Forever Your Mother,

Entry III | The Island of the Lotus-Eaters

My Dear Lysandros,

Treacherous weather and the discipline of the sea during this journey have kept me from getting to you sooner, my child. Enduring these frightening conditions of weather and overwhelming waves has been a great difficulty, yet I find it all worth it just to be able to hold you again. Through these rough times of the thunder and storm from the hands of Zeus, the only thing that has allowed me to succeed is the image of my child all grown up. I often find myself reminiscing, but also pondering what you have evolved to be. Have you developed to be a strong, capable man of Ithaca? Or, perhaps instead, you strive to be a wise man, a poet— one whose strength thrives on the construction of words and phrases to strike emotions from others, as opposed to brawn and muscle. Maybe you have even blossomed to be popular with women of Ithaca as well, that idea is humorous yet enjoyable. I would love to be able to encounter who you have managed to settle down with, to encounter the family you have made during my absence. All of my visualizations will never be entirely true to reality, but I long to be able to view how you have matured. However, I must confess to you of how afraid I am that our meeting is something you will have to anticipate for even longer. Our ship had blown off the original course home from havoc-wreaking storms. Fortunately, after traveling through soaking hell on the ship, our great King Odysseus had found land for us to gather. Even though it had seemed the inflow of water was constant with the sea and the storms, our men and myself had grown parched as we craved safe, consumable water. We would later come to find that the island contained something else truly alarming to ingest.

Upon stopping on the island, our king held some suspicions. King Odysseus, bright and knowledgeable he be, sent three men to investigate the island, the mission being to find anyone native to guide. It just so happens to be, one of the brave men that were sent was actually a great companion of mine. I believe myself to get along with almost every man aboard our ships, as we have all fought alongside each other in many battles. Still, this certain man is someone to who I have found myself to become very close. And, it is quite straightforward for me to see that he has grown significantly fond of me as well. While I have not shared my one truth with him, he has told me many of his. I have learned all about his family and the life he had back home, as he mentions his desire to be back very often. When first going into war, I had believed to maintain the mindset of not getting close to anyone, so as to not become attached, and not become devastated when they ultimately meet their demise. Yet, over the years, that has proven to not hold up, especially with this certain man. Ever since our meeting, it has felt like a string between the two of us, pulling our beings together. I know exactly what this feeling is, and hopefully, you have grown to where you understand what it is too, as I have felt something akin to this emotion when your father was still alive. This may seem all too absurd to believe, and I am too bewildered with myself to imagine our friendship having the possibility of developing into something else. As I said, this man has no clue about my reality. It is only sometimes with the way he speaks to me and the way he looks at me, both with fondness and care. It drives me utterly insane...

Dee simply blinked at the words before rolling his eyes into a whole other universe. His solemn mood had been distracted by the sappiness of the author's lovey-dovey words. It took all his willpower to not gag at Thaleia's newfound crush. I mean, sure, Dee himself had a few crushes before, but at least he wasn't so corny about it! Soon, after many facepalms, he gathered himself and continued to read.

...You may not care about this man, and may even be rolling your eyes at my infatuation, but I believe this person to be a truly kind character. Shall only he of the both of us make it home with his life still intact, he will be the man bringing these words of mine back home to you, for he knows of these letters but not of its contents. While my companion is very brave, he also has a knack for getting himself into trouble. It almost amazes me how his life has not left this world. Nevertheless, I am grateful it hasn't and I pray it never shall. When Odysseus sent him onto the island, it was a relief to find his life was in no harm. Despite this, his mind became scrambled and ruined. I had, in secret, begged him not to go in the first place, still I had no way of predicting what was to happen.

On the island, which we now refer to as the Island of the Lotus-Eaters, there were people who demonstrated that no harm would come to our men. However, when they offered the honeyed plant of the Lotus to them, it altered their minds and desires, causing them to fantasize about consuming the plant even more. The plant also rid of their will to return back home. It came to our king having to tie our men down below the rowing benches in order to have them leave with the rest of us. They had wailed and cried ever so powerfully. If my vision was not with me, I would have assumed they were being cut open, or dissected alive, with how vile the screams had been. Even my closest companion had become unrecognizable to me. I had seen him before in what I believed to be his darkest moments, but never like this. His eyes bugged out of his head as sweat dripped down the tough, slender cheeks of his face. I even dared to approach him, begging him to remember the home he has left behind, reminding him of our great Ithaca he has been yearning for all this time to return to. In response, he spat at me, calling myself and the other men horrible things whilst he screamed to be back on the Island of the Lotus-Eaters. The moment I am writing this to you, my man and the other two who are tied, remain begging to return to that island of the cursed Lotus plant. My concern has expanded greatly and my need to be home has grown larger. I am thankful for our King Odysseus' keen direction, for had he not only sent a few, we all may have also fallen under the honeyed drug's wicked influences. Let us hope our king remains wise, let us hope the passage of the spell my companion is under happens swiftly, and let us hope I find my way to you soon.

Forever Your Mother,

Thaleia

Tear droplets had hit the ancient page, startling Dee and having him come back to his senses. He wiped his face before looking over the words again. The new relationship beginning to blossom between the author and her friend had been cheesy to Dee's taste, however he did find it heartwarming how now Thaleia has a companion she can trust to get the letters to her son. Still, it made the boy think about how, if he is the one reading the letters now, then something along the journey, something still unread, has not gone as planned. As he mentally prepared himself to have his heart ripped to shreds, something else had been bothering the boy after reading these few letters also. Over the course of time he had spent reading the entries, he found himself becoming more and more upset. Dee's initial plan had been to hide out here and stay home, and hopefully his mother would move without him. Yet, when reading these letters, of how a mother has have to leave her child, he cries at just the thought of his mother being away from him. Dee didn't want to leave home, but he definitely didn't want his mom to leave without him either, and there was still no way he'd ever convince her to let themselves both stay home. It all seemed hopeless. When reading the letters, when reading Thaleia's kind words to her son, Dee had felt as if it was his own mother writing to him. The letters moved Dee's heart, for the mother had written to her child with so much love.

"It's been so long since she last saw her kid, yet she still cares for him all the same," Dee laid the paper down to his side, speaking to no one in particular, "I wonder if my mom would be the same way."

It was at this moment Dee had finally realized how cold the air around him had gotten. Dee had already been shaking after learning about the mind-changing abilities of the lotus plant, the chill gave him more of a reason to practically be vibrating on the sand. The boy had tried to ignore the chattering of his teeth as he picked up the next set of letters in the stack. It had looked to be a longer entry, but Dee was determined to get at least half way through the letter before falling asleep. Guess I'll be sleeping on the beach tonight, Dee thought to himself before indulging onto the next page.