THIS WAS WHERE THE GODS GOT MAD. I MAY HAVE been just a farm boy, but I knew that the wind didn’t blow for nine days straight in the complete opposite direction of Ithaca just by coincidence. Odysseus and his guys had really ticked the gods off. Their stupid, selfish pilfering was going to do us all in.
I wasn’t sure which god Odysseus had upset. He complained about a bunch of them. Except for Athena. The way he talked about Athena made me think he wasn’t thinking about his wife, Penelope, at home all that much. Not that it was any of my business.
“Then why are you writing it down?” Dory asked. Since we’d had a whole bunch of free time in the last nine days, I’d started teaching him. He could sing the entire alphabet song and recognized all the letters. We found the old gold paint they’d used to paint the Trojan Horse and had starting writing letters on the walls of the storage room. Dory’s writing wasn’t bad though he kept getting phi and psi confused.
“I just wrote that Athena is Odysseus’ favorite god,” I said. “I left out the part about his wife.”
“That’s good,” Dory said. “Women don’t want to read stuff like that about their husbands.”
I wasn’t sure how Dory knew this, but I was too busy counting syllables to ask.
The afternoon of the ninth day, Polites, who was perched up in the crow’s nest because even though he only had one eye, he could see farther than anyone else on the ship, hollered, “Land!”
The guys erupted with cheering. This was because in addition to having no control of the boat for nine days thanks to the wind, we also hadn’t seen any land. It didn’t take a genius to guess that we were going to dock.
“Gods above, let this not be another Ismaros,” Dory said. “And also, let’s hope they have some fruit. If we go much longer without it, people’s teeth are going to start to fall out.”
Lots of the guys already had missing teeth, a testament to the number of fights they’d been in. It made my dreams of being a soldier seem not quite so glamorous. I hoped for their sake we found fruit, too. They couldn’t stand to lose any more.
The boats pulled into the port, and like before, our boat was the only one to actually dock. For the others, the guys had to row ashore in life boats.
Odysseus jumped to the dock first. “We only take what we’re offered,” he said, like he was talking to small children.
“What if they have mead?” this one stupid-looking guy who I was pretty sure was drunk most of the time said. Dory and I had started calling him Rum.
“Only if it’s offered,” Odysseus said.
“Or cake,” a chubby guy we called Cupcake said. “I love cake.”
“Only if it’s offered,” Odysseus said.
It continued on this way. I would have used up the entire scroll if I’d written down all their comments. Suffice it to say, they covered every possible edible. And no sooner did Odysseus turn his back, they all ran off, straight for the city, Rum and Cupcake leading the way.
“We should go, too,” Dory said. “Check for fruit.”
“Do we have anything to trade?” I asked.
Dory put his hands together into a big zero. “Nope. But I’m hoping they’ll take pity on us since we’re kids.”
Polites limped over to join us. “I’ll come with you two. Keep you out of trouble.”
We hadn’t gotten into any trouble before, but I didn’t mind Polites. He got along with most everyone, even that slimy weasel Eurylochus, which was the equivalent to getting along with a rodent.
“Moldy bread,” Dory said. “That’s what Eurylochus reminds me of.”
“Not a rodent?” I asked. Here I’d thought the whole simile thing was pretty clever.
“Some people think rodents are cute,” Dory said.
I wasn’t sure what people he was talking about. Maybe Demetrios back in Ionia?
“Nobody thinks moldy bread is cute,” Dory said.
That was true.
“Are you coming?” Polites asked Odysseus.
Odysseus narrowed his eyes and studied the city ahead. It was hard to see much of anything from here except the men running toward it. “Not yet. But report back to me if you see anything suspicious. I have a funny feeling about this place.”
That didn’t fill me with confidence. Still, we’d been on the boat for nine days. My stomach and legs needed a break.
Polites, Dory, and I headed toward the city. It was weird, because even though Rum and Cupcake hadn’t left all that long before us, they were already out of sight. Of course, they were running, and we weren’t.
“How’d you hurt your leg?” I asked Polites. “And how’d you lose your eye?”
“Right to the point, I see,” he said.
I shrugged and shifted the pen in my fingers. “I’m a storyteller. What can I say? I’m out to get information.”
In addition to the entire Trojan Horse thing, I’d added every detail from Ismaros. Elder Pachis was going to pee his pants with excitement when he saw what an epic story I’d written. I figured anything from this point on was just icing on the cake.
“Will you write about it?” Polites asked.
“Are you a hero? Did you do something heroic?” I asked. After all, my story was supposed to be totally heroic.
“Maybe,” Polites said.
“Well then, maybe I’ll write about it,” I said.
At that Polites laughed. “I got it defending Odysseus.”
“Against who?” I said.
“Against whom,” Dory corrected. “Against is a preposition.”
I wasn’t sure what a preposition was, but I added the extra letter and kept writing.
“Against Ajax,” Polites said.
“Ajax?” Dory said. “I’ve heard rumors about that guy. But wasn’t he a Greek?”
“Sure,” Polites said. “But he and Odysseus … They had this disagreement going on for years. It had all sorts of things to do with racing and Athena and glory and victory. And this one time, about halfway through the battle, things got a little heated. They started fighting, out on the beach, in the middle of everyone. Ajax cursed the name of Athena. Odysseus was not going to stand for that. But you know Odysseus. He’s smart, but he’s a little impulsive. He’d been drinking all night and had no right to get into a fight.”
“So, you stepped in and saved him?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Polites said. “I stepped in and saved him. Lost my eye. Hurt my leg. But, you know, these things happen.”
“So, you are kind of a hero,” I said.
“I wouldn’t be upset if you wrote that,” Polites said, and then he winked at me. Or at least I think he did. With an eyepatch, it’s hard to tell when someone’s winking.
“You guys see that?” Dory had stopped walking and pointed ahead.
We were over halfway across the beach, but someone must’ve seen us because there were a few people headed our way.
Polites’ hand immediately went to his sword. I grabbed my pen. For my purposes, the pen was definitely mightier that the sword.
“They look friendly,” Dory said, squinting ahead.
“Looks can be deceiving,” Polites said.
But I had to agree with Dory. The three people heading our way looked like they were dressed to go out visiting temples in their finest clothes. As they got closer, I could see that their hair was brushed until it shone, their teeth sparkled in the sunlight, but best of all, they carried trays loaded with flowers and fresh fruit.
It took everything in me not to run directly toward them and start shoving the fruit into my mouth like a starving sailor. No offense to the guys on the boat. Let’s just say that they didn’t have the best of manners.
“Fruit!” Dory said, and he took off running.
So much for manners.
I ran after him, and Polites hurried as best he could. And when I reached the people and saw how plump and juicy the fruit was, I was ready to trade away the scroll and my pen just for one small bite.
“Would you like refreshments, young travelers?” one of the three people said. It was a guy in a white toga with gold twine wrapped around it.
“You don’t mind?” I almost drooled at the sight of it.
“Of course not,” another of the people said. It was another guy, maybe a couple years older than the first, in a green toga the same color as Dory’s shirt.
“We want to share,” the third said, this one a girl. She was probably only about twenty and wore a purple toga.
“Well, in that case,” Dory said, and he grabbed a fresh peach with a huge flower attached to the top of it from the platter. Polites and I were right behind him, and when the juice from the fruit hit my lips, I was sure I’d died and gone to the Elysian Fields.
“Thank you so much,” I said, after about five bites. Mom would be horribly upset with me if I forgot to thank them, even if my excuse was that I was starving to death.
“It’s our pleasure,” the first guy said.
And they all smiled, brilliant smiles. And their eyes shone. It was kinda weird because even though their skin colors were varied, they all had the same bright blue eyes, like the ocean, where I could almost see right through them.
“Would you like some more?” the girl asked.
We all did, so we followed them back in the direction they’d come from. When we reached the town, all of the guys from the boats had already made themselves comfortable. Eurylochus was stretched out on a lounge chair with an entire plate of fruit and flowers on a table next to him. Rum and Cupcake and three other guys sat around a table, sharing trays, passing them around and trying all the different varieties that were offered.
With twelve ships and fifty guys per ship, that was a lot of sailors to feed, but the people—I didn’t know what they called themselves—didn’t seem to care. Speaking of which, that seemed like a pretty big oversight on my part. I needed details.
“What are your people called?” I asked as we followed the two guys and the girl to a table with a giant umbrella overhead. It blocked out the hot sun perfectly, and mist floated through the air down onto our heads.
“We’re just the Flower Children,” the girl said, and she sat down, so we all did. And even though I’d just eaten four huge pieces of fruit, my stomach grumbled.
The table was decorated with bright flowers that were so plump and full of life that they almost looked like they could be eaten, too. Not that I was going to eat flowers.
“Are flowers poisonous?” I asked Dory.
Dory shook his head. But it almost seemed kind of slowed down, and he smiled really slightly, almost like the sly grin I’d seen girls at school give. Well, they never gave those grins to me. More Demetrios, since he was rich and his dad was the mayor.
“Some flowers are poisonous,” Dory said. “But not these.” And he picked one up and ate it in a single bite.
I turned to look, but somewhere along the way to the table, we’d lost Polites. It was just me and Dory and the flower children who’d led us here.
“I should write this down,” I said, unrolling my scroll.
“What are you writing?” she asked, but she didn’t look down at the scroll or anything, so I got the distinct feeling that she didn’t really care.
“Just a story,” I said.
“Can I read it?” she asked.
“I guess,” I said, pushing the scroll her way.
“Here, have a flower while I read.” She handed me two of the plump flowers from the table, and since Dory hadn’t died yet from eating them, I figured they’d be okay. So, I popped one in my mouth.
I’d never had candy, but I imagine that once candy got invented, it would taste like these flowers. Because they melted in my mouth and soothed my stomach and made my head go all happy. And all I could think was that I wanted more. So, I popped another in my mouth, and then, because it didn’t seem like the people cared, I grabbed another. And I sank back in my chair and stared up at the blue sky and listened to the sound of the birds singing. They sang for five minutes straight, not missing a single note. I forgot about everything in those five minutes. Elder Pachis. The story. Mom. Being a soldier. Even Dad. Like this horrible fantasy took over. What if I could just never go back? Stay here on this island with the Flower Children. Eat fruit and flowers and drink … well, whatever it was they drank. I’m sure it was delicious.
Would Mom eventually forget about me? Go on with her life? Maybe she could keep the farm. Maybe it would all work out if I just wasn’t there.
I reached for another flower and listened to the birds for a few minutes. Their song echoed my thoughts.
“Stay with us,” they sang. “Be free of your cares.”
“I will,” I said, living in the fantasy.
“Never leave,” they sang.
“I won’t,” I said.
And for a few more minutes our harmony went on.
“Another flower?” the girl said, handing one over to me.
I turned to look at her, even though that simple movement was a huge effort. All I wanted to do was keep looking up at the sky, listening to the birds, dreaming of a life with no cares at all.
“What?” I managed to say, because I was so far into the fantasy, that nothing else really made sense.
“A flower,” she said, passing me another one.
I nodded slowly and held my hand out. And then I swiveled my head around since it was already moving and the momentum made it easier. Dory still sat next to me.
“I love this place,” I said.
Dory didn’t respond. He only stared ahead, not moving except for the slow movement of his mouth as he chewed yet another flower.
“Dory,” I said. I angled forward so I could see his face.
“Eat your flower,” the girl said.
It rested in my palm. I felt the small weight of it.
“Dory.”
Still no response. And when I finally saw his face, I jumped back.
His eyes had turned from their normal dark green to the light, light blue of the Flower Children. And his face was the color of the ash from Mount Vesuvius.
I snapped my fingers in front of him. “Hey, Dory.”
He acted like he didn’t hear me or see me. All he did was chew.
“The flower,” the girl said, closing my fingers over it.
My head snapped back to her. It was getting easier to move with every second that went by.
“I don’t want the flower right now,” I said, even though my tummy was still grumbling. I kinda did want the flower, except when I had the flower, all I wanted was the flower. It was a weird, endless loop.
“You need to eat the flower,” she said, and her face shifted, just for a second. Her teeth looked rotten and had gaping holes where some of them were missing. And her hair, which I’d thought looked really pretty before, hung in limp strands around her face—her ashen face, the same color as Dory’s. But the shift was so quick, that once she went back to normal, I figured I must’ve imagined it.
I leaned back in my chair. “I should probably write this all down.”
She shook her head slowly. “You don’t need to write it down.”
The story. Elder Pachis. Mom. Our entire future was lost if I didn’t come back with an epic tale. And then I thought about how much I missed Mom. How after Dad went away, before we found out he was missing, she’d tell me epic stories about him and all the heroic deeds he was off doing even though she had to be as worried about him as I was. I couldn’t leave her alone. Not with him already gone.
“I do need to write it down,” I said. “I really do. Everything depends on it.”
“Nothing depends on it,” she said. “Just let the future go. Relax. Have another flower.”
Maybe she was right. Maybe I could let it go.
But Mom’s face kept coming back to me. I could give up the future, maybe for myself, but not for Mom. Not when it mattered this much.
I stood, scooting my chair back. “I don’t want another flower,” I said, maybe too loud, because a bunch of the Flower Children swiveled their heads my way.
Okay, I didn’t want to draw attention. This wasn’t going well at all.
I sat back down. “I mean, I don’t want it yet. I need to … Do you guys have a bathroom?”
She nodded her head. “Of course. Follow me.”
“No. No. No. Just point me in the right direction.”
“You’re sure?” she asked.
“Totally sure,” I said.
So, she pointed back behind me, far into the city or village or whatever we were really in. All I’d seen were these outdoor tables and chairs.
“Come on, Dory,” I said, grabbing his arm.
“He can stay,” the girl said.
“He’s coming,” I said, and I yanked hard, pulling his skin. It was the first time I noticed that Dory didn’t have nearly as much hair on his arms as I did. It must be a puberty thing.
Dory didn’t put up any kind of fight. He just let me pull him up and drag him through all the people. They were all acting weird, staring straight ahead, eyes crystal blue.
The bathrooms weren’t hard to find. There were two of them, guys and girls, with signs marking which was which overhead. I started for the guys’ bathroom, pulling Dory with me, but Dory pulled back.
“I have to go in this one,” he said, pointing at the girls’ room.
“That’s for the girls,” I said. “Come on.”
“But I am a g …,” he started, but then his words drifted off, like he suddenly remembered something.
“You are a what?” I said.
Dory’s eyes were still unfocused, but it was like little thoughts were trying to go through his mind. They were just having a hard time.
“I’m a g … gorilla?” he said.
“You’re a gorilla?”
He shook his head. “No. I mean I’m a gherkin.”
“A gherkin? Dory, you aren’t making any sense.” What was in those flowers?
Wait. That was it. There was something in the flowers. Something affecting anyone and everyone who ate them.
“We need to get back to the ship,” I said. “We need to warn Odysseus.”
“Back to the ship?” Dory said. “Can’t we stay here?”
“No. We can’t stay here. We need to go.” And I dragged him away from the bathrooms and back in the direction we’d come. Back to the beach. But before the boats or dock or anything came into view, there was Odysseus himself, on the path, talking to three ladies in togas.
They held a tray out in front of him, and he reached for one of the flowers on it.
I started running. “No! Don’t eat it,” I screamed, but I was still so far away.
He picked up the flower and seemed to consider it. And then he opened his mouth.
“Odysseus! Stop! You can’t eat that!” I was closer now, and my voice must’ve carried across the wind to him because he hesitated and looked in my direction.
The three ladies turned my way, and as I got closer, their faces shifted. Ashen and dull with stringy hair and missing teeth and clothes that hung in rags. Their true appearance. Everything else was just an illusion.
“What do you say, Bard?” Odysseus called out to me.
“Don’t eat the flowers,” I said, and when I reached it, I smacked the tray to the ground.
“That was rude,” Odysseus said.
“They’re something in the flowers. Like poison. Or something. You can’t eat it.”
At my words, the three ladies took off, running back down the path. They didn’t even cast Dory a second glance.
“Poison, you say?”
“Like a drug,” I said. “It’s making people not care about stuff.”
“Is that why nobody has returned to the boat for nearly a week?” Odysseus said.
“Nearly a week! Are you kidding? It’s been like a half hour.” That was horrible news. The hourglass may be slowed down, but it was still ticking away the time I had left to get back to Ionia.
“A half hour,” Dory said, finally coming up behind me. The focus was returning to his eyes, just like the color was returning to his face.
“No, young Bard. The entire lot of you has been gone for days.”
This was not good.
“I’ve heard of this place,” Odysseus said. “It is the Isle of the Lotus Eaters. People get trapped between the slices of time on this island. They never leave. It is a dangerous place.”
That was a complete understatement.
“We need to get the guys and get out of here,” I said. If we didn’t do something, the guys were never going to want to leave.
“Exactly my thoughts,” Odysseus said, and we set out back to the city of the Lotus Eaters.
“Don’t eat any more flowers,” I said to Dory once the people came into view. A bunch of them stood up and came our way with trays.
I ran straight for the table where we’d been sitting. But the girl was nowhere in sight. Instead there were a couple of kids that looked younger than me and Dory.
“Have you guys seen the girl that was here a few minutes ago?” I said.
I wasn’t sure if that was accurate. It could have been yesterday. If nearly a week had gone by, then my concept of time was way off.
They didn’t respond. They only looked at me slowly with their blue eyes and went back to chewing the flowers. So I left them and dashed around the city, looking at every single person I could find. But the girl was nowhere. If I lost the scroll, I might as well jump off the nearest cliff. I had to have the scroll. There was no choice in the matter. And I was not going to give up looking for it.
“To the boats,” Odysseus bellowed. I noticed he had Polites next to him, helping him gather up the guys. None of them seemed to want to go. But Odysseus was persuasive. I wasn’t sure what he said to them, but slowly, one by one, they got up and started down the path. Maybe he promised them more flowers back on the boat.
I kept searching until I finally found her. She sat with Eurylochus, feeding him flowers. His normal dark polished skin was like ash. Maybe we could leave him here, leave him behind.
No, that was horrible. We couldn’t leave anyone behind. Even if he was a moldy piece of bread.
“I need my scroll,” I said to the girl.
“Why?” she said, like my statement confused her.
“Give it to me now.” I didn’t have time for games or questions.
“I don’t have it.” She pressed a flower to her cheek and let out a deep sigh.
I got right in her face. “You either find my scroll right this second, or I will find a way to destroy every single flower on this island. You will never have another one.”
This was complete baloney. I had no clue how many flowers there were or how I’d destroy them. But the threat was enough. Her already wide eyes got wider, and she moved from table to table, searching for it.
I searched alongside her, and when she finally found it, under a beach umbrella, her face both relaxed and grew serious. She held it out to me and implored me with her eyes.
“Make us famous, Homer,” she said. “Let the Flower Children be remembered. Let us be a warning to others.”
The only person I planned to let read my story besides Dory was Elder Pachis, so I didn’t think I’d be making anyone famous. But I nodded and took the scroll and ran.
Long story short. We all made it back to the boat. The men were seriously unhappy when they found out there weren’t any flowers on board, and Odysseus had to tie them to the benches and make them not eat until they’d gotten all the flower out of their systems. They were furious until they weren’t. And then they were just back to normal. I wrote it all down, as fast as I could, because I knew our journey would be ending soon. We were going to be to Ithaca in a matter of days.
A week later, we spotted a new island in the distance. I was sure it was Ithaca. Of course, once again, I was completely wrong.