo that smelled delicious.

"Oh, Marcus why do you always build my entrance up to the newcomers, I bet she was expecting to see a model walking through the door, rather than a two-hundred-and-some-old lady," Mae said, placing her whisk in the bowl and grabbing Marcus' waist.

Two hundred and how old? Was she being serious, or just sarcastic? Although after all that I had been through told me that she may not be over exaggerating one bit. "Ah, Mae I was going to wait until after the tour of the house to tell her our ages, I had this whole plan of how I was going to explain everything, but don't worry I can fix it, I guess I don't flatter you enough," he teased squeezing her side.

"Evelyn, I know this may sound strange, and you might think we are lying, but we are in whole heartedness telling you the truth, are you ready?"

"Yes, I trust you."

"We are both two hundred and forty years old."

"I believe you."

"Oh you're wonderful, it took Demetri over there two hours."

Both he and I cracked a smile. "Just to get the topic of our age over with, Mae and I age slower than most humans. Every four years only another single year seems to be added to our lives and our features. Right now we look sixty years old."