The second day was like a toothache: it was painful, but could be tolerated if she kept herself distracted. She transplanted some augeanthos blossoms to the other side of the island. She painstakingly gathered sunflower seeds and tossed them to the birds that were returning now that Leo wasn't scaring them away with smoke and noise.
On the third day, she walked past the beach, the garden, the satyr fountain, and the curtains around the cave entrance--all places where Leo Valdez had once walked and touched. Calypso found herself turning around, sure she saw Leo kneeling on the ground next to the fountain statues or at the water's edge as he tinkered with his astrolabe. Sometimes she thought she saw soot-stained clothes on the ground, discarded after another afternoon working constantly in his makeshift forge. She would catch glimpses of his impish smile, his curly hair. But when she looked, she only grasped empty space.
The earth goddess appeared in her dreams that night.
You have been maltreated, the woman murmured, eyelids closed. Mud swirled around her, encasing her slumbering shape like armor. The gods punished you for being the daughter of Atlas. They made you an exile. They cast you away like a forgotten trinket and left you to languish in your island prison for the crime of existing.
Most of it, Calypso conceded, was true. But she knew manipulation when she heard it. Gaea had some other purpose, that she would have Calypso serve.
What would your price be, Grandmother? she asked.
Your willing service, child of Atlas.
And what would you have me do?
You would elevate your father. I would restore your true magic to become the goddess you should have been.
A vague promise was worth about as much as the breath used to make it. She knew from experience. The gods had ignored and forgotten her, and so had all the demigods who had won her heart. She could only hope Leo was different. It was a foolish hope, but one that, once planted, gave her the strength to look upon the Earth Mother.
No, Calypso said. You may trespass upon my island. You shall not trespass in my dreams.
As you say, child of Atlas. Gaea smiled, an eerie expression, and for a moment, her eyes opened.
Sinkholes yawned in them, threatening oblivion. The dirt surrounding her bubbled like magma. She did not move, yet Calypso felt a malevolent sensation, like claws lunging at her.
YOU ARE READING
Resilience
Fanfiction*MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE HOUSE OF HADES AND THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS* What happened on Ogygia after Leo Valdez departed? How did the rise and fall of Gaea affect Calypso? This is a story of grief, resilience, and hope.
