Chapter Text
[Mydei Age 10]
“Mom! Come back!” The waves hit the shore as Gorgo surfaces. “Mom, come back to shore!” Mydei yells. But instead, Gorgo dives back down into Phagousa’s embrace. Back into the inky depths, the blue waves brushing over her, as she disappears away from the light.
Along the rocky shore, a group is huddled in a divit in the rocks, with the collections from their dive.
“Thats the most I’ve that kid talk.” Black Swan says, watching Mydei scream from shore. “Gorgo is always diving down this late.” She cuts open an oyster and throws it on the metal grill over the fire pit.
“Leave him be, kid misses his mom.” Lingsha comments. “Besides, why don’t we talk about the one with the terrifying crush?”
Phainon puffs his cheeks out at them, but turns over to Mydei.
Phainon scammers over to Mydei. “Mydei! What are you doing?” He tilts his head trying to get a good look at his face. “I got fish for you!”
“Leave me alone! And stop giving fish!” Mydei snaps, puffing up his face. He pushes Phainon away, before turning back to the ocean. “Mom! Come back!” He stomps his foot over the black jaggeded rocks.
Squinting at the horizon, finding any clue for Gorgo surfacing.
So Phainon joins Mydei’s shouting. “Mrs. Gorgo! Come back!” Phainon waves his arms wildly as if she could see them. Mydei hangs by the shore, throwing rocks into the water. Sulking. Eventually Gorgo walks ashore and joins the others.
“Why are you always last to surface?” Acheron asks. She takes the nets, and looks through her haul. Throwing the seaweed into another basket.
Phainon walks over to the nets, looking at his notepad. “My mom wants me to get these.” He shows Acheron the note and starts to fish for the abalone tangled into the nets, and other finds. “This is all just seaweed.” He complains. Acheron helps Phainon untangle the seaweed.
“Here, conches.” She says, tossing them into his basket.
“Diving back down is what is going to get you killed.” Lingsha says. She opens an oyster and places it on the fire. “Gorgo, half your findings go to Aglaea okay?”
“Why do we have to feed her? We're all broke here!”
“You need to help your elders too!” Gorgo kicks Lingsha’s basket. Gorgo walks away over to Mydei “All our families are starving! Don’t waste your breath taking care of another person!”
“Hey!” Lingsha scrambles to pick up the net. “Gorgo!”
“She’d give her money to a leech of a husband, but not help Aglaea.” Black Swan sighs, it was typical Gorgo behavior. Gorgo flips Black Swan off as he walks off.
Mydei follows his mother, “Wait for me!” Gorgo passes Mydei, and grabs her son's hand.
“Bye bye Mydei!” Phainon waves over to Mydei. Mydei turns back and waves.
They walk along the shore back home. Mydei reaches out to grab Gorgo’s hand. “Mom, I got second place in writing.”
Gorgo sighs, “Why are you telling me this?” She looks down, and readjusts the next with her haul on her back.
He leans into her warmth, and still wet body. Which was enough to give her an answer.
~
Mydei waters a flower bed at Gorgo’s home. “How come you only look at the ocean floor?” He grumbles. “Read my writing too!”
Gorgo keeps scrubbing the clams, “Word won’t help us get out of poverty. Go show it to your grandma. Stop begging for food here.”
Mydei walks over to his half siblings, tucking in Himeko in a warm blanket. Then yanking Argenti’s thumbs out of his mouth. “Grandma says I look more like you and not dad.” He walks over to his mother and crouches down next to her. Helping clean off the couches. “I’m eating with you tonight.”
“Your step dad will be home tonight.”
“So? I don’t care about Eurypon, I want to be with my mom.” He says, scrubbing the shells.
Gorgo hangs up her diving suit in the sunlight. “And uncle doesn't feed me that much.”
“Krateos don't feed you?!” She turns to stare at her son.
“I don’t really care for fish, but he’s being unfair.” Mydei pouts. Mydei stops scrubbing shells, and mumbling “Only Phainon really feeds me..” Before going back to cleaning. Gorgo doesn’t hear it.
“Mom, can’t I live with you?” He cries, his voice breaking.
“Just go.” Gorgo grunts.
Eurypon walks though the fence, “Oh Medemios you staying for dinner?”
Gorgo scoffs, “It's Mydeimos. At the same time, Mydei answers, “No, I’ll be going.”
Gorgo flips over a flower bed, where a soaked to the cone cigarette pack laid.“Damn kid.” Remembering Mydei ‘watering’ this very flower bed.
The night falls, and Eurypon lays on the porch. “Why don’t you let him live here?” He sits up to take a drink of water. “You're both miserable being away from each other.”
“Hysilens has money. We do not.” Gorgo says. She sits back down next to him. “You have nothing, and you keep draining the little credit I manage to conjure up.”
Gorgo gives a bitter chuckle. “I should have never moved to Aedes Elysiae.”She snatches the water from him, “Besides, what is he going to do here? Be a maid?”
“Then teach him how to dive. He could make money that way.” Gorgo slams the now empty bowl of water on the porch. “I will never let my child dive!”
“You’d let your daughters sink into Phagousa only to surface to Thantos?”
Eurypon reads Mydei’s poem. “You might not want to read this.” Eurypon says, folding the poem but she snatches it away.
“Don’t fold my baby’s writing.” Her voice dripped with hostility.
As she reads the poem. It was laced with loneliness but she could maybe sense the shreds of hope, etched in the words. It tugs at her heart strings, more than she would have liked. She hugs the poem to her chest, and she lightly sobs.
“That damn kid. This should have been first.”
~
Mydei is in the kitchen, chopping and cooking up dinner. He grabs a bowl of rice and places a spoon sticking out of it like incense. He gently places it on the window sill. “Eat up dad.”
He looks out the window to see Phainon handing fish over to Krateros. “Does that HKS want to die?” He scoffs.
Outside, Hysilens does her best to teach HuoHuo to write. “Kid, that's how you write coward.” She scolds. HuoHuo shakes in fear.
“Kid, we only bought three.” Krateros says, as he takes the fish from Phainon.
“But there's four of you, Mydei doesn’t get one.” Phainon looks over for a glimpse of Mydei, as he heads out of the kitchen and sets the table. “Exchange for the abalone. Free.” Then, the grass starts to crunch, in heavy stomps echoing through the night air, heading towards the house.
“Mom?” Mydei yelps. Gorgo kicks over a chair and slams a handful of dried fish into Krateros’ hands. “What the hell are you saving money for?” She glares at Hysilens, “I thought he was the kid of your precious son.” She yanks Mydei away. “I’m taking Mydei back.”
Hysilens sits there silently. Watching as Gorgo grabs Mydei’s hand as she storms away.
~
“Am I really living with you?” Mydei smiles.
“You really like me huh?”
Mydei nods enthusiastically. They walk on the cliffside, making their way up the hill. “Then grow up quickly and give me those 100 credits.”
“You read my poem?”
*
[Abalone over me By: Mydeimos]
[Abalone abolone,
Leaving me
All alone.
Abalone abalone,
Mom dives for credit
And I'm all alone.
I’d say,
If i give her 100 credit,
Day after day,
She won’t dive,
And she’ll stay
By my side.]
~
Gorgo kneels to get on Mydei’s level. “I don’t want to dive either. “ She cups her son’s face. ”I’d want to stay by your side every single day too.”
She gets up as Mydei follows after her. Clinging to her side.
~
Gorgo drops the bedding on the floor. “If you hurt Mydei, I’ll kill you.”
Eurypon takes the cigarette out of his mouth. “Gorgo being unlucky with husbands, but lucky with Mydei.”
“First husband was sickly, the other a freeloader.” She sighs sewing up an old yo. “I'm stuck being used.”
She looks over to the other room, where Mydei is sleeping. “But this little cub offers to help carry my load.”
~~
Gorgo grills some green over a fire. “Mydei, I have a great title thanks to you now.” She calls to Mydei who's crying inside the house. “I’m the class vice president’s mom. I can make honey cakes.”
Himeko, Argenti, and Phainon sit outside. Mydei sniffles, he has back turned towards them.
“It's the same. Fishing, royalty, If everyone wants to be king, who will be queen?” Gorgo insists. Mydei doesn’t look at her. Which was kinda cute in Gorgo’s eyes. A son who barely complains throwing a tantrum.
Well- tantrum close enough. Sitting and silently sulking might not be in the tantrum category, but it is for Mydei.
Phainon speaks up, turning to Gorgo, “Mydei was supposed to be president, he got more votes than Aventurine.” He takes the snack Gorgo handed to him. “That isn’t fair.”
Phainon munches on the snack, “Just because his family is rich doesn't mean he can steal Mydei’s role!”
“Stole?”
*
The teacher erases the votes from the board after school. “Kids, some things go beyond votes okay?” Mydei stands silently as Phainon argues back.
“But Mydei got more votes!” Phainon says, Mydei squeezes Phainon’s hand, shaking his head.
“Didn’t you both benefit from the donations Aventurine’s family gave?” He sat down at his desk, flipping through his books. “Lady Jade gave the class halovian burgers, and new mops.”
“That still isn’t fair! Mydei is the one who got 37 votes!”
“Look, people who are at the top should be mentally and financially competent, okay?” He slams the book on the table. “This is real life, grow up!” He rubs his temples.
~
Gorgo walks through the school. Adorned with borrowed pearls from Krateros, and newly purchased clean, sleek and elegant dress. Not a usual outfit choice of her choosing. She looked at the framed poems.
“Hah- isn’t it clear this one should be first?” She points to Mydei’s poem. “The rich kid gets to be president huh?”
The kid next to her cleaning the window just nodded. She had a confused expression, then accompanied with a crazy-women-leave-me-alone expression. So she ignores the kid, and the kid ignores her.
She stops by Mydei’s homeroom. “Mrs. Gorgo, please have a seat.” He gestures toward a stool next to his desk. “Are you Mydei’s aunt?”
“Actually, I’m his mother.” Gorgo said. He nods. “I couldn’t meet you since i was working, but-” She plops down a wrapped lunch box. “-I made honey cakes to share with her class.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I had too, for Mydei.” She crosses her arms and rests then in her lap. She looks up, straight at the teacher. “The one who should have been first in everything.” The teacher clears his throat, and his legs shuffle a little, looking away from Gorgo and out the window. He starts to fidget his hands.
~
Gorgo leaves with Mydei, he holds onto her arm, as she dabs the sweat from her face with a handkerchief. “Did you cause a scene again?” He asks after a bit of silence.
They walk away from the school yard, Phainon waves over to Mydei, before being dragged off by Audata.
“You bet, I made sure he couldn’t talk.” Gorgo doesn't look down at Mydei, keeping her focus straight. “Shut him up real good.”
*
Gorgo squeezes a handkerchief. “I let my son in your care.” The teacher grabs the lunch box, “Please treat him kindly."
“Well Mrs-” He looks through the lunchbox, “-There might not be enough for this class to pass around.”
She bows, and fiddles with the napkin. She picks out a box of socks. “These are for you, they're expensive.”
~
After Gorgo left, the teacher opened the box. “She really spent money on this?” He asks, holding up crisp new credits. “She’s really putting me in a tough spot.”
~
“Why did you dress up?” Mydei asks, as they walk up the cliffside, the ocean below them. The sun sets, and the sky is painted in rosy oranges, the warm day, cooling down to a soft slumber.
Mydei snacks on some pomegranate candies Gorgo had bought him on the way home. Gorgo pats Mydei on the head. “To show respect. Didn’t want to smell like the ocean.”
“I like your scent mom.”
“Be a good person okay kiddo?” She bends down, cleaning Mydei off. He offers her some candy. She takes one and she pops it into her mouth.
“Being vice president isn’t so bad, it's the same as president.” What a kind kid. Gorgo ruffles Mydei’s hair. “Whatever you do, never dive.”
“Mydei, live with love. I’m the poor one, so live your life to the fullest okay?” She hugs him close. “Do everything you want to.” Mydei holds out his pinky finger.
“Then you do it too.” He looks up at her, “I promise that I will-”
~
The cicada’s chirp as the stars wax over the endless night sky. Gorgo throws all their cigarettes into the fire pit. “You quitting?” Gorgo gives a curt nod, as she snatches the pack from Eurypon’s hand. And the one he was currently smoking. “Since when was I quitting?” He gasps.
“Now.” She throws them into the flames, and moves them around with a stick. “I have to live longer, so that I can see my son grow up.”
Eurypon groans. “You’re such a romantic.”
~~
Aglaea throws red beans at Gorgo, and brushes her off with a fan. “Your life depends on breathing.” She scolds. Mydei watches Aglaea throwing beans at Gorgo. “How can you dive when you can’t breathe?”
Mydei runs over to and yanks Gorgo’s diving suit and tosses it into the fire. “Way to go kid.” Aglaea says, “Can’t dive without her suit.”
Mydei runs off, to see Phainon sitting next to a rock that the other kids painted. It reads: Phainon will get married to Mydei! “Mydei!” He calls, sounding very excited. Mydei rolls his eyes and yanks Phaionon away.
~
At the shore, Mydei hauls a giant rock into the water. He screams at Phagousa, “Leave my mom alone!” He sobs, “Don’t take them all away from me!” Phainon watches Mydei from a little away. He crouches down, wailing.
Phainon walks over to Mydei, “What do you want, HKS?” He cries. “Could I come closer?”
“Do whatever you want!” Phainon sits beside Mydei. Passing him a paper bag. “You think that I can’t eat mackerels or croakers without you?”
“It's meat. It isn't fish, Mydei. Even people don’t give meat to their in-laws” Phainon says softly.
“Do you wanna die? Why are you like this?” Mydei sniffles. Phainon leans into Mydei. “Because if you cry, you will be hungry Mydei.”
“Are you pitying me?”
“I would feed a beggar if it was a pity. You're not a beggar are you Mydei?”
Mydei holds the bag close to his chest. “You stupid little HKS.”
“I’m one year older than you Mydei.”
~
As the sky turns to gold, they both sit on the rocks and eat the chicken. “Even if you brought a dromas, I still won’t marry you Phainon.” Mydei takes a bite of the chicken.
“I didn’t ask you too.” Mydei glares at Phainon and he places his hand on a large rock. Seeing this, Phainon inches away. They sit there together, basking in the afternoon sun. As the waves crash against the rock in rhythm.
~
Hysilens shuffles around a deck of cards. “Why take her so young away from her kids?” She changes around the order, yet still the same outcome. Maybe, If Cerydra were here, she would know what to do.
“Mother!” Hysilens, looks out at the noise. Seeing Gorgo wave over to her from the outside of her property. Did she really walk down here tonight? “Hysilens, I’m scared to go, could you come with me?”
Hysilens sighs, as she gets up from the floor, heading over to Gorgo.
~
As the family sleeps soundly. Himeko, Argenti, Eurypon and Mydei, Gorgo sneaks back into the house. She lightly shakes Mydei awake, and she hushes him. Beckoning him outside.
The owls hoot, as Gorgo grinds up flower dye. Mydei sits down on the patio, watching his mother working with his company. He eats some of the cooked abalone. “You could have given me this tomorrow.”
“Your siblings would have taken all of them tomorrow.” She untwins some string, and wraps flower dye around Mydei’s fingers.
“Sell them for 100 credits each.”
Gorgo takes some of the cooked abalone, blows on it to cool it down and feeds it to Mydei. This kid is always thinking of helping out his mom. She chuckles at that thought.
“Mydei, If you eat the abalone, it’ll be worth more.” Gorgo pauses. She wraps the leaves around the dye, fastening them with a string. “When I die, go back to your uncle and beg him to take you in.”
Mydei stops chewing. “W-what?” He looks up at Gorgo with wide eyes.
“Leave this place no matter what.” She says. “When the flower dye fades, stop grieving, and move on.”
“Don’t leave- don’t leave me mom!” Mydei squeaks out. He crawls over to her and holds her hands.
“Life goes on for the living. Mydei.” She brushes Mydei’s hair awake from his face, and tucks it behind his ear. “Tougher days lie ahead, and sometimes it will be so hard, you feel that you can't move on.”
Gorgo cusps Mydei’s face, wiping the falling tears from his face. “Stop it mom!” He whines, his voice breaking. “Don’t go!” Her skin feels cold, yet her heart is warm. A deep pit tears at the bottom of her soul.
“But you have to continue, continue for the ones you love.”
That night. A 10 year old son listened to his mothers last words for him.
Gorgo quietly sings Mydei to sleep. Lulling him away, lightly rocking him with the melody. She hugs him close, and pats his back.
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray..”
~~
The candle flame flickers, as food is offered next to Gorgo's photo. Where she smiles, as if she was still in the room. Barely the age of 30, 29 year old Gorgo had been whisked away by the Hand of Shadow.
Mydei sits silently next to her photo. In the room of the memorial. His family is asleep. Tired of morning, or too tired to morn. Maybe that was Eurypon, or maybe Himeko didn’t know, maybe Argenti couldn’t comprehend.
His eyes are sore and still glistening. Phainon walks over to Mydei, passing him a bowl of soup. His eyes, also matching Mydei’s. Tear stains running down his cheeks.
“You have to eat.” Phainon says, placing the bowl in Mydei’s hands. “You have to eat, while you cry. So you won’t be hungry.” Mydei sets the cold bowl in front of him. The seaweed sat stagnant. Like a mini ocean. He tore his eyes away from it, choosing to stare at Phainon’s legs
If only the titans didn’t exist. If only Phagousa didn’t exist. Then Gorgo wouldn’t be carried by her to Thanatos. Dancing along the west wind. Then she wouldn't have left him alone.
Yet the cicadas still sing, and the sine still shines. The wind is stagnant, and the leaves of the pomegranate tree don't rustle.
“M-Mom, mom passed this morning,” Mydei sniffles. “Yet I-” A sob escapes from his mouth. “Yet I-I feel so, I feel so lonely." New tears prickle at his eyes, and he fails to blink them away. “What do I do now?”
Phainon starts to cry too.He sits next to Mydei, and starts to wipe away his tears with his sleeves. “HKS..worry- about yourself.” Mydei hics out. He reaches over to Phainon using his finger to catch a tear.
~~
“Mydeimos, Himeko, Argenti, you all have similar names.” Eurypon gathers up rocks in the field. Himeko wrapped around his back. Mydei wipes the smudges away from Argenti’s face.
“I need to go to sea to feed you guys.” Eurypon says, but Mydei looks around at the field. “Just for this yellowtail season, okay Mydei? Take care of your siblings.” Eurypon places the stones around Gorgo’s grave.
“Why waste land? Can’t you cultivate this soil?” Phainon pipes, up. Mydei gives Phainon a deadpan. This fool is always following Mydei around! Taking his thoughts. Phainon beams at Mydei. “Thats what you're thinking of right? I can tell what you're thinking!”
~~
The snow blankets the ground, as they start to clear up the field.
“Only until Himeko is out of diapers.” Eurypon said.
Mydei removes the rocks, and he joins Phainon to till the land.
The white covers everything, head to toe. The trees still, as the wind barely whistles through the bare branches. Mydei’s half-siblings all bundled up protected from the cold.
~~
Then, the snow melted away, for an early spring, as they crouched around planting cabbage seeds. The grass returning back to a lively color. Sprouting up from the dead.
“Just until Argenti starts elementary, okay?” Eurypon had said.
Mydei cuts and plucks the weeds from hogging all the nutrients.
~~
Then, during the summer, the cabbages grew. Bright vibrant green heads sprouted from the rich soil. Georios granting them their spoils of labor. Mydei pushed in soil, and spread enough fertilizer to strengthen until harvest.
Around them, the lush green fields dazzled along with the wind. “Phainon, why do you always have leftover fish? Is your business failing?” As Phainon navigates the field. He places down the net, and a flower hairpin, and helps Mydei farming.
“I’ll always have time for you!” Phainon cheers, Mydei rolls his eyes, and focuses to put his attention on the soil. Phainon pulls the weeds out.
~~ [Mydei Age: 12]
Mydei packs his bags. “I’m leaving.” Eurypon watches Mydei shove his books into his bag. “I want to have an education too.”
“So you can just write in Kremon?” Mydei runs into the kitchen to pack a lunch, ignoring Eurypon. Mydei takes some rice and packs it into a metal lunch box. He took some of the pomegranates from the kitchen table, freshly picked from Gorgo’s tree.
Eurypon takes out some of the books from his bag- “Don’t touch that.” Mydei says, smacking it back into the bag with a lunch box.
He brings the bag over his shoulder and starts to walk out the door. Mydei lightly touches the flower hairpin in his hair. “Mydei! I’ll give you money to go to college.”
Mydei glares into his eyes.
“I will lay down as much money as you need.”
~~
Mydei sets the table, settling down in between his two siblings. “I'm your step father you know! I paid for your school expenses!" Eurypon complains. Mydei says nothing, and starts to feed Himeko.
“Krateros won’t send you to college, he’d make you a-” Eurypon blabs on.
“In the city.”
Eurypon’s eye twitched. “Okhama? Are you serious? Okhama!” He stares at Mydei with shocked eyes. Round like apples.
“Swear?” Mydei prompts. Eurypon thinks for a moment. Before raising his hands. “I swear on Gorgo! She would absolutely fuc-” He looks at Argenti and Himeko before clearing his throat.
“-Freaking demolish me if I forget what you sacrificed for this family.” He says, placing a hand over his heart.
~~ [Mydei: Age 16]
The market in Aedes Eysiae starts to bustle, people roaming around, purchasing from the stalls.People walk about the market, tightly packed as some ride bikes with goods piled up. People sit down with their stocks out for consumers.
Selling foods, hats, clothing and almost everything under the sun. A woman crouches down to inspect a stall. “Do you want any?” A woman lightly touching the cabbages turns to Phainon from the other stall next door.
“I don’t want fish, I want the cabbages.” She says, rolling her eyes at him and nodding down at the green leafy heads.
“Yeah, do you want the cabbages?” Phainon repeats. The lady looks at Mydei, whose face was shoved in a book. “You sell cabbages too?”
“The cabbages were cared for really well, and they’re really sweet.” Phainon says, cleaning up a fish. He wides down his cutting board.
“They’d go well with any dish.” He smiles at the women. Flicking his head towards Mydei. “His cabbages are really good!”
“Fresh catches here!” Acheron shouts in her best voice. While Black Swan, and Lingsha watch Phainon sell Mydei’s cabbages. Phainon drops the credit into Mydei’s bag for him.
“Looks like Mydei has a sweetheart by his side.” Lingsha snickers, turning to Black Swan. “Little people would do that.” Phainon leaves his stall to walk next to him in front of Mydei’s stall. Cleaning off the cabbages.
“You don’t have to do that.” Mydei mumbles behind the book.
“I want to.”
~~
Phainon bikes over to the market the next day after school, over to their stalls. Mydei hops off the bike. And Phainon moves a wooden plank for Mydei to sit on. “Can’t do anything by yourself?”
Behind the book, Mydei glares at Phainon, “Shut up.” He grits through his teeth. Biting back more of a colorful response/threat, so he just scowls. They continue their routine.
~~
“Mydei! Get up!” Phainon taps his foot at the wooden plank, as Mydei rises, Phainon replaces it for a chair. Phainon settles down on the wooden plank, “Oh Miss! His cabbages are sweet. Would you like to have some?”
~~
The Aquilla hid behind the clouds, dousing the market in show. “Sir, would you like to buy the cabbages?” As the market continues to buzz with people throughout the days.
~~
Then, Phagousa and Aquilla started to bicker, as the rain started to pour. Still Phainon continues to clean his cutting board from the fish scales and guts, while maintaining the other stall besides him. “Buy Mydei’s cabbages, they're really good! I’ve tried it myself,”
Lingsha laughs, watching the two youths. “Phainon does all the work!”
“Mydeimos doesn’t need to lift a finger if Phainon does it for him.” Acheron turns to both of them. “How about instead of watching kids sell food, you help me sell ours.”
“Acheron, it's not everyday you see a love story.”
~~ [Mydei Age: 18]
Phainon kicks Mydei’s chair, “Get up.” So Mydei does, Phainon then takes Mydei’s chair, and replaces it with a more comfortable one. “You can sit now.”
Phainon looks up at a woman browsing their stalls. Phainon points to Mydei’s cart. “Would you like some?”
“How much?” She asks, pulling out her wallet. Phainon smiles, “150 credits for three, one would cost 50.” He gets up and grabs a bag for the shopper.
The woman scoffs, "That's a total ripoff.” She points at Phainon accusingly. “How are you even selling things?” Mydei lowered his book to scowl at her.
“I’d lose money if I sold them for lower. “ He leans in, resting an elbow on his knee. “50 credit for one head, 150 for three.”
The women seemed to be taken aback. “It would only make sense, and be fair.” Mydei says.
The lady snaps back angrily, “It's just cabbages, your ‘deal’ is an absurdity!"
“Uh- Miss?” Phainon starts, trying to calm her down, but she whips her aggression at Phainon. “I’m not talking to you!” From a little down, Lingsha and Black Swan watch the drama unfold.
“Just watch, Mydei is pissed.” Black Swan says, nudging Acheron. Acheron ignores this and continues to sell the abalone, oysters and conches.
“Lady, do you want a cabbage or not?” Mydei asks, as he slams his book shut. Giving her a death stare.
“Fine, I’ll take one.” Phainon packages the cabbage in a bag as Mydei sat back down, flipping through the pages.
Audata sighs, turning to Lingsha, “A dog for a son would have been better than him.”
“How so?”
“Look at him! He’s whipped!" She points her knife towards him. “Mydei can do it on his own, yet he does it all for him!”
“What would even change Audata?” Lingsha shrugs. “What difference would there be between him and a dog?”
“You're insufferable."
Mydei turns over, and quickly gets up. “Uh oh.” Mydei walks around the cart, stumbling a bit. He starts to speed away, as causally as possible. Phainon looks up and quickly blocks the path as Aglaea walks after Mydei.
“Out of my way Phainon.” Aglaea said smiling, yet seething underneath her polite face. She looks over at Mydei’s cart of cabbages.
“Goldweaver-” Phainon starts, Audata walks over to them. “Aglaea, why are you here today?”
“Audata. How many times have I told you not to let them set up next to each other?" Aglaea asks. Scolding Audata.
“Well I can’t help that Algaea!” Audata says as she helps Phainon block Aglaea’s path. “Phainon sticks to Mydei like glue!”
“Mydei is unlucky. Gorgo’s soul hangs over him, I can’t let that happen to our deliverer.” She tries to slip through their bodies.
“I don’t want Phainon!” Mydei shouts looking back at them. “You can keep him!” Mydei continues to run away. Moving away from the streets. Weaving through the people. He ducks under two people carrying a wooden plank.
He accidentally bumps into another person's cart selling cabbages. As he quickly apologizes over the man yelling about his cabbages, he can hear Phainon trying to calm the Goldweaver.
“See grandma! Mydei doesn’t even want me.” Phainon says, sounding a bit hurt. Agalea rolls her eyes. “So don’t hang around him!”
~
The night is cold, as Mydei runs to the docks. He had put on a flowery pink jacket as he carried his bag. He turns back and lends Phainon a hand.
Phainon catches up quickly, and he holds on to Mydei’s hand. He surges forward, as he now leads them to the boat. Pulling Mydei along as they speed up in the foggy night air. Phainon adjusted his own bag over his shoulder as they stepped over onto the docks.