Darxies

The Power Within Them-3

Until then, the whole life in the village revolved around his training as a sacred guardian. He got tired of dealing with prophecies and decided to travel and work as a mercenary, which brought him many profits, as he was sought after, leaving every mission unscathed. All this was now a way of atonement that he turned his back on his own, not that he would change anything if he was there, but at least he could help.

So many years and I have not yet decided whether I hate or love people. But who would have told me that I would eventually end up the first sacred guardian, he thought and turned to Fergus, returning to the discussion.

"Night diving in the caves for crabs and sea urchins," Peter replied, without any objection, "and I will definitely catch more than you," he added cheerfully.

"We will see that," Fergus replied firmly. The two friends exchanged enthusiastic smiles at the idea of another fishing skills competition.

"Well, see you soon," Peter said, greeting the company in a nautical manner and turning on his scooter.

"Oh, if only I were younger and I could follow you," commented Mr. Nikos, a seventy-year-old sunburned man, somewhat sadly. "I really miss these watery night outs." Mr. Nikos was the oldest and most experienced fisherman on the island. Almost all the hairs on his head were missing, forming a large circular bald spot, and next to it were a few white hairs that he was taking care of very morning. In his youth he spent all summer threshing the Mediterranean Sea and collecting sponges from the bottom, an art that has been almost forgotten. There were now machines for almost all jobs that successfully replaced human hands. The good thing was that again they needed people to handle them, but under other conditions.

Everyone has become so sop now, Mr. Nikos thought and took a deep breath of Greek coffee, making the traditional sound with his mouth. Maybe in this way he wanted to show others how Greek coffee is drunk properly. He generally tried to point things out to Fergus because many times he did not like that he had given so much courage to his wife and she did what she wanted with him.

He wasn’t a bad person and he certainly had a great weakness for children, since he did not manage to get his own. The children were the only ones he let do whatever they wanted; he could not deny them anything. But surely Mr. Nikos' mind was stuck in the established and stable traditional customs of his country. If he suspected for even a minute who he was sitting with at that moment, he would run away without a second thought. Although he was trying to look brave, deeply inside he was coward and quite grumpy. Unfortunately, he had not been able to learn to focus on what he had and many times his mind was creating tricks that made him envious and jealous of others.

The germ of envy can do more harm to a person's spirit than a harmful germ in the body that can be cured with a simple medicine. Fergus knew this and tried in every way to teach Mr. Nikos how to appreciate more the gifts of his life.

"Come now, my man, you have had enough of these. Let us inexperienced people rejoice a little. We will go fishing together in the open the day after tomorrow and then you can show us new tricks to catch octopuses," Fergus replied to flatter him.

"Yes, that’s something. I have a lot to teach you about these evil creatures. And believe me, no one surpasses me in fishing. Now they are in deeper waters due to the summer and of course you need to know how to distinguish them from musk octopuses that aren’t worth the true octopus in taste. And then I will show you the most correct technique for paragliding," the old man commented with enthusiasm and pride.

Fergus nodded with his head and sank into the relaxation of his chair, after first taking a deep breath of calm.

For a while there was silence in the yard. Margie was trying to weave a basket in a traditional way - an art that she had been first taught by experts in the most magnificent rainforest in the world. After all, the villagers of the sss have been her family for several years. Opposite her, the two men were sitting and gazing at the landscape, remaining silent.

Tara took the opportunity and approached Mr. Nikos putting her whole charm into action. She easily put on her sweetest smile, like a disposable latex glove, and touched his hand. "Since we are all sitting here together, what would you say to tell us again the myth of the island?"

Mr. Nikos shook his head with a scherzo. "Again? Aren't you fed up with listening to this? There are other myths about many parts of the country."

But Tara was determined. "Please, Mr. Nikos, do us a favor. We want to hear this myth," she said and made a gesture to her siblings to gather around him.

Their parents were watching and laughing discreetly at each other. Dean, a twelve-year-old boy with a princely beauty from a fairy tale, and their three-year-old sister, Laura, faithfully followed their sister's instructions. They approached old man Nikos and started begging him.

"We can tell from now who is in command," Fergus whispered to his wife.

Little Laura, looking like an angel drawing from a Renaissance painting, with white porcelain skin, sat on the old man's knees. He then, seeing her, realized that he had no choice but to succumb to the wishes of the children.

Mr. Nikos took a breath, drank a sip of water and without further delay began the narration. "Okay… mythology says that here in Donousa, one of the smallest inhabited islands of Greece, the god Dionysus hid Ariadne, the mortal woman he fell in love with, to save her from the goddess Artemis. You see children… Ariadne was the princess of Crete who helped Theseus to kill the almighty Minotaur, who was terrorizing the island. Then they ran away together to escape her father. But then they did… mmmm… let's say they made scandals in the temple of Artemis. The goddess, who was strict, considered it an insult and got angry. To punish them, she chased them to kill them and especially Ariadne who was mortal. Soon, however, Theseus got bored of Ariadne and left her… and to emphasize at this point that what he did was not right. I'm telling you, Dean, men, we have to take responsibility. I would never cast a…"

Margie interrupted him before completing his sentence. "Mr. Nikos he is still young for such lessons, let's leave them for another time, what do you say? "

Mr. Nikos agreed in disbelief, showing a slight dissatisfaction with Margie's annoying interference. "Let it be," he said and he continued from where he had stopped.

"Well, where were we … yes. Ariadne was left alone, immersed in her grief and as if that wasn’t enough, she gave birth to a child. But she was so weak that she did not know what to do, she was disappointed and she was ready to give up. But then something magical happened, the god Dionysus saw her and fell in love with her at first sight. He asked her to marry him and she who was dazzled by his beauty, accepted. Then he took her and in order to hide her he brought her here, in Donousa, our beautiful island. They bathed daily in these cool waters and built their house on the rocks. We are in a place sacred and blessed by divinities, there is no place purer and cleaner than that. Thus, he managed to protect her from the wrath of the goddess Artemis who was still angry with her."

"Perfect! I like it very much," Tara said impulsively.

As soon as Mr. Nikos heard her comment, he decided to close his story with an even happier ending. "Legend has it that Ariadne lived happily for many years with her husband and children and never left the island. After she died, she was received on Olympus with honors and she also became a goddess."

"I hope she made good terms with the goddess Artemis and that they became friends," Tara added, putting her own touch to end the story.

"And they all lived happily ever after," said Laura, who modeled on her older sister, often copying what she did.

Tara was not bothered at all and carefully with her hands, she helped Laura to get down from Mr. Nikos's arms.

"How much I love this story," said Tara and immediately started running in circles in the yard. "Who knows, maybe one day I will find my own hero," she added happily.

Her siblings, like little ducklings who faithfully follow in their mother's footsteps, did exactly the same thing. The chase had just begun.

Fergus got up slightly from his carved traditional chair and said, "Do you want a hero?" "I don’t think so, my little one."

Tara paused and looked at him. "Like you are mom's hero," she commented.

Fergus turned his gaze to his wife. "The opposite happened. Your mother saved me from a useless and boring life. But you, my little one, don’t need anyone to come and save you, because you are simply an omnipotent being. Look at me," Fergus stressed, "never forget that, no matter what. The power you have inside you is greater than any other human being, capable of overcoming any obstacle."

Tara laughed out loud at her father's words, but after a while she thought again. "You may be right," she finally replied, "I am an invincible princess!" she shouted and continued playing with her brothers.

"And I'm a pink queen," Laura added, spinning and then bowing, causing everyone to laugh.

Margie watched in silence, thinking that this story reminded her of something from her own life. Since the island protected the god and his wife, it might do the same for her. She was tired of moving from country to country every two to three years. Maybe this place was their salvation. At this thought she calmed down and was left to the magnetic relaxation of the island.

The sun was setting gracefully and illuminating the courtyard with its rays, giving a golden glow to the landscape. The two large plane trees that dominated above them, generously offered their coolness. A gift of creation - from these tall trees that stood proudly in the green grass covered with colorful flowers. And as their leaves swayed in the salty sea breeze, the children made a new game.

"Look at the sunbeams, children," Tara said, and began to chase the golden spots that appeared and disappeared throughout the yard.

"Fine, whoever catches the most wins," Dean said, starting to run and touch as much as he could the bright footprint they left. Even little Laura did the same.

And between the chase and the counting, an idyllic moment was created, one that remains etched in the memory of a child forever. On the one hand the blue sky combined with the sound of waves hitting the rocks of the island, on the other hand the parental love, combined with the sounds of nature, created an almost orchestral agreement that someone could experience with all his senses.

Margie felt tears welling up in front of such an almost magical image. If there was perfection, then it could be nothing more than this scene. No diamond in the world would be enough to surpass the value of this wonderful moment- maybe just a "shell", a unique creature that she had the honor to meet. A woman as omnipotent, almost as Fergus, and her best friend who sadly had to leave a few years ago. The woman, who, despite her annoyances, called her a mistress until their last meeting.

Only for her could she exchange this experience, for one last farewell kiss on the lips. "But that belongs to the past," she thought. She had made her choices a long time ago and, although she had missed some things, she did not regret it for a moment. Her love for Fergus and the children overcame everything.

Tara ran carefree until she realized something that seemed strange, almost funny. With a slow pace, concentrated on this curious spectacle, she approached Margie to touch the ray of light that had fallen on her. She was impressed by this different intense color she had- one, so tiny, red dot. She stood motionless for a moment trying to figure out exactly what that light was on her mother's forehead.

Less than five seconds later, scattered drops were thrown on Tara's face. They were hot and had the taste of death. She still didn’t understand where they came from. What were those spots that she suddenly felt all over her body? She was feeling a horrible, indescribable stir in her body. It was difficult for her to realize what was happening, what was now revealing in slow motion a new scenario.

A drop was violently thrown and pierced in her eye, like a thief slipping through the window of a house at night with the worst of intentions. Tara opened and closed her eyes and looked at her mother again. She saw a stream of blood that later turned into a rushing river gushing from Margie's head.

A new order of things was unfolding before her frightened eyes. She began to realize that something terrible was happening - something that would soon bring chaos and destruction to her family.