Calypso

The Story of Percy - Part 5

A long time later, I was still tending to the garden. I'd planted so many flowers over the years, it sometimes took days to tend to just a patch. Luckily, many of the plants grew just as well wild as docile.
I heard Percy's footsteps on the sand, and I turned to look at him.
"He ordered you to leave," I guessed.
"Well, not ordered. He gave me a choice."
I look up into his eyes, searching. Would he stay? If not, why'd he say that? "I promised I would not offer."
"Offer what?"
I hesitated. "For you to stay."
"Stay," he repeated. "Like, forever."
"You would be immortal on this island," I said quietly. "You would never age or die. You could leave the fight to others, Percy. You could escape your prophecy."
He looked stunned. "Just like that?"
I nodded slowly, unsure of what I was doing. "Just like that."
"But... my friends."
A pang of pain and loneliness hit me at the word 'friends.' I stood and took his hand.
"You asked about my curse, Percy. I did not want to tell you. The truth is the gods send me companionship from time to time. Every so often, they allow a hero to wash up on my shores, someone who needs my help. I tend to him and befriend him, but it is never random. The Fates make sure that the sort of hero they send..." My voice trembles, and I stop speaking in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.
His hand squeezes mine, sending pulses of electricity and pain and hurt and wishes and sorrow through my whole body. "What? What have I done to make you sad?"
I lower my voice to a whisper to keep it from turning into a sob. "They send a person who can never stay. Who can never accept my offer of companionship for more than a little while. They send me a hero I can't help... just the sort of person I can't help falling in love with."
The night went silent. After a minute, he finally spoke. "Me?"
I managed a small smile. "If you could see your face. Of course, you."
"That's why you've been pulling away all this time?"
"I tried very hard. But I can't help it. The Fates are cruel. They sent you to me, my brave one, knowing that you would break my heart." I resisted adding the 'again' that pulsed through me.
"But... I'm just... I mean, I'm just me."
"That is enough. I told myself I would not even speak of this. I would let you go without even offering. But I can't. I suppose the Fates knew that, too. You could stay with me, Percy. I'm afraid that this is the only way you could help me."
"I can't," he said. I looked down at the sand. "I would never do anything to hurt you, but my friends need me. I know how to help them now. I have to get back."
I took a deep breath of the chilly morning air.
I slowly leaned up on my toes and kissed Percy on the forehead.
"Then come to the beach, my hero. And we will send you on your way."