After Time

Twelve

He nodded, 'Yes, but one day she got sick. Didn't get better.' That didn't tell me much, but in sign language, you kind of needed to be concise. I sighed. Percy had probably liked this girl, based on what she had said. I wondered if he felt guilty about liking Calypso. Then again, they likely hadn't been a couple, considering they were eleven at the time. 

I pressed myself up next to him. "I'm very sorry, Perce," I whispered.

He looked away. He roughly wiped away his tears and sniffed sharply.

Line Break

Percy typically didn't send me letters or anything during the year and primarily stuck with Iris-Messages, however, without warning a letter appeared in the mail. Inside was one of Percy's graphics. It was beautifully drawn and contained incredible detail. It displayed a man in traditional Greek armour standing before a cradle, looking down at an infant inside with an unreadable expression on his face. In the background was an eagle, looking at the two of them curiously.

The humans were labelled Odysseus and Astyanax. When I asked him about it, he just gave me a knowing smirk and swiped through the Iris Message, ending it. I groaned and walked to the living room, where Mom and Paul were sitting. "Hi Andy," Mom greeted with a warm smile.

I returned the smile and sat down. The two of them continued talking. After a while, I spoke. "Hey, Paul?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know anything about the Trojan War?" I asked him.

He cocked his head, "A fair amount, why?"

"Oh, Percy sent me this drawing," I handed him the paper. "Who's Astyanax?"

He examined the drawing and raised his eyebrows. "Astyanax was the son of Hektor, prince of Troy. He was prophesized to become the avenger of his people, but he was thrown from the walls of Troy as an infant, usually by Odysseus, definitely by an Achean king of some sort," he explained.

"What about Odysseus?" I asked him. "What does he think about it?"

Paul smiled lightly, "That's the kicker," was his reply. "Euripides didn't say anything about the thoughts of whoever kills Astyanax. It's neutral. In the modern day, most writers portray him as regretful because he is only following orders, but you could easily go the other way."

"Is that why Percy drew him that way?"

He shrugged, "Maybe, he's not here to tell us about it. Maybe he just wanted to show you the drawing, or maybe he wants to give you something to think about."

I hummed and thought about it. "It could be any of those things, but I want to sing about it," I announced. 

Mom smiled amusedly as Paul chuckled.

The next day I was in my music class. We had a free period, the perfect excuse. I strummed a few chords on my guitar and tried to think of a melody. The guy beside me put down his clarinet and looked at me. "What are you doing?" 

I must have looked like a deer in headlights. "Um... writing?" It sounded more like a question. "Was I being too loud?"

He smiled. His teeth were stained red with something that looked like fruit punch, or maybe Kool-Aid. "No no, you were fine." He turned so that his body was facing me. "I like the second melody you tried," he told me. I raised an eyebrow. "Here," he repeated the tune on his clarinet.

"Okay," I nodded with a smile. The song was coming together. "Now I just need lyrics."

The boy pursed his lips, "Do you know what the song is about?"