Gone with the Tide

Chapter 3

"Like some wines our love could neither mature nor travel."
-Graham Greene
———————————

Sitting in the van was boring. I fidgeted, hummed, whistled, read and slept until I felt like I was going to burst at the seams with energy. The good thing was, Percy was the same way and talking to each other burned off a little bit of that explosive energy.

"Hey, where are we staying?" I asked, leaning on Percy.

Percy fiddled with Riptide, spinning it through his fingers.

"You're staying in an apartment on the same floor as mine. Lucky for you, there was one available." Percy replied absentmindedly, still hyper focused on the pen.

"Cool. That's very convenient." I replied back , making small braids in my hair then unraveling them over and over again.

We sat in silence for about 30 more seconds before I started quietly singing.

"I never tried to do anything. I never mean to hurt anyone." It was a bit muffled but Percy continued the line after me.

"I try, I try to be a good kid, a good kid, a good son."

Hazel looked back at us, since she was in the middle row and Percy and I were in the back.

"What are you guys singing?" She asked, propping her head on her hands.

"Good Kid. I think one of the Apollo campers wrote it about Percy." I replied, trying to remember the line after that.

"But no one ever will take my side. All I ever do is take the fall." A voice whisper-sung from the second row.

Hazel's head turned to her blonde seatmate, Pace.

"Malcolm, I didn't know you could sing." Percy teased.

Malcolm laughed and turned to the back, looking directly at Percy.

"Look who's talking Mr 'If I tried to sing it'd probably cause an avalanche'."

Hazel and I both quietly giggled, giving each other a quick look before settling back to where we were.

"Are we there yet?" I mumbled, already bored again.

"No. Go to sleep and maybe when you wake up we'll be there." Malcolm said, pulling out a sketchbook.

As he flipped to a clean page, I saw designs for different buildings and gardens and all sorts of things. Considering that everyone else seemed to have something to keep them occupied (Percy was telling Hazel his life story and vice versa), sleep seemed like the best option. As I closed me eyes, I could hear the rattling and bumping of the van rolling across the road, and the scratching of pencil on paper.

......

I opened my eyes to see a beach. My dad sat next to me, frozen. On his outstretched hand was a dove.

I tried talking to him, but it was like he was a statue. As I continued looking around, I heard the flapping of wings.

I looked over to see the dove now flying towards me. It landed on the ground, slowly shifting from a tiny dove to a woman. Aphrodite.

My mother.

"Piper." She said softly, her hair shifting from a golden yellow to a jet black.

"Mother." I said, picking at the sparkling polish Lacey had painted on my nails for my date yesterday.

She sighed.
"I know you would never betray the gods. I want you to know I will be watching you closely. Even though I haven't been the best mother, I still want you to survive and live a long, happy life. That's why I am giving you this advice. Surround yourself with people full of love. Hatred will make you more susceptible to being weakened and taken down by monsters. It doesn't matter what kind of love they hold, just that they have it, and plenty of it to give." My mother cupped my face in her hands, giving me a light kiss on the forehead before speaking once more.