I HAVE LIVED on the same island my whole life.
Everyday I see the same sights: the square houses, the dry cliffs, the endless ocean. Even at the island's highest point, you can not see another landmass. There is only the sea, glistening and blue.
At night, we light our homes with torches and oil lamps. Though it rarely gets cold, during the winter fires are all we have to keep us warm. If you want to get from one side of the island to the other, your only options are horses, mules, or skirting around Apollonisi's perimeter in a boat.
We live our lives the same way that we've been living for thousands of years. Little has changed since the original Spartan settlers came to the island just after their home was annexed into the Achaean League. They were determined to preserve not only the Spartan way of life, but an independent Spartan rule.
I am not opposed to change. Just not used to it. The change from Apollonisi to mainland Greece is a future two thousand years in the making that I have been shoved into head-first.
It's sunrise when we reach the mainland, the rosy sky blossoming over the city. A handful of colorful houses lounge alongside a low mountain, dipping into the water. A long gray pier reaches outwards into the smooth water, strange boats docked alongside it.
The biggest difference is all the noise. Large, brightly colored animals growl as they zoom between the houses, their roar so powerful I can feel it thrumming deep within my chest. From somewhere on the pier loud, strange music plays, though I see no musicians.
I don't want to look away.
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A Shrine to an Unknown God
FantasyAntigone Katsaros was born and raised in a cult. Now, at eighteen, she doesn't know what wifi is, but she's well-versed in the old gods. [A Wattpad featured story.]
