Thalassa

Chapter 6

When Thea eyes shot open, the sky was ablaze with hues of orange and pink. Her disturbance was caused by voices. Not the quiet voices she heard while walking, but collective voices shouting. She clambered the white wall behind her, but still tried to crouch in case. There was several men by the entrance of the house. Among them, was her father, Proteo. Her arm hung down to grab the chiton and she jumped to the house's side of the wall. The back door was open. Thea removed her sandals, tucked them under her arm, and ran, careful to tread lightly, looking for a kitchen. She felt the cool of the tiles beneath her feat as she scanned the room. She saw a sack, secured under her arm with the chiton and snatched a loaf of bread on the table. Stealing was never something she approved of, but she had had no time to get some fruit. She thanked whoever lived in the house quietly and asked for forgiveness from the gods. It was a time of desperation. She heard the voice of one man.

"Please, lady. If you would let me come through. This is my child I'm looking for." The unmistakable low calm voice that belonged to her father said. This was her cue to leave. She stuffed the bread and the chiton in to the sack and sprinted, slipping a little on the tiles. When she was over the wall, she jumped up to check if anyone had followed her. There was just one person around the back yard of the house. He turned to face Thea. Mikalis. But there was no time for shock or reunions or promises. Thea just smirked quickly and continued, darting through the bushes till she reached the sea. She dived in swiftly. But even below the surface, she could here the tramping of many feet and shouts and calls. Suddenly, Mikalis had joined her under the water too. Thea lifted her head up for a final inhalation of the sweet air and swam quickly, not wasting time looking back for Mikalis. Never had she swam so far without breathing, but then again never had she been so determined to leave past behind. She would have wanted to take Mikalis, but she knew, it wouldn't work that way. So she swam. The salt had prickled at her eyes so she squeezed them shut and concentrated on moving somewhere. Eventually, Thea decided that she was not going anywhere fast if she didn't breathe, although when she did, her surroundings were surprising. There was no sign of men, of Mikalis, or of the island she left behind. Just a tiny little island in front of her and nothing else but the sea around her. It looked fairly normal, but completely unfamiliar. She couldn't have swam so far, could she? Thea kicked her self to a small golden beach. She saw no houses or olive trees. Just lots of pine. She felt no need to go exploring though. The exhaustion was tugging her down the the floor. Thea reached into the soaking wet sack. The bread wasn't edible now, and even if it was Thea wouldn't have been keen to eat the slop that it had become. Fortunately, there were three apples that Thea hadn't even known were in the sack. She started to wipe one on her own chiton, but then realising it was pointless, as that was also dripping and salty. So she just bit through the self in until the joyful taste of the perfectly ripe fruit filled her mouth. It made her smile as a little juice dropped from her lips. After finishing the apple Thea could think of nothing better to do but to sleep. Maybe this was a dream, maybe she had hit her head on a rock while swimming. But she would just have to wait till morning.

The sun shone down on Thea's face as she sat, covered in sand on the same beautiful strange beach. Rubbing sleep from her eyes she got up, packed the chiton and walked towards the dense pine before her. The quiet here was different to the last island's. It was just silence, not the chirp of a cricket to be heard. She studied her surroundings. The pine seemed to almost sparkle, as if rain had fallen on it. But when Thea touched it, it was dry as a bone. The ground was not dusty, but lush green grass like Thea had never seen before. She plucked a handful and lifted it to her nose. It was like the perfume of Spring. Then the silence was broke, and a distant rhythmic sound of feet hitting the ground began to flow through the trees. Sheer panic of being found caused Thea to jump up the nearest tree and be hidden by the green needles. The source of the noise was revealed. It was galloping. But not from horses. From centaurs. About twenty charged through laughing, dark tangled hair and chestnut hides. Thea was sure now, it was dream. She waited for the herd to pass beneath her dangling feet and landed promptly on the grass. She continued to walk and found a watering hole. She dipped her finger in a licked it. Fresh water. Leaving the sack on the bank, she dived in, coolness rippling over her skin. She threw her head back an laughed. She knew she must have looked ridiculous, but she didn't care. This place was magnificent, though just a dream. She might as well enjoy. Next to her, another head popped up from the water, and it was followed by twenty others. Thea's hands were firmly over he mouth. Whispered bounced back and forth around her.

"Is she a nymph?"

"Definitely not a naiad!"

"She could be a nymph!"

"Sisters!" The whispering stopped and all of the head turned to a nearby rock. A beautiful girl, with hair the colour of embers, was sitting on it, just her toes lightly touching the surface of the water.

"Now, I ask of you to explain yourself, if you could?" She nodded her head towards Thea, who had just noticed her eyes, aqua blue and wise.

"I... I am a sea nymph." Thea lied. She was sure they would accept her more easily if she chose this story.

"How wonderful to have a visitor! But how did you get here? Ocean nymphs live on the opposite of the island? They never leave there either?" The girl questioned.

"Oh right. Yes. I was curious. So I travelled."

"Well!" The girl grinned. "Welcome to our river! Stay as long as you wish!" She announced, now standing. The other girls cheered, and one grabbed Thea and took her to the rock. She gestured for her to climb.

"My name is Eleni. I am the eldest of my sisters. What's your name?"

"I.. I'm afraid I have forgotten. It must have disowned me when I left the sea?" Thea replied. Eleni cackled, but in a friendly way. She leaned in to Thea and whispered.

"I know who you are, Thea , daughter of Proteo. I know your story. But don't be afraid, my sisters do not and they don't need to." And she smiled softly and took her hand.

"Then we shall call you Thalassa!" And the nymph cheered once more. Eleni pushed Thea into the water and jumped in after. The nymphs dove and splashed and anyone who passed the river would hear echoes of laughter. Thea's mind was lifted from her memories of Athens and her old life.