It had been a long, hard week at work. Sally couldn't wait to go to her little getaway beach cabin at Montauk. Every week was seemingly more and more difficult to be happy, Montauk gave Sally a little shred of happiness every time. Not having to return to work until her week of vacation was over, Sally had bought a week's worth of groceries and headed down to her favorite place.
After commencing the annual cleaning of the cabin and putting the food away in their respective places, she made way for the beach. Grabbing a book, towel, sunglasses, and putting on her bathing suit she made her way down the long peninsula shaped beach. She situated herself a good distance away from her cabin, close to the ocean, but not far away enough for it to be out of sight. Ever since she could remember she had witnessed the oddest things. The last thing she needed was for her cabin to be raided by a one eyed man or set on fire by some sort of lizard. Deciding not to worry, she picked up her favorite fiction romance book and started reading about monstrous Antonio and his forbidden love with the human girl, Christella.
Before long, Sally was slipping into unconsciousness. Falling asleep under the beating sun dreaming about her fictional characters and desiring a love story in her waking life. Much to Sally's discontent, a chilly breeze abruptly woke her from her sleep. The sun was now sinking behind the ocean's horizon and the wind was picking up. Being beside the sea was always colder at night. She collected her things and started making her way back up the deserted beach. Halfway toward her cabin, she spotted a man facing the ocean, gazing off into the distance. It could have been the weariness of the sun drenched sleep, or the fact that is was dark, but she could of sworn she saw him holding a spear like object. Shaking her head she continued on her way. Having your head stuck in fiction books isn't going to help you out, dear. You already have an overactive imagination as it is. Why feed it with more nonsense? As she neared, then passed the man, she could have bet her life that she saw him holding a- impossible. No sane person would be carrying that around. Even if it was part of a costume, why would he have it here?
Her curiosity overwhelmed her and directed her feet towards the mysterious man. As she got closer she became dazzled by his dark, untamed hair, ruffling in the breeze. He hadn't noticed her approach yet. She looked down and saw something quite unusual. It wasn't his white button down shirt or the khaki shorts, or even the hideous brown flip flops that didn't match. It was the trident. She had been right in what she saw. She gazed up from the trident embedded in the sand, to the strong hand and arm that was holding it. Clearly he worked out, the veins on his forearm were ever so slightly pronounced. Without a doubt he was the most attractive man Sally had ever seen. From the lighting situation, she could see a deep tan, probably European, he had a sharp, set jaw line, a brooding yet handsome face. His eyes flickered with the last light of the dying sun. She saw them sparkle a deep sea green. Sally had let out a little gasp, turning the males attention on her.
"Hello." his eyes crinkled into a smile and he turned to face Sally.
"H-hi." she stammered over her words, unable to remove her eyes from his. They looked endless. "Um, why do you have a trident?" she asked.
The mystery mans face contorted in a way Sally didn't expect. Surprise, confusion, and then stoic. He shifted on his feet and continued to stare into her eyes, like he was trying to read her soul.
"You can see this trident?" he pointed to his right hand.
"Y-yes?" Sally was now becoming very confused. Was she not supposed to see it?
Confusion shot back up on the man's face. He looked Sally up and down once before returning to her face. Shying away a little, Sally took a tentative step backward. Once again, the man's face changed. His face softened and looked apologetic.
"I didn't mean to scare you. This doesn't happen very often." he gazed towards his trident then back at Sally.
"What doesn't happen? People noticing your trident?" she looked at the trident once more. Amazed at how realistic it looked, the detail that was edged along the grooves.
"Yes." with a sigh he turned back toward the ocean. "You're out here all alone?" he asked.
If there's one sign that made Sally's hair stand, it was a strange man asking if you were alone. For some odd reason, she completely trusted him. "Yes. I fell asleep on the beach."
His eyes cracked into that brilliant smile again. "It is very easy to fall asleep under the warm sun, with the salty spray on your skin." he had turned and trailed a hand up Sally's arm. Repressing the goosebumps that followed his trail, she swallowed hard.
"Yes." she said breathlessly.
"So you enjoy the ocean, then?" he removed his hand and gestured toward the ocean.
"Oh, yes. Always have. It's beautiful. It's probably my favorite place." Sally seemed lost in memories of her childhood. She had a vague memory of when she was about four or five, her parents would always take her to the beach and let her play in the sand banks for hours on end. That tradition changed when they didn't return from their flight from the Bahamas. Ever since then, it's been trouble and trauma, no time for enjoying the beach.
"You seem sad." he said gazing into her eyes again. They were locked on the horizon. He placed his hand on her chin and drew her gaze onto him. "But you have stunning eyes."
Sally blushed and moved her head back toward the ocean. She had never thought her dull blue eyes had been pretty.
"You're one to talk. You have amazing eyes. I could spend all day looking in them." as soon as the sentence left Sally's mouth she regretted it. Her eyes widened and she put her hands to her mouth. To her surprise, the man just smiled and gave a soft chuckle. The crinkles returning to the corners of his eyes.
"You are different from the other women I've met." he reached for her hand.
"Different how?" Sally asked, looking at their hands, now slowing intertwining.
"For one thing you have clear sight, you are very attractive, and you are magnetic. I have no desire to leave." he looked her up and down once more, returning his gaze back on her face.
"You must have met other attractive women, and what do you mean by clear sight?" she questioned.
"Yes. But the nymph look gets old. Human women are much more radiant." he lifted her hand to his mouth and gave it a soft kiss. "You can apparently see through the Mist. See me for who I truly am." as much as Sally wanted to back away from the strange, yet addictive man, she wanted to know more about this 'Mist'.
"What's the Mist? Who are you really?" question after question bounced into her head, all demanding an answer.
"I think you can be the one I trust. The one mortal I give myself over too." he pressed his trident deeper into the ground so it could stand on it's own. "If you will give me the time to explain, you'll find all your questions answered." he held out his other hand.
Sally wasn't sure what had gotten into her lately, but she took the man's other hand and was led to a pair of beach towels that she was sure wasn't there before.
The night had been one of the best nights of Sally's life. The mystery man revealed himself as the Greek god Poseidon, which Sally had trouble believing. To prove himself, he had a series of sea creatures retrieve precious shells and stones from the bottom of the ocean. He even offered to stop the tide. Sally was head over heels in this new wind whirl of love. As he was a Greek god, Sally had her suspicions about him leaving her. However, Poseidon had pledged himself to her. Sally could see in his eyes that he meant what he had said. As the night went on they continued to chat and envelop themselves in each other's love.
As the sun rose the next morning, they woke up in each other's arms. Poseidon stayed true to his word and remained with her for the following week. Having underwater adventures and moonlit walks, soon after, Sally found herself pregnant. Being the happiest the couple could have been, it all went sour after a series of storms that had taken place on the beach. Zeus demanded that Poseidon return to his palace and leave the mortal alone. Being unable to deny his ruler brother, with a great twinge of pain in his heart, he was forced to leave. He tried to convince Sally to live in his palace with him under the ocean, but she saw it fit to raise their son in the mortal world for the time being until it was his time to join the world in between.
And then begins the story of our beloved hero, Percy Jackson.