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It’s that time of the year again. Ramadan is ending (Nico still has no idea how Muslims get through their daily lives without food and water all day), and Hari Raya is approaching. Farid, their resident son of Apollo (because Will is currently tied up in med school), Singaporean and Muslim friend, proposes a small celebration at Sally Jackson’s house to commemorate the occasion.
The suggestion gets accepted almost immediately. Turns out Nico’s friend group will use any excuse to gather together at Percy’s parents’ place.
Another suggestion, thrown in as an afterthought, is accepted just as readily by Percy and Annabeth and all the others, but Nico finds it weird.
Forcing everyone to seek forgiveness from each other? Really? Why must it be forced? Nico understands that people need to forgive each other - he learnt that the hard way by holding a grudge against Percy over… Bianca…but forgive when you’re ready to forgive, right? There’s no point in forcing forgiveness if your heart’s not in it.
That can only be described as awkward.
But he goes anyway to Sally Jackson’s house in the wee hours of the morning on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, because not even he can resist the chance for time with friends and Sally’s excellent cooking.
Turns out he’s not the first one there. Thalia greets him at the door with a grin and a ‘took you long enough, Death Boy’. She leads him past the kitchen, where Farid is helping Sally with the cooking, and into the living room where Percy and Annabeth are chatting with Reyna and Paul. They all greet him cheerfully, and Reyna moves to make space for Nico on the ottoman she’s sitting on.
The takbir Raya, or Eid Takbeer, plays from a small radio in the kitchen, a chorus of voices crying out in praise of God: as Nico has learnt long ago, Muslims consider their God to be the same as the Judeo-Christian God. Percy’s bouncing little Estelle Blofis-Jackson on his lap while she giggles delightedly, and Paul seems to be detailing one of Percy’s hilarious school adventures to the three giggling women. Nico spots a set of pale pink satin baju melayu hanging at one of the doors, probably Farid’s. The demigod in question is advising Sally while she prepares what are presumably traditional Malay Eid dishes.
The aroma coming out of the kitchen, carried by a sudden gust of wind, makes everyone in the living room widen their eyes. Percy’s stomach grumbles, and he laughs along with the others as they poke fun at his appetite.
The sun is only just starting to rise over the city that never sleeps when Frank and Hazel arrive. They send greetings from Piper, who wasn’t able to make it for the gathering. Leo and Calypso arrive soon after; a few minutes later Grover knocks on the door, and everyone who’s supposed to be here is present.
Farid asks everyone to line up by age, from oldest to youngest, and that causes much confusion due to the many mixed-up ages. After some puzzling over whether Calypso should be first, because she’s technically millenia old, it’s decided that Sally and Paul should be at the front, and Calypso places herself in behind Leo but in front of Hazel. Grover decides to go with his physical age instead of actual age (which is twice Percy’s) and lines up behind Annabeth, Percy and Farid. Thalia inserts herself in front of Annabeth, deciding to go with her chronological age (adding her years as a pine tree). And Nico and Hazel discount their time spent in the Lotus Hotel and the Underworld respectively, heading to the back of the queue.
Finally the order was settled as follows: Sally, Paul, Thalia, Annabeth, Percy, Farid, Grover, Reyna, Leo, Calypso, Frank, Nico, Hazel, and little Estelle.
Farid had all told them about how to go about it several days earlier. The younger would approach the elder and ask for forgiveness, and then sit once they had finished with all those older than them and wait for the younger ones to ask forgiveness from them. And so Paul heads up to Sally, who’s seated on a chair as the oldest, and starts what is almost like a ceremony.
As Hazel plays with Estelle to keep the both of them occupied, Nico observes the faces of his older friends as they head up to Sally one by one to ask forgiveness. Thalia’s eyes look a little watery once she heads over to Paul, and Annabeth’s are clearly filled with tears when she hugs Sally. Percy is the first to openly break down into sobs, Sally following soon after. The others watch with soft smiles on their faces as mother and son embrace tightly, and there are more than a few misty looks when Percy lets out a laugh of pure joy.
It only serves to strike a blow into Nico’s heart at what could have been. But determinedly, he shoves the thought away before it hurts him further - he can’t break down now and spoil Percy’s moment.
Once Percy moves over to Paul, Farid heads up to Sally with an emotional smile, and one by one the rest all ask forgiveness from the Jackson matriarch. But Percy and Sally were far from the only ones who broke into tears that morning.
Thalia and Annabeth are quietly crying together as they hug each other as if for the last time, and Nico swears he could’ve heard Luke’s name come up at least once in the hushed conversation that passes between the two of them. Soon after that, Annabeth’s mood is lifted by a passionate kiss from her boyfriend. Hazel and Nico both shield Estelle’s eyes, and both Reyna and Farid cry out simultaneously that ‘there are children present, get a room!’ Then Annabeth has long conversations with both Farid and Grover - Nico knows that the two had been close to her and Percy since the son of Poseidon’s first entry into Camp at twelve, though they haven’t gone on as many adventures as them.
An audible smack is heard as Percy and Farid embrace in a brotherly hug after a talk full of watery smiles, and more than one emotional bleat comes from Grover during his own conversation with the son of Poseidon. All this open emotion is making Nico almost dread his own turn, for by this time Frank is with Sally. That means he’s next.
Frank eventually rises and heads over to Paul, and Sally looks at Nico encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, Nico stands and heads over to Percy’s mother, kneeling down in front of her like all the rest had.
“Hi Nico,” Sally is the first to speak. She lets out a puff of air. “Don’t worry if you have trouble with it. This is new for all of us,” she let out a short chuckle.
“Ms Jackson,” Nico finds himself saying, reverting to formality and what Farid had told them all to say, “Selamat Hari Raya, maaf zahir dan batin.” The Malay feels alien to his tongue, and he was sure he is mangling the pronunciation, but it doesn’t matter at this moment.
“I’m sorry for everything I’ve done that has hurt you,” he says, unable to control himself. “I’m sorry for taking Percy to bathe in the River Styx. I’m sorry for knowing where he was when Hera kidnapped him and not telling you. I’m sorry-”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Nico,” Sally interrupts him soothingly. “I forgive you. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, Nico. I know that you live in a hard world, and you have to make hard choices. So does my son. But know that you’ll always have my support no matter what. You may not be my biological son, but you’ll always be welcome in my house.”
“In fact,” Sally continues, “I’m sorry as well. I should’ve taken you in sooner, and not left you to fend for yourself for so long. I’m sorry for not feeding you and clothing you more, and for not inviting you to stay as I should’ve when Percy first introduced you to me.”
Nico is taken aback. This was not something Farid had mentioned to him. When he looks at the son of Apollo with wide eyes, Farid glances up from his conversation with Grover and shoots him a mischievous look.
Oh, he is so dead when Nico gets to him.
“Uh,” he stumbles for words. “I… forgive you, I guess?”
“Oh, Nico,” Sally smiles and wraps her arms around him, causing him to startle momentarily. After a second, he melted into the embrace. After she let go, she takes something out of her pocket and presses it into her hands. A green packet.
She smiles again. “Something Farid mentioned to me that I thought I’d start doing as well. Selamat Hari Raya, Nico. Don’t open it until we’re all done! Now head over to Paul, dear.”
Nodding numbly, Nico rises and goes over to Percy’s stepfather. And so it continues.
His time with Paul is brief, but Paul also passes him a green packet. Thalia forgives him easily and assures him that ‘I’ll always be there for you, kid’. Annabeth gives him a warm smile and tells him ‘if you need help for college, call me’ (she’s just started her degree in architecture).
Though Percy and Nico had forgiven each other long ago, the two still have a long, emotional talk. They whisper to each other, tears in their eyes. Bianca is brought up more than once, and hugs are exchanged frequently. By the end of it Nico launches himself onto Percy and clings on like his life depends on it.
“You never were my type, Kelp Head,” he whispers into Percy’s ear, and the son of Poseidon laughs.
Nico heads over to Farid and glares at him as he kneels. Farid takes one look at Nico’s murderous expression and bursts into giggles poorly concealed by his hand. Ultimately, though, the son of Apollo forgives him with a wide smile, which drops into a serious face as he offers his own apologies, and Nico forgives him with a shy upward turn of his lips.
Grover is brief in comparison to all those before him, but his conversation with Reyna is lengthy. Reyna takes Nico’s hands into her own and he drops his head in remorse. Even though their shared quest happened long ago, their bond remains strong and it shows in the amount that they apologise to each other. They’re both in tears by the end of it, and Nico is given yet another warm, passionate hug, this time from the Roman who he considers his big sister.
Time blurs after that. His time with Leo, Calypso and Frank was still meaningful, but less memorable than those that came before - those he was closer to. Then suddenly, he’s done with all those older than him and he’s taken a seat, waiting for Hazel to come to him.
Hazel’s conversation is less emotionally draining than those with his older friends. His little sister gives a short and sweet apology, and hugs enthusiastically, filling Nico with slight relief that no tears were shed. Finally, Estelle offers a sincere apology which no one can refuse. Assuring the little girl that she’s done nothing wrong, Nico gives her a hug and sends her off to Hazel to round out their small ceremony.
Nico lets out a smile when Estelle finishes speaking with Hazel and runs back to her mother, who has gone back into the kitchen. Farid helps Sally carry out the dishes, their aromatic smell as they are placed on the dining table absolutely delectable. The friends all rise, chatting merrily, to grab the plastic plates and take their share of the veritable feast laid before them - ketupat rice cakes, beef rendang, ayam masak merah, serondeng beef floss and coconut curry. A pitcher of iced Milo sits at the side of the table, while bottles of kueh, assorted baked treats ranging from pineapple tarts to cookies of all sizes, are scattered all around for everyone to enjoy.
Percy, Reyna and Sally pile on a huge portion for Nico, saying he needs to eat more. Thalia, Farid and Annabeth chuckle quietly at his misfortune. Frank is being teased by Leo as Calypso shakes her head fondly. Everyone feels lighter, as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. As if a clean slate had been given to them. Nico digs into his hearty breakfast with gusto, much to his friends’ amusement. Leo joins in teasing Nico as well, and he grumbles while the rest laugh.
To himself, he admits he feels content. At peace. Maybe a little emotionally drained, but better than he’s ever felt. He now knows his friends and family are truly behind him, that they really do have his back.
Perhaps being forced to ‘maaf zahir and batin’ had its merits after all.