Greek Times for a Future Girl

Moving Away

"You got everything packed?" Mom asked me as she came in to check on my packing progress.

"Yeah." I said as I swung my satchel over my shoulder, nearly falling over from the weight.

After much deliberation, I finally chose to stay in Ancient Greece with my mom. This way, we both could start fresh. No overly Christian family members, no bullies, second chances to live lives where we could just be here. She already gave my uncle the entire store to keep, so it'll be in good hands. 

Uncle Homer was a little sad hearing that Mom was leaving and selling the store, but he was still supportive with her decision. And as for Mrs. Kĩ, for those who were wondering, unfortunately, I found out from Mom that she sadly passed away about two months ago from natural causes. Which is sad, but at least she's no longer suffering from her mental illnesses and is now reunited with her husband.

Anyway, the Fates allowed us to go back to the real world a couple of times to get some things for our move. Mom bought a building similar to our place back home, but obviously with that Ancient Greek feel to it, so we'd be moving to Athens. And she'd get another opportunity to open another tea shop, of course, now we actually had to find the ingredients for our teas from other countries instead of them being imported from a Walmart.

The only downside to all of this was that I'd be leaving the Underworld. My second home since I got here in Greece. But after explaining that it would just be unhealthy to live here where I was forced to carry out the Fates' prophecy instead of living somewhere else, she supported my decision. And Hades and the imps were okay with it too -although it took almost two weeks for the imps to accept that I was moving away.

"Good thing he's letting you keep my old dresses." Mom stated as she helped me carry a duffle bag full of the dresses from the chest in my room, which turns out were the ones she made and wore when she first came her.

"To be honest, I'm surprised they even fit me." I said.

Mom gave a small chuckle. "We better hurry. The house isn't getting any newer."

I followed downstairs to the banks of the River Styx, where we'd ride the ferry out and head back to the mortal world, and we saw Hades waiting up on us to see us off.

"You lovely ladies leaving so soon?" he asked us when we arrived.

"We need to get the tea shop cleaned up before we open tomorrow." Mom said before she turned towards me with an angry look. "And somebody needs to work off her punishment for leaving."

"I sent you a text that I was leaving for Greece, Mom!" I defensively explained.

She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well, consider it punishment for not telling me where you went."

"Yes, ma'am." I said as I sank away, not wanting to get her into Angry Mom mode. 

I changed the subject when I saw that two people weren't present. "Hey, where are the imps?"

Hades gave an ignoring shrug. "Something 'bout a going away present."

"Did she leave yet?!" Pain's voice yelled from upstairs.

"Please say she didn't!" Panic's voice pleaded as I heard footsteps running for the stairs.

"Boys, don't run down the-" I tried to warn them, but it was too late. 

The imps were running down the stairs so fast, they ended up tripping and falling down instead. Landing in a heap on the floor. Mom and I winced after seeing that while Hades just gave an annoyed eye roll.

I gave a small laugh as I went to help them up. "Are you two okay?"

Panic shook his head in dizziness before giving me a thumbs up. "We're good."

Pain stood up and held a small box in his hands up at me. "We made you something."

"Aw, boys, you didn't have to do that." I told them as I accepted the box.

"We know." Panic said. "But we wanted to."

I opened the box and pulled out a small bracelet with its centerpiece being a beautiful blue crystal shard. I slipped it on my hand and found that it was a perfect fit. 

"Oh, it's beautiful." I said as I admired the bracelet.

"It's a piece of Hecate's crystal." Pain explained. "We wanted to give you something to remind you of all the stuff you did while you were here."

I hugged the imps tightly as I felt my voice break in sentiment. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"We'll miss you too." Panic said, his voice sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"Oh, come on, guys. You know I can't take it when you cry like that." I told the two of them, knowing where this was heading.

"W-w-we can't help it!" the imps cried out. 

And the next thing we knew, we started bawling our eyes out. Those two had been by my side through thick and thin in this world, and I knew I was going to miss them the most when Mom and I left.

"Oy vey." I heard Hades give an annoyed sigh. "They know they can visit her. You gals are literally going topside."

"Let them have their moment." Mom gently told him.

I broke off my hug with the imps, and after fanning away my tears, I turned around to tell Hades goodbye. He and my mom shook hands, and she got out of the way so I could say my goodbyes. It felt a little awkward at first, I mean, how do you say goodbye to your boss that felt like the father I never had? Well, it wasn't easy, that's for sure.

"Well, so long, kid." Hades held a hand out to shake, but instead of just shaking it, I hugged him.

"I'm gonna miss you, Hades." I told him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna-" his voice sounded like it almost broke before he cleared his throat and hugged me back. "I'm gonna miss you too, sapphire."

I looked up at him when he said that word. "Sapphire?"

Hades gave a nod. "Yeah. New nickname. You like it?"

I gave him a small smile. "My dad used to call me that."

Hades gave a small cough and broke off the hug, acting like it never happened. "C'mon, you don't wanna miss your ride."

I nodded and helped Mom put my things into the ferry. Charon wasn't too fond of the idea of helping us move, but with the threat of what Hades would do if the skeleton disagreed, he agreed to help Mom and I. Mom had just put the final bag into the ferry and I gave one last hug to the imps, but before I could hop into the ferry, Hades stopped me.

"Hey, kid! One more thing." Hades called out at me. "If you ever want another job, you can always have yours back."

"Really?" I questioned as I looked back at him.

"Yeah, and -hey- I'll even let you keep your little requests. No strings attached. You like it?" he offered.

He really wanted me to come back if I wanted to? On my own terms? Who was this god, and what did he do to Hades? But all jokes aside, I still found it strange that Hades only wanted me back if it were on my terms. That probably was the nicest thing he ever did for me. Well, except for remembering my birthday, but that's not the point. Point is, Hades respected my decisions instead of calling the shots for my internship. And that's what matters.

"I'll think about it." I finally answered. "But thanks."

"No problem." he said.

And with that, I hopped onto the ferry next to Mom and we waved goodbye to my boss and best friends. Leaving the Underworld for a new life ahead of us. I would miss living there, but this was for the best. Not just for me, but for all of us, and when you think about it, that's the better decision a person could make. This new life Mom and I would get to live won't be anything normal, but neither was life back home. Things in this world would just be more exciting instead of normal. And that's something to look forward to.

Oh, I'm sorry. You didn't really think this was the end of the story, did you? Oh, no. There's much more than where this came from. Much, much more. Heck, this was only the beginning.