Chapter 1
"Ouch!" A voice cried out. "That was my foot!"
The black void seemed to be speaking out, in the voice of a young girl - high pitched and squeaky. It startled me, when I came into this cave I was expecting to be alone. Turns out I was mistaken...
"Who goes there?", I yell out to the emptiness. "Where are you?"
I hear the sound of metal scraping on stone, and the area around me is filled with a dim light. Standing in front of me is a girl, maybe eight or nine, holding a torch in one hand and a rock in the other. She's wearing a blue dress, with little seashells hanging off the bottom, and is barefoot. Her hair is long and wavy, and much too close to the open flame. She stares at me with wide eyes, which are a brilliant mix of turquoise and navy. Compared to her tanned skin and freckles, they pop out even more. The little girl smiles at me, showing missing teeth.
"My name's Samantha", she says proudly, "what's yours?"
This girl is far too extroverted for my taste. The world hasn't hit her like a semi-truck going 80 km/h, and it shows. But, because of her age, or maybe just to have something to do, I decide to reply.
"I'm Kiki", I say quickly. Hopefully this ends the whole conversation, but Samantha seems to have other plans.
"That's such a fun name!" she exclaims, and her eyes light up. "Are you going to be my sister? Can you be? Please please pleaaaaasseeeeeee? I've always wanted a sister you know. Did you know that? My dad said that would be too much work, and that I should be happy being an only child because then he and my mom give me all the attention, but I don't want that! I want someone to hang out with..."
She continues to spew facts and words about her life at me, clearly not noticing I stopped paying attention a while ago. I hear her voice get higher as she asks me questions, but even if I wanted to reply I can't. She just doesn't give me enough time to before continuing on with her rambling. The constant jabbering is giving me some time to observe my surroundings.
The walls of the cave are glistening, and covered in shadows from the torch. I don't know why they look wet, there's no obvious source of water anywhere in here. Small plants cover the ground, moss and vines, the latter are climbing up the walls and clinging to the crevices along the rocky surface. When I look up at the ceiling, there's sharp stalactites hanging inches away from my face in some parts, while others are smaller. In the corner of the cave, hidden away and barely noticeable, is a nest like thing. I want to go check it out, but I'm not sure how I would be able to go over there without seeming rude. Maybe I should just shut down the conversation entirely.
I'm about to ask Samantha to stop talking when she says something so surprising I forget my whole train of thought.
"So, like, my dad, he's apparently some scary guy or whatever because he's Poseidon, but like I don't see what the big issue is. He's not even an important god, like Zeus-"
"SAMANTHA!" I shout at her.
She looks over at me, an expression of shock written all over her face. Her eyes are glossy, and tears are threatening to spill at any given moment. Oh Gods, I didn't mean to make her cry. But also, I really need her to repeat what she said, because there's no way I heard her right. Why's she crying anyways? It doesn't make sense. I should probably see if she's ok, right? Yes, I should. I need her to repeat what she said.
"I'm sorry, please don't cry, I didn't mean to startle you," I blurt out. Her crying falters a bit. "I'm really sorry. Could you just, like, repeat what you said? Please? I really need to know. Please?"
That was not the right thing to say at all. The minute the words come out of my mouth, she's right back to being quiet and looks at the ground in dismay. Small patches appear on the ground, followed by some sniffling, and I can tell she's started to cry. Without thinking, I go over and wrap her in my arms. She resists at first, but after a few seconds she gives in and hugs me back, her arms squeezing me as hard as she possibly can. My shirts getting wet from her snot and tears, but that's a problem for later. I think if I bring it up now, she'll just cry harder.
When she's seemed to calm down, she pulls away from me and sniffs again. Then, looking into my eyes, she takes a deep breath and starts to explain.
"My dad...is Poseidon. Like the Greek god Poseidon. I'm not supposed to tell people, which is why I was crying. Because I know if he finds out that I told you, we'll both be in danger of facing his wrath. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make your shirt all wet. Or ruin it. And I'm really hoping that I didn't just get you killed accidentally, because his anger will end up being a death sentence."
The last sentence hits me like a truck. I feel bad for this girl, and I wish I could help her out somehow. Somehow...like telling her my secret. The one that collides with her world, her perspective, everything. It's risky, and extremely dangerous, but maybe then I won't feel so alone. Ugh. I guess I should. I look down at this little girl standing in front of me, the top of her head barely reaching my shoulders. She needs to know that she's not alone.
"Samantha, listen to me. You can never utter a word about what I'm about to tell you to anyone ok?" I pause while she nods her head. "Ok. You're not alone. My dad, he's also a god. Except it's much worse. My dad is Hades, ruler of the Underworld. This is never to be mentioned again. But you are not alone."
The silence fills the cave, and as we stand there facing each other, the torch burns out. The darkness is almost refreshing, hiding the look on Samantha's face from my vision.
