367[A/N]: HEEEEYYY! Welcome to the rewrite of From the Foam of the Sea. A year ago, I had an idea. This idea blossomed into my most successful story to date. Despite its success, I hate this story. Therefore, in honor of this story's birthday, and mine, I'm completely revamping it.
Please enjoy, and don't kill me for changing everything. And by everything, I mean absolutely everything.
"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was, is lost, for none now live who remember it . . . And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth." —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
From the Foam of the Sea
Chapter One: The Ship
I loved Greece. I never wanted to leave, but my mother insisted that it was the right thing to do. She said we had to.
I still said no, but somehow she managed to get me on the boat. She said we couldn't afford to fly.
My mom had me when she was seventeen. When her boyfriend found out she was pregnant, he took off.
My mom never told me who my father was. She never even said that she was actually dating him. She never referred to him as her ex boyfriend, just as "your father."
She named me Aenea, because she said that's what my father wanted. Why she would appease him escapes me. Quite frankly, I hated my name. It was the source of torment when I was little.
My mother, Lena Patralia, was an archaeologist who studied the Ancient Greeks. This was one of the reasons I questioned her decision to move to America. No offense to the Americans, but they don't have many Greek artifacts.
My mother spoke both Greek and English fluently. She had been teaching me English since I was little, but since we didn't speak it around the house, I couldn't claim to be fluent.
Either way, I was dyslexic, making my reading and writing skills about at the level of a ten year old. It wasn't like I was stupid; I could read and understand advanced material, but it was hard to see the letters right.
I was also ADHD and let me tell you, Adderall doesn't help. My hyperactive brain couldn't concentrate on one thing for more than a minute. I was also pretty fidgety, making for fun road trips.
I was home schooled because we traveled so much. I had a few friends on the island, but I didn't get to see them very much.
I was sitting in our cabin while my mom was walking around up on deck. We'd been on this ship for two days now.
I looked in the mirror and scowled. I had dark brown hair, almost black, with loose curls. My green eyes stood out more than anything, but they were dull. I had purple circles under my eyes, like I hadn't slept in days.
Suddenly my mother walked in. She smiled at me, her brown eyes shining.
"Hey, Mom," I said. "I'll be up on the deck if you need me." I didn't even wait for her response before I left.
I walked out of the cabin and up some stairs until I was in the fresh air. I walked to the side of the boat and looked down.
At first I didn't see anything, but when I looked closely, I saw a beautiful girl looking back at me. She waved, almost beckoning me to jump into the water and swim away with her.
I blinked and she was gone. Thank you, ADHD.
A young man a couple of feet away from me was leaning against the railing looking out at the vast Atlantic Ocean.
"Beautiful isn't it?" he asked.
"Oh yes, sir. I've never seen the Atlantic before," I admitted. I had only traveled around the Mediterranean.
"Oh, I've sailed every ocean," he said.
I said, "Really? I've only ever sailed a few times, but I'm from Lemnos. But for some reason, my mother wants to move to America." I sighed and looked at my feet. I had a bad habit of telling strangers too much.
"Well, someone important is waiting for you," the young man said.
"What?" I said, shocked.
The young man looked sadly at me. "He cares, you know," he whispered.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"Your father. He cares. In fact he's proud of you Aenea. So is your mother." He looked at me with intense blue eyes.
I was about to walk away from the crazy man, but a high wave crashed over the railing hit him full force. When the water receded, he was gone. I rushed to the railing and stared down into the water. The man was no where to be found.
I glanced around, looking for help. "Man overboard!" I screamed, hoping that someone would hear me, but a hand grabbed my shoulder. I whipped around and my mother was staring at me, her eyes wide with concern.
"Who fell?" she asked slowly.
"A man! Did you not see him?" I said rapidly.
My mother shook her head. "Aenea, are you feeling okay?" She stretched out her arm and felt my forehead for a fever. The wind rippled through my hair, and I shivered. "Hmm," she mused. "No fever. But here," she shrugged out of her gray sweater, "take this."
I wrapped the sweater around my body, holding in the warmth. "Thanks, Mom. I'm just gonna stay out here if that's okay with you."
She nodded. "Just be careful."
I turned back around and stared down into the water. Maybe I had imagined the man. I shuffled my feet and heard a splash. When I looked down, I saw a gold coin sinking into the depths.
I walked around the ship, looking for the man, but he was nowhere to be found. I finally went below deck, back to my cabin.
My mother was sitting on her bed, reading a book. She glanced up and flashed a smile.
"Quick! Who was Demeter?" My mother would quiz me periodically. It was the most annoying thing in the entire world.
I sighed. "Why do you want to know?"
"Aenea..." she warned.
I sighed again. "I don't care."
"Aenea, why are you being this way?" she asked sadly.
I rolled my eyes and said, "You're making me leave."
My mother's face fell. "I'm sorry, darling. We needed to. A museum in New York offered me a lot of money to come work in America."
"Mom! Can't you just work in Greece?" I pleaded.
She closed her book. "I only do this because I love you. We can have a better life there. I love you more than anything, Aenea. I've never regretted my decision. Not even once. I just want you to understand that no matter what happens to me, you are always the most important thing to me."
"If you really loved me, you wouldn't force me to move! I hate you!" I yelled.
"Aenea!" she gasped, but I slammed the bathroom door in her face.
I yanked back the shower curtain and basked in the hot steam.
When I got out, I combed my hair and braided it. I stood in the steamy bathroom glaring at the mirror. My eyes glistened with tears. I felt bad for yelling at my mom, but I was so frustrated. I wanted to meet my father one day, but he was in Greece. Now that we were leaving, I'd never meet him.
A tear rolled down my cheek and landed in the sink.
If he was so proud, then why didn't he show up every once and a while?
I brushed the tears from my eyes and went up on the deck. A few couples were sitting at tables sipping wine, but I slipped past them and onto the front end of the ship.
I leaned over the railing and looked out at the sea. It was flat and empty. I felt flat and empty. I stood there for an hour, with silent tears.
When I finally realized how long I had been there, I looked at the sky. The stars were blazing, and the full moon burned bright.
I walked into the cabin to find my mother already asleep. I crawled into the bed and stared at the ceiling until my eyes fluttered closed.
"Come on, we're about to be there." My mother shook me awake.
I reluctantly packed my bags and followed my mother.
We walked onto deck with the other passengers just as New York became visible. My mother was fidgety and nervous.
Soon we had docked and filed off the boat.
After a very long wait, we finally got a taxi and drove to the tiny apartment my mom had managed to get.
I walked in and put down what few belongings I had. I sat down on my bed and stared out my window at the city below me.
Greece seemed so far away. I cried a little, but not much. I was done crying.
[A/N]: Jesus Christ that took forever. I hate how much of retard I was at writing this. READY FOR MAJOR CHANGES? Yeah, me too.
Just a warning, time period has majorly changed.
ψcamille elisabethψ