The Call Of Thalassa

“You’re not a wave, you’re a part of the ocean.”

-Mitch Albom

Aileen put down on the kitchen table the last remaining bags full of things nana Alexandra needed from the grocery store. She sighed in relief as she finally didn’t have to carry the heavy weight.

“Oh thank you, dear! I am sorry that I sent you to the store, but those friends of yours disappeared the moment I asked them for their help. I hope that you’re not late for work, because of me?“, nana asked her in worry as soon as she saw her small form entering the kitchen.

“No, it was no problem, nana. I still have one hour until work and didn’t have anything better to do”, Aileen smiled at the old lady and gave her a side hug.

“Honestly, dear, I don’t know what I would do without you! The Festival of Honor is only a few days away and those damn girls always come up with all kinds of excuses to find a way around the preparations!“, nana explained to her as she started to move around the kitchen, putting everything in their respective places.

The Festival of Honor was Seaworth’s most well-known celebration. After many decades had passed, it had become a tradition to throw a celebration on the same day each year in order to honor the captains, sailors, and fishermen of the small seaside village. This happened, not only because the majority of the villagers had jobs related to the sea, but also because of the myths and legends that this place was surrounded by.

The pages of their history books were full of marine tales, where brave sailors went on to amazing adventures and found themselves into all kinds of troubles. Some of them returned back to the village having accomplished unimaginable achievements and with riches and fame beyond major.

However, most of the stories had a tragic ending, even though they described brave and courageous men who were well trained and skillful as they went onto their crazy sea journeys. It is said that most of the captains that never made it back. They were pulled into their wet graves by strange marine creatures that had the mixed characteristics of humans and fishes, who later became known as “sirens” or “mermaids”.

Oh, Aileen knew a lot about mermaids as she was obsessed with them since she was but a small girl. She had spent a large amount of time reading about them in the library too. It was said that they were skilled murderers and lethal killers that seduced the sailors in the ocean before they drowned them and violently ate them. Humans were nothing but prey for them -a tasty treat of meat in their otherwise fishy diet.

Nobody knew how so many stories and myths popped up in Seaworth since there was no proof of merpeople’s existence for centuries now. Aileen had concluded that the older generations had passed the stories to the younger ones because of tradition, but they didn’t know how the stories came to exist and didn’t consider it of importance so that they would look onto it.

So, with so many legends and myths about marine monsters and brave sailors, it was only logical that the small sea village would honor the men of their local stories. The sea village honored not only the brave sailors of the past - both the ones that had lived and the ones that had died in the ocean.

The villagers honored also the sailors of the present -people of everyday life who worked hard in order to economically support their families and make amends meet. It wasn’t an easy thing to leave your family behind and to travel into the unknown, where you didn’t know when you will return back home and if you will be dead or alive. So, the villagers made sure to show them their respect and admiration by preparing this big celebration that they had named “The Festival of Honor”.

“Don’t you worry though, Aileen! I’ll find a way to make them help with the preparations”, Nana winked at her as she brought to the table a plate full of freshly baked chocolate cookies, shaking her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, I am sure you’ll find a way, nana. You always have an ace up your sleeve.”

Aileen laughed at the kind woman’s behavior as she took a bite from a cookie.

After that, the young girl kissed nana’s cheeks and waved her goodbye as the time had come for her to go to work. She left Aide’s house and stepped into the stony empty streets, following the familiar path towards the center square of the village. She cut off a red rose from Mr. Brening’s beautiful garden and smelled its sweet scent with a smile on her face as she used a small path that would lead her faster to her destination.

The sun was shining this Monday morning, making her bask into the warmth of its rays since the past few days were a bit chilly and cold. She looked down at her feet as she was walking and played a silly game she knew since she was a child. Making sure to step only onto the square stones and not in between them, she laughed as she sometimes had to jump to reach the ones that were a bit further.

She enjoyed her little game and giggled to herself at her childish ways, tuning off everything else that was happening around her. Reality could wait for the time being as she was too focused to care. Aileen jumped on a big stone that was just around a house’s corner and then unexpectedly fell down on her aching bum.

Furrowing her eyebrows at the pain on her nose, she looked up to see the wall that she had pumped into. Only she hadn’t fallen into a wall but on the muscled chest of a huge figure. Aileen looked up to the male in front of her and came face to face with a familiar pair of brown eyes and messy brunette hair that often were the reasons for her nightmares.

Aileen froze in her fallen position and her breathing became labored as fear clouded all her thoughts. Her heartbeats increased in panic and her hands became unexpectedly sweaty. Her emerald orbs that were filled with terror widened and she moved a bit backward in her attempt to create more space between them.

“Well well well... look what the cat dragged out”, Alastor Steel’s voice sent chills down her spine as he was the one to speak first.

Aileen quickly stood up, afraid that he would take advantage of her fallen position. She took three steps back as he took three forwards and cringed as she saw his infamous, disgusting smirk make its appearance on his face. Honestly, she wanted to carve it out of his face and throw it away, so he could never use it again.

“Do you know how many days I am trying to speak to you? You always seem to disappear out of thin air, when I almost have you right in my grasp...”

Aileen looked around frantically, searching for a way out of this sticky situation. Her eyes wandered on the different paths that were around her. She didn’t want to stay for another minute in his presence or she was sure she would pass out. She was frightened of him when she met him with her friends around, but she was absolutely terrified when she had to face him by herself.

“I have to go to work”, She mumbled as a quick explanation and made her way quickly to another path on her right, trying to move as fast as possible.

Suddenly, her back collided with big force on the wall of a stony house, making her close her eyes in pain for just a few seconds. Alastor grasped her forearms in tight grips that would surely leave purple bruises on her pale skin later. Her form started to tremble as he pinned her to the wall and she realized that she had no way of escaping.

“You aren’t going anywhere until I allow you to”, he brushed his lips against her ear making her shiver in disgust.

“Let go of me! You are hurting me!“, she yelled at him as she kept jerking around in his grip trying to desperately free herself from his arms.

“Hmm, I didn’t know you were feisty...I think I like it...“, he murmured as he let a sloppy kiss on her rosy cheek, making tears gather to her emerald orbs.

“Stop this! Let me go!”

Aileen tried again, her movements becoming more panicked as she tried to keep his lips as far away from her face as possible.

“I think not. I am quite enjoying myself.”

He smirked and leaned in to kiss her on her plump lips as her tears fell to her cheeks at the thought of him stealing her first kiss.

She wanted the first time she kissed someone to be out of love, not because he forced her to do so. She had imagined the romantic scene numerous times with a handsome stranger who would have stolen her heart and they would both be deeply in love with one another. However, that someone was definitely not Alastor Steel, the thought of kissing him making her want to vomit.

“Didn’t your father teach you not to pressure a lady, when she says ‘no’?”

Relief flooded through Aileen’s body as Aide’s voice reached her ears. Alastor’s head turned around so quickly to face the newcomer that Aileen felt his short brunette locks hitting her in the face, because of their closeness.

“What are you doing here, Clayton?“, he asked angrily Aide as spit flew from his mouth.

“You see, Steel, the thing is what are YOU doing here? Because to me, it seems like sexual harassment. Don’t you agree, Petra?”

Aide continued unafraid of his seething form that was becoming angrier by the second.

“Well, it surely doesn’t seem like something Aileen is enjoying..“, Petra mumbled eyeing the way he touched her friend and the way she struggled.

“Now now, wouldn’t it be a complete embarrassment for you if we call the authorities? I mean being the mayor’s son and breaking the rules like that...tsk...tsk...tsk...The scandal!“, Aide exclaimed moving her arms around the air for emphasis.

Seeing that this was a situation he had no chance of winning, he gave the two girls deathly glares and curled his lips in an ugly scowl. He surely didn’t want to make his father and their family name look bad when they were at the top of their game right now.

“This isn’t over!“, he said as his eyes shined with a crazy glint in them.

Turning around to Aileen, who was still trembling and trying to free herself, he gave her a sadistic smile that would soon haunt her dreams. He bit her earlobe with force and whispered silently in her ear, so she was the only one to hear.

“We’ll meet again.”

Then he let go of her and quickly disappeared through the complicated stony paths, the same way he had unexpectedly made his appearance. Aileen used the wall as a support, her knees feeling like jelly as her friends run instantly to her side and helped her. Her arms hurt like hell from his strong hold and her earlobe burned slightly from the pain his teeth had created.

“Shhh, honey...You are okay...You are fine...“, Aide hugged her sitting form tightly as she tried to calm herself down.

“He is gone now, Ail...he can’t hurt you”, Petra caressed her flaming locks with her fingers trying to comfort her.

The poor girl cuddled even more in Aide’s hug as she let quiet sobs leave her mouth. Her tears seemed like they would never end as she registered the whole terrifying situation that had just happened. How had she let herself get distracted like that when she knew that he was always lurking around? He was always watching her hidden in the shadows, like a wolf waiting the right moment to pounce on his vulnerable prey.

“I was so scared...“, Aileen said in a trembled voice as she finally managed to somehow calm herself down.

“It’s okay, babygirl...you have nothing to fear now.”

Aide soothed her with sweet words as she slightly rocked her body side to side to calm her down.

“Do you want to go back home and lay down for a little? You don’t seem so goo-”

“No, no it’s okay”, Aileen cut Petra off quickly, sitting up and wiping away the stray tears, “I have to go to the library, Mr. Newton will be waiting for me.”

“Honey, he’ll understand if you don’t go...“. Aide coaxed her, but she just shook her head negatively.

“No! I will not let him control my life by making me fear my own shadow. I will not live the rest of my life in fear and solicitude, because of Alastor Steel and his antics”, she mumbled to her friends as she stood up and fixed her green dress.

“You go, girl! That’s the spirit!“, Petra said in a loud voice and patted her back to comfort her.

“Besides, if I go home, I will be thinking about this over and over again”, Aileen murmured to Aide and she nodded her head in understanding.

“I need to get my mind off things and the library seems like the perfect diversion.”

Aileen kissed her friends goodbye and started making her way towards the place she had originally planned on going.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 4!!

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Until next time!!