Page 14 of Poseidon's Island Flower

Athena stood, reaching out her hand, but I backed away.

“Don’t” I shook my head. “Please don’t touch me.”

“Poseidon, today has been a lot,” Athena soothed. “You have deviated from a schedule, but you got out in the sun, you were around humans, people. Today has been a success. Don’t sell yourself short.”

I bit my cheek, I could taste the blood pooling in my mouth.

I needed normalcy. I neededmynormalcy.

“I’ll be in my room. I do not wish to be disturbed.”

They let me turn my back to them. I reached in my pocket to pull out a handkerchief to open the door to my room. Pushing it open, I closed it and leaned against the door.

Taking long, deep breaths, I counted to twenty forwards and backwards until my racing heart calmed.

They did not know how much I have tried over the months. How each day slowly eats away at me.

Sleep is in short supply since arriving at the surface. I do not have the depths of the ocean and the fish swimming around my bedroom to flutter their fins and help me find sleep. The marine life helped me not feel alone.

Zeus and Athena are only here because they begged to be. They want to see me get better, but how can they change their tune after so many years of leaving me in the depths of the ocean?

Is there something more going on that I am unaware of?

Since my search for a mate, the oceans have stirred. The seas have not been calm; they are no longer predictable. The moons of Bergarian and the moon of earth can no longer help the tides.

Surely it wasn’t getting worse, was it?

I checked the room’s thermostat; it was the perfect temperature for me to rest. I relaxed more as I stepped into the room and around the bed. Everything was in order, nothing out of place.

However, the pillow, a pinch of fabric had fallen backward on the corner.

My fingers ball into fists, the sun darkening outside. The comforter, meant to show me the currents of the ocean, now had white streaks streaming through it. My brow furrowed, my teeth grinding as I ripped the pillow from the bed.

Humans.

They couldn’t follow one request.

The sky lit up with a sudden burst of lightning, and Zeus’s booming yell echoed from the other room.

The thunderous waves crashed onto the beach, spraying droplets of salty water into the air. I could feel the dangerous tug of the tides pulling away from the sand. My heart raced, turmoil roaring inside me.

This was my safe room.

This was where I could rest, where I had no worries about anyone or anything bothering my things, and my bed was to be untouched.

I ripped the pillow from the bed, slinging it onto the floor. A guttural growl rose from my throat, and another wave crashed onto the beach.

“Poseidon!” Zeus and Athena yelled in the other room. My door was locked, my powers sealing me inside.

We could feel the vibrations of human screams reverberating outside our beach front suite. The anguished screams of terror and fear ignited my fury.

They touched my things.

I went to rip the comforter that was covered in gigantic white, roaring waves until a smell of jasmine and chamomile wafted into the air. My body stilled of its own accord.

The waves on the comforter pacified, and the ocean outside calmed itself as I took large tantalizing breaths in. I turned, picking up the pillow.

With one hand, I pulled it to my nose, finding the source of the smell.

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