Ian is a demigod; half mortal, half god. His mother is Athena. He is on his way to a new life with his father. Ian and his dad had always lived in Spain but now it was time for them to leave. His dad had worked as a successful scientist in Madrid but his company just went bankrupt. He thought it would be best for both of them if they moved to the United States. Ian is excited but at the same time scared. He is leaving his friends behind (not that he has many) and he is worried he won't be able to make new friends. Right now, he's sitting on his bed, knitting an orange scarf that's way too long for anyone to wear. He always knits when he's nervous, it helps to clear his head and calm him down. He hears a knock at his door and his dad walks in.
"How're you doing, son?" he asks, sitting on the bed next to Ian.
Ian sighs, "Fine, dad."
"Look, I know it's hard for you to be moving away from your friends but you'll make plenty more when we get to New York. I promise."
"Whatever," Ian goes back to his knitting, speeding up.
His dad gets up, walks back out, and closes the door. As soon as he's gone, Ian gets up and sets a target poster up on his wall. He grabs some needles out of his sewing kit and starts throwing them at the poster. Every needle hits the bull's-eye. He still doesn't know he can do this but he doesn't care much since it's fun. He pulls the needles out of the poster, places them back in the sewing kit, and tosses the poster into the trashcan.
"We are approaching New York Harbor. Please be ready to disembark when we dock. Thank you," the speaker outside his room announced.
He begins to pack his suitcases which was easy because he didn't have much stuff with him and most of it was still left untouched inside his bags. When he is finished, he decides to take a walk on the deck. He walks outside and immediately a blast of salty sea breeze hit him in the face. He breathes in sharply.
"Ahhh!" he exclaims.
He starts toward the railing and looks out over the water. In the distance, he can see New York Harbor. He smiles despite himself, the day was beautiful. Mr. Tharcy comes up behind him.
"Kid, would you look at that? We're finally here. We can start a new part of our lives."
Ian sighs, "Yeah, let's just hope it'll be better."
At this, Mr. Tharcy becomes silent, looking out at the approaching harbor and the city beyond.
When they reached the harbor, Ian and his dad disembarked from the ship with their bags in hand and headed towards the street. His dad called for a taxi and soon they were speeding away towards their hotel.
"We'll only be staying there for a week at most," his dad had promised him. "We should be able to find a nice place by then."
Ian was sitting in the back of the taxi and looked out the window at all the buildings they passed. Eventually, the taxi stopped in front of a tall hotel named the Nesva. Ian's father paid the cabbie and they headed inside. Inside, it appears larger than it does outside. Ian looks around the building, noticing all the little details. He sees an ornate mantelpiece on the far wall above a blazing fireplace. The fire warms the place up nicely. His father walks up to the desk and asks for their room key. The receptionist hands him their room card and he thanks her. They head to the elevator and press the button for the fourth floor. The elevator stops and they get out, heading toward room 42A. Ian steps inside and gasps. The room is decorated just like their home in Spain was.
"H-how did you get them to do this?" he asks his dad.
His dad smiles at him and replies, "I told them how much you would be missing our house in Spain and told them how it looked. They agreed happily."
"Thank you," Ian says, tearing up.
They set their suitcases down and Ian sits down on his bed, still gazing around the room. Everything is exact, right down to the paintings on the walls and the vases on the shelves. Ian goes into the bathroom to wash up but as soon as he shuts the door, he gets a surprise.
"Wh-what? What is this?" he says looking the mirror.
There, right above his head, is an owl. He hears a voice in his head.
"Welcome my child. I was wondering when you would come." "Who are you?" he asks the voice quietly. "I'm your mother, Athena. And don't try to deny it, you know it's true."
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
My mother is Athena? he thought to himself. This can't possibly be true.
The owl disappears from above his head and the voice stays silent. He stares into the mirror at himself and suddenly he can see a woman standing behind him. He turns around quickly.
"Who are you?" he asks of her.
"Why, you already know the answer to that, child," she replies softly.
And then he recognizes the voice.
"You're… you're Athena. You're my mother?"
"Yes, I thought you would have guessed it by now, what with all of your hobbies," she sighs. "But of course, no one ever believes in us anymore until they find out the truth."
"What are you doing here?"
"I just came to welcome you and to tell you that you should go to Camp Half-Blood. It's where you'll be safest."
And with that, she disappears. Ian is left alone in the bathroom, confused more than ever.
"Ian, are you okay in there? Who are you talking to?" Ian's dad calls from the room.
"I'm fine dad, I was just talking to myself," Ian replies, hoping it convinces his dad.
"Alright then."
Ian hears his dad leave the room and he decides it's safe to come out. He sits down on the bed and takes out the scarf he was knitting. He notices an owl design in it which he was sure he hadn't done. He stares at it for a moment before putting it away.
"How will I find this 'Camp Half-Blood'?" he wonders aloud.
A note flutters down into his hands, seeming to appear out of thin air. On it is written: 'You'll find it soon enough. For now, just relax.' The note disappears as quickly as it appeared. It's late and Ian decides to go to sleep for now. He lies on his bed and falls asleep. When his dad comes back, he sees Ian curled up on the bed and places a blanket over him.
He kisses his forehead and whispers, "Good night."
He then lies down on the other bed. Soon, his breathing slows and he's asleep. Ian awoke the next morning to an empty room. A note is placed on the night stand telling him that his father just went out to get some things from the store and he'll be back in a few hours. He gets up and walks about the room, completely forgetting about his encounter from the day before. He walks out onto the balcony, looking out at the city below him. He spots a small bird on the sidewalk, pecking at some crumbs. A squirrel climbs a tree in the nearby park. He just stands there, fascinated by all the creatures. A lizard crawls up his arm and he holds it closer to him.
"Well, hello there," he says softly.
The lizard quickly scrambles away, frightened by his voice. He sighs and returns to the room. Sitting on the couch, he flips open his favorite book to where he left off.
'Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.'
He begins to cry, remembering the times with his father when he was young and they would sit outside, reading him this poem. Somehow, his father seemed to have it memorized and never needed to look at the book, though he always had it in his hand.
His dad walks in then and sees Ian crying.
"Ian, what's wrong?" he asks, concerned.
Ian sniffles and replies, "N-nothing dad. I was just reading this book."
He holds it out for his dad to see. His dad sits down next to him on the couch and gives him a hug.
"I remember all those times you had me read that poem to you. It always made you sad yet you kept asking me to read it again and again."
Ian wipes the tears from his eyes.
"Dad, I… I need to tell you something."
"What is it, son?"
"Yesterday in the bathroom, I wasn't talking to myself. This is going to sound crazy but… I was talking to Athena. And she said she was my mother. Is that true dad?"
His father sighs. "I knew this day would come. Son, that is true. Athena is your mother."
"But you said mom died in a lab accident."
"I had to lie to you… to protect you. I didn't want you to have to find out until you were ready. I guess that time is now."
"She… she also said that I need to go to a place, Camp Half-Blood. She said that it's the safest place for me."
"Yes, and that is the reason I chose to move to Manhattan. It's close by so I'll be able to protect you when you go there. I'll show you where it is tomorrow. Today, I just want you to rest and let everything sink in."
His dad gets up and walks into the kitchen where he starts to make breakfast. Ian just stays on the couch, thinking about everything his dad just told him.
A camp? Does that mean there are others like me? What am I going to do there? What will it be like?
He goes over and sits at the dining table, watching his dad cook eggs and sausages.
"Dad, will I ever get to see you again after tomorrow?" he asks, worried.
His dad turns to look at him. "Of course you will. You'll only have to go to camp during the summer. The rest of the year you'll be with me and you can go to school too."
Ian smiles at this and looks down at the table. His dad returns to making breakfast.