CHAPTER 7: THE FRIENSHIP BOND
It was Monday morning and Athena woke after having a strange dream in which Tom got cross with her because she had forgotten to buy him a birthday present. She knew it was the guilt of only seeking to buy his present today when his birthday was tomorrow. Wandering downstairs, Athena was still trying to think of what to buy Tom. Last year she had given him £20 as she’d been hopeless, the previous year she had given him the video game he had wanted and the year before that she had persuaded her mum to take them surfing at Newquay for the day. Tom had loved Athena’s gifts but none of them truly meant anything and this year she was completely stuck on what to buy, and highly doubted finding anything in Perrenporth.
She put some toast in the toaster and when it popped up, she buttered the crispy surface. As she ate it over a plate, her mum came down the stairs.
They had not spoken properly since yesterday morning’s argument; even dinner had been consumed in silence. However, Hilary looked determined to start fresh today, but she looked a little flustered, even as she spoke.
“Sleep well?”
“Mm” Athena grunted
“Any idea what you’re going to get Tom today?” she falsely smiled
“No, but I’ll know when I see it” well that certainly didn’t sound convincing.
“What kind of thing are we looking for?”
“I don’t know” Athena put emphasis on the I as if to point out that she was the one choosing the present, not Hilary.
“Okay then” Hilary continued “I’m sure you’ll find something”
“Yeah” Athena said with a slight air of sarcasm, yet she wasn’t sure if she meant it. With that, she strolled out of the room and got dressed upstairs.
After that she decided to read the book. Athena remembered marking the page that had the strange symbols of ‘για την τύχη’ (gia ti̱n týchi̱) she had a sudden tempting urge to rip open the envelope, and what’s more, this time around, she felt like she needed it. A voice in her head told her she could use it. Immediately, as if it had made sense all along, Athena grabbed the book from under her pillow and found the page split where the envelope lurked. Carefully, she pulled it out and opened the crimson, blood-like seal. She dug her hand in and felt a thick string, pulling it out, she glared at it. What was it? The rope-like string was loose, yet strong, it felt soft as her fingers caressed it, yet it itched with every movement. And on the end of it, secured with some rusting metal clips and knots, was a large tooth that looked like it should belong to a dinosaur, maybe it once did. ‘I could give this to Tom’ she thought, but it didn’t feel right. Instead, her hands felt round the string and involuntarily placed it round her own neck. It dangled next to the golden oval locket she wore with her dad’s ashes in. All of a sudden, Athena experienced a strange sensation, even though the weight of it had added to her own mass, she somehow felt lighter, free, as if there was no weight on her at all; it was liberating. She felt like all her worries had been taken away and deposited in a far long-gone land, as if she needn’t care anymore. Then the abrupt feeling faded, but still lingered slightly, in her heart. She sighed and then sat down to read whilst her mother got ready.
Athena turned to a headline entitled: ‘The Friendship Bond.’ It seemed like more of a sub-heading, but it intrigued her, she read:
‘The friendship bond is a most loyal and powerful gift, if you have it, you don’t always recognise this most high honour. It is a seemingly unbreakable bond of friendship between two people. These chosen ones have such a trusting and loyal gift that for centuries men have sought to create this bond. But it has become apparent that unless you have known someone since childhood or have had unique experiences with them, you are not often blessed. Men crave it, to have a so called sidekick to watch their back, however all experiments have failed as loyalty can fade as quick as blood spurts from an artery.’
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