The endless sea expands all around me. I couldn't breathe from being in the water for so long. The atmosphere was a deadly, crushing force. It is something that I cannot beat using force or battle. Bubbles are rising from my mouth, a high pitched scream vibrating through my ears.

My scream. My bubbles. My air.

I try to remain calm and not thrash around, but I can't inhale, only exhale. I pretend it is air and I suck in a breath, but water runs through my nose and mouth. The last thing I see is a blinding sun above me, rippling through the watery surface.

Then I black out.

"A watery death? Not fun," I hear. I open my eyes and see a figure over me, blocking the harsh sunlight. My eyes drift over to the room. It has a curtain separating me from another patient. I'm lying in a white comfortable bed with an IV needle jammed in my arm. A monitor is measuring my heartbeat's rate and blood pressure.

I open my mouth to say, "I'm dead. How about you?"

"That's a nice way to greet someone," the figure says. The so-called 'figure' has curly brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. She's wearing a coat and jeans. When she turns around, I see a full view of her face.

She has a semi-stubby nose. This feature goes well with her wide eyes and low eyebrows. The doctor has a skin tone of somewhere in between dark and pale. It looks more of like a tan color, except that she's not orange like how those people in a magazine cover does. Her skin is smooth and her ears are shaped like an elf's, though a little less pointy. She also has a full lower lip and a half upper lip.

In other words, men, if you see her walking down a lane or on the sidewalk, go for it.

"I'm your doctor, Thalia Hunter. Whatever you do, do NOT call me Doctor Hunter or Doc., okay?" she asks me.

"Okay, Doctor Hunter," I say cheekily. Thalia pretends to throttle me.

I pretend to wipe tears away from my face with my free arm and say, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you that, Doc.!" Thalia gives me the evil eye wheels me to my room.

Along our way, Thalia tries to start a conversation.

"So, uh… what's your name?" Thalia asks me.

"Hayden." I say. "Hayden Troy."

"Oh! Do you mean Troy as in Helen of Troy?" she questions.

"Yeah," I answer. "Studies show that I'm actually related to her in a way. She's my ancestor. So, uh, what's your name's meaning?"

"My name comes from a minor Greek goddess. She's one of the Nine Muses for Apollo. Thalia is the goddess of comedy, making me naturally funny," she states. I laugh at her statement.

"What?" she demands. "I am funny."

We reach my hospital room and Thalia tells me, "Don't die again," and with a wink, she's gone. I just stare up at the ceiling, trying to decipher the words she told me.

Okay, so Thalia is Theia and Theo's mom. And Thalia IS NOT THE TREE, but a different person altogether in this story.

This takes place in the 1989.