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It’s the same routine every day.
I wake up and make my bed. I put on the clean set of clothes and sandals all of which I laid out the night before. I eat my daily morning breakfast, a banana with some peanut butter. I grab my list of things that I need to do for the day and began to check them off.
Make the bed.
Done.
Get ready for the day
Finished.
- Feed the animals, don’t forget the birds today
I had placed the food and water for the animals on my wagon the night before. I wheeled my wagon packed with supplies I was going to need for the morning and went out the door.
I went to the pond with the turtles first. It was about a 5-minute walk away from my house. I tossed them their usual food. I also tossed them a couple of scraps of fruits and veggies that I didn’t use for dinner last night as a treat. I saw them slowly react and start splashing around the water fighting for the food.
“Slow down boys and girls. There is enough for everyone,” I laughed.
I put back all of the food and water containers and wheeled my wagon a couple of yards away to the bird feeders. I refilled the water containers and placed more bird feed in the birdfeeder. The most courageous bird, a hummingbird who I called Apple, flew hurriedly to the bottle.
“Hi, Apple. I missed you bud.” I hadn’t seen him in a couple of days since it had not been in the list to come and refill their food containers. He, or her, I can’t tell the difference, is my favorite. Apple is the only hummingbird that isn’t afraid of coming close to me and is also the reason why I spend a lot of time near this area of the island. I love catching glimpses of Apple zooming across the trees.
I filled all of the birdfeeders and water containers nearby. I packed up all of my items back into the wagon and wheeled it toward the ducks. I usually try to steer clear of the ducks after the incident that I had with them a couple of years ago, or hundreds of years ago. I am unsure of how long it has been. I feel compelled to bring them food even though they could make it on their own without me. Otherwise, I would have to fill this time with another activity, and after a couple of years, probably more, I have not figured out how to replace it. I crossed that off of my list.
The next thing on my list was filling up a couple of jugs of drinking water in the nearby waterfall. The walk wasn’t too far but just far enough for my arms to get tired of pulling the wagon. I filled up a couple of jugs that should last me about 1-2 days and packed everything back up. I crossed it out of my list. I took a long swig from my water bottle. The sun was starting to shine up high in the sky, and I was starting to get hungry.
I needed to remove the clean clothes from the clothesline next. I walked back toward the house. It was a long walk back with the heavy water jugs in my wagon, but the cool breeze from the beach helped me cool off. I placed the wagon on the porch. I unloaded the items that I was no longer going to use and headed to the backyard toward my clothes. I neatly folded my clothes into the basket nearby, carried them inside the house, and put them away in my drawers. I crossed that off my list, and it was time for lunch.
I made myself a salad from the veggies in my garden. I realized that I was running low on some vegetables, so I wrote down picking vegetables on my list. I left some extra for dinner.
I ate in silence listening to the waves of the ocean.
I placed the dirty clay plates back on the bucket, doing the dishes was later on in my list.
I crossed eating lunch off my list. I went back to my wagon. I packed a bathing suit, dinner, silky blanket, book, and my sewing supplies for the afternoon. I grabbed a clean basket for the veggies and went out the door.
The afternoons in Ogygia are the hardest for me. In the mornings, I have a lot of tasks to do which makes the time go by quickly. I try to structure my tasks accordingly as to not to do everything in one day. If not, I’ll be struggling to find things to do throughout the days. In Ogygia, time doesn’t go by like in the outside world, so it is pointless to keep track of each day. I’m glad it is this way. I do not want to know how long I’ve been stuck here with life in the outside world passing me by. I do not know how much longer I will be here, but I try my best not to think about it too much.
I was cursed and imprisoned on this island after supporting my father, Atlas, in the Titan war. The island has all of the supplies that I need to survive and a little more. Apollo comes and visits from time to time to bring me books and trinkets. What I really look forward to are the updates of the outside world. He has told me that everything is much different now, but he spares me the details of what date it is. Occasionally, every hundred years or thousands of years, I have a visitor, usually a demigod, who is never able to stay with me. I am cursed to fall in love with them, and they are destined to leave me. I don’t like to think about them much as they have moved on or are probably dead now. I don’t like to think about anything in the outside world since I will never ever be able to leave this prison.
Instead of dwelling, I make my lists. I make them every night to remind myself of the things that I need to do. It forces me to take care of myself physically but also mentally. Otherwise, I will begin to wither away, enough to be in pain, but never enough to die. I cannot die. I’ve tried.
In my time in Ogygia, I have mapped out the entire island. I drew every cave, rock, bush, flower, tree, and pond. I cataloged all of the flowers, vegetables, and fruits in the forest. I keep track of all of the animals. I count on how many there are and make sure that they are healthy. I track their mating patterns and help take care of their offspring if possible. I track the tides of the ocean, the movement of the moon, and the stars in the sky, all of which doesn’t change. I have drawn all of the different kinds of shells and fish that I have found. I have changed the landscape of the island by cutting down trees and planting new ones. I create new clothes, sheets, and fabrics on my loom. I’ve built myself a new home multiple times in different areas of the island. These are just a scratch of the number of activities I have completed.
If I get bored or have completed a particular task, I destroy my notes and start again.
This afternoon, I decided to read and work on some sowing in an area of the island I had not visited in a couple of days. It was about a 20-minute walk away from my home, but I don’t mind the exercise. When I arrived, I unpacked my items. I put my blanket under the shade of my favorite tree and decided to take a quick swim. I have developed enough endurance to be able to do laps around the island but floating on the water was enough for me today. Once I saw the sun inch its way down a bit, I read and worked on my sewing.
After a couple of hours, I started getting hungry. I crossed off swimming, reading, and sewing off my list and unpacked my dinner. I ate my dinner listening to the songs of the birds in the trees. I sang with them for a while. Their sweet melodies always calm me down after a long day. The sun started to set, and I packed up all of my stuff back into my wagon and made my way to the garden.
I picked up the fruits and vegetables that I needed and made my way back home. I put my fruits and veggies in their respective places. I washed my dishes. I tidied up around the house and swept the floor. I crossed it all off my list. I bathed and brushed my long brown hair into a braid. I dumped the dirty water. Crossed it off my list. I packed my wagon with the food for the animals in the morning. I laid out my fresh clothes for the next day. I unmade my bed.
I grabbed my list and sat down in the recliner chair on my porch. I crossed all of the items I had already done. The last thing to do was make the list for the next day. I wrote down everything that I needed to do.
- Make the Bed
- Get ready for the day
- Feed the animals, you don’t have to refill food for birds you did it yesterday
- Fill the bathing bucket
- Wash sheets and yesterday’s clothes, put them in the clothesline
- Eat lunch, check if you’re missing any food items
- Pack dinner
- Swim
- Read
- Sew
- Eat dinner
- Go to the garden if things are missing
- Wash dishes
- Clean the house
- Bathe, brush your hair
- Pack your items for tomorrow in the wagon
- Lay out your clothes
- Make the list for tomorrow
I crossed out the last thing on my list and tossed it in the wastebasket on my way back inside. I put the new list next to the bed for the next morning. I got into my bed. I took a couple of deep breaths to relax, but I still cried myself to sleep.
I always cry myself to sleep, but it is the one thing I don’t add to the list.