The Orchid's Blessing
Chapter Two
I sprawled on my bed, trying to contain the flood of tears. I hadn't felt this awful since the original yellow cosmoses from Ms. Yager had died last year. From the various sounds, I could tell Helen was standing just outside the door with her head against my closed door, probably trying to figure out what she could do to help me. I really did like Helen, you know, it's just... she took Dad time away from me and I will admit to begrudging her, just a little.
Andromeda was perched just above my shoulder. I had closed my window and let all five birds out of their cages. The little blue one I left downstairs, not trusting myself to be ready to try to comfort and mend relationships with her. Helen had made sure it wasn't injured. Rhea was probably settled among the rainbow cosmoses on the east wall. Atlanta perched herself on the bare spot I had been saving for the stupid old orchid. Penelope and Bobbette were whistling – well, Bobbette was whistling and Penelope was singing – Amazing Grace.
Penelope's voice was scratchy, not quite human, but very close to human for a bird. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me." I clenched my fists under my pillow. "I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see." I pushed the lyrics away, trying to focus on something else. Andromeda started singing as well, her voice almost as perfect as a bird could be. "Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear, the–"
With a sudden squawk, the birds stopped singing.
I pulled my head out from below my pillow and stared at the woman who had just invaded my room. But the door was still closed. And the window was still closed. Before I could even process what was happening, I screamed. The birds fluttered and screeched like mad, Helen yanked the door open and practically ran into my room, her eyes wide, and the woman just blinked at me, like a very stupid parakeet. Or an owl. Owls would be very stupid in comparison to a parakeet. At least, I thought so. Parakeets were the best bird alive. Focus, my mind yelled at me.
Helen froze by the foot of my bed, staring at the intruder with scared eyes. The woman was fairly tall, had blond hair tied back with a rather extravagant, crazy system of braids and loops and ties and knots. She was wearing a white toga, of all things. A wreath of holly was woven through her hair and her belt was made up of twigs and green leaves and... she wasn't wearing shoes. Her eyes were this kind of honey color that looked really ugly against her tanned brown skin. But then her eyes turned blue. It was all very disconcerting.
"I must apologize for my appearance," said the woman, very primly, "I just came from a meeting of the West County Committee for a Greener Planet. Bah. You would think you mortals had finally picked up on the fact that you're destroying the planet. Hello, Katie, do you eat your cereal like a good little girl?"
Helen stepped in front of me; which, I don't know, it felt good, she was shaking so much. I think we were both terrified. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" The woman scoffed, "I think I'm the one asking the questions. Who are you? Lovely plants by the way, pity you don't have an orchid, those really are–" Helen reached down and laid her hand on my knee. I stopped quivering, just a little. "–the crowning flower. Nice collection of cosmoses." The woman reached down to touch the little rainbow colored flowers. Rhea bit her. The woman pulled back, shaking her hand and glaring at the bird. "Anyway," the woman turned to me and Helen, "I'm Katie's mother, Demeter, goddess of the harvest."
I'm sure even the birds could feel the tension in the room. Andromeda hopped down onto my shoulder. Penelope and Bobbette were staring at the stranger with calculating, almost evil looks. Helen had tensed to the point where I thought you could pluck her like a stringed instrument and she would snap. But... I looked at the woman. My mother? Mother! But, no. I shook my head. Dad was an only parent. He never talked about my mom. He said I just showed up with a note, and... I closed my eyes, trying to sort through all the thoughts that were jumbled inside my head.
"You," said Helen, with calculated slowness, "are a loon."
Demeter straightened, for a second, I thought she was going to blow Helen to smithereens and back again, she looked so angry. "You are very close to being wrapped inside a giant cocoon of never dying barley that will scratch at your skin and hold you in stasis until I decide to be merciful and let you out. I assure you, I am not a loon."
"Shouldn't you be in a good mood?" I blurted out, before I could stop myself. "I mean, Persephone's back from the Underworld."
Helen looked at me like I was out of my mind.
Demeter nodded. "Good, at least you know your history. Katie, your sister for reasons I cannot fathom, decided to go back for a short visit today. Unthinkable. Anyway, it's time for you to go to Camp Half-Blood, so, here I am to escort you."
"Now wait just a minute-" Helen started. My birds all screamed, very loudly.
Again, I thought the stranger-woman was going to fry Helen. How could she really be Demeter? I mean, the Greek gods weren't real! But then, she had popped into my room out of nowhere. But. No. What about all the monsters? They couldn't exist as well. If the Greek gods existed, then wouldn't Kronos and all the bad guys? And my dreams of torture and deliberation and all those mythical heroes? No. No. No. My brain would have blown apart if my skull hadn't conveniently kept it squashed together. There was too much to think about, too much to try and process.
And as for Demeter being my mother; I didn't have a mother. I'd never had a mother. My thoughts flickered briefly to Ms. Yager, but she immediately disappeared. That had been four years ago. Helen popped through my thoughts. What was a mother? Biologically or philosophically? At that thought, I was sure my head would explode.
"What authority do you have over the girl?" Demeter challenged. "I am her mother, you are not-"
"But no," I said. At first, I wasn't sure they heard me. Then Helen slowly turned to look at me, a questioning, confused look on her face. "You've never been here," I told the stranger-woman, trying to calm my racing nerves. Andromeda perched on my shoulder, pressing her comforting little body against my ear. "You haven't watched me grow up. That's always been Helen." I glanced briefly at Helen, just long enough to see her face as a whirlpool of mixed emotions. I swallowed. How was she going to react to this?
Demeter scowled, "Come to Camp, girl, you'll learn to protect yourself there."
"From what?" I demanded.
"Why," she sounded shocked. "from monsters and such." I licked my lips. Monsters. It sounded sufficiently dangerous, and... Helen looked terrified at the thought of monsters. I swallowed again. One giant question bounced through my head. Why?
"But why?" I asked.
She blinked. "Because they're dangerous. I just came to escort you because sometimes the immersion into Greek culture can be a bit shocking and I thought meeting your mother might ease the shock a little."
I leapt off the bed, anger rolling in my stomach. "I'm not going to leave my family just because something is dangerous!" I was not going to become my dad. "And if you wanted to ease the shock you might have not randomly popped into my room wearing a toga and blaming the human race for global warming! I'm sure it's all the gods' fault!" I'm not sure where that came from, it just sort of sounding like something that would get on her nerves. "Go away!" The parakeets were fluttering, very agitated. Very, very agitated. My poor little birds; I never shouted in front of them.
Demeter popped away, rather angrily, and in the place were Atlanta perched, a little blossom appeared. Atlanta hopped down to my outstretched hand as the sprout grew and grew and grew and turned into a Cascading Cymbidium Orchid. I started trembling. Beside me, Helen was sobbing. I'm not totally sure why. The flower I had wanted with all my heart for years was right in front of me, in my room, all mine. But I didn't want it anymore.
I didn't want anything from her. Like an robot, I walked to my desk and pulled out a pair of pruning sheers. Without thinking, I cut the orchid at the roots and walked to the window. Helen had stopped crying, and was staring at me, her mouth slightly open in shock. I opened the window and let the orchid cutting fall from my hand. Methodically, I shut and locked the window. I turned to face Helen.
"Oh Katie," she whispered. She had sunken to my bed. "Oh Katie, I'm so sorry."
I ran to her, throwing my myself into her hug. It felt amazing.
For the first time ever, I felt like I had a mother, and it wasn't Demeter.
o()-()-()-()o
It wasn't like things were instantly better. The day I turned twelve will forever be one of the best days of my life, but also one of the worst days of my life. Helen and I took care of the little blue parakeet and I named it Ariadne. Helen asked if I even considered naming her Demeter. I said no.
Dad returned two days later, at about eleven o'clock. I was cocooned in my room, flipping through a book of songs and poetry to decide what to teach Ariadne. Andromeda and Atlanta were on my pillow, whistling "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," their first ever song. I heard the apartment door open and close, and then Helen approaching him. I think they thought I was asleep, because Helen started yelling at him two minutes later.
And, jeez, could she yell. I mean, she yelled about his work, she yelled about his attention about me, she yelled about Demeter – I bet Dad just loved that – she yelled about practically everything. After just a little while, I returned my birds to their cages, being incredibly careful with Ariadne. I could seriously damage my relationship with the littlest parakeet if I did anything to harm her. I turned the light off and climbed in bed. Later, Dad came in and kissed my forehead, saying he was sorry. Just that, "I'm sorry."
The summer was still rather little rocky. The three of us fought at lot, still getting used to the extended hours Dad was hope. It sounds backwards, but there were a lot of problems we had to work out as a family. Dad and Helen finally got married towards the end of my vacation. I taught the birds a song to sing for them. Atlanta, Andromeda, Bobbette, Ariadne, and Rhea couldn't have been better on pinch, together, chorally, etc. Penelope started singing Happy Birthday. I would swear, Happy Birthday is Penelope's favorite song.
Demeter showed up again, practically insisting that I go to her summer camp, but Dad was there and he said no. Very firmly. I did end up at camp, the summer after my sixth grade year. Lucien, the creepy kid that I mentioned twice before, well, turns out he's this satyr from the camp and he saved me from this bird-like monsters called a harpy or whatever. I was just running and screaming for all I was worth and then Lucien steps up and runs an arrow through the harpy's chest and convinces me that I really should go to camp. Turns out, there are harpies at camp, but for some reason, those ones are domesticated. Really, don't ask me to explain it.
Camp was, different, I'll tell you that much. They placed me in the Demeter cabin right away, and a lot of kids seemed to hate me for that reason. My already low opinion of the Greek gods lowered about five notches just that first day. Lucien stayed until I was settled with my half-siblings before returning to our school district in New York City. A year later, when I was fourteen, I find out that there's going to be a war. A lot of problems happened when I fought the war. Dad and Helen tried to talk me out of it, but I decided I owed it to my half-siblings, cousins, and the other demigods I was distantly related too.
I still get nightmares from the battles I fought and the people I saw die.
After the war, I stayed with Dad and Helen; building up my parakeet flock and tending my plants. We never moved from that apartment. Anyway, my parakeets became famous. My parakeets, mind you, not me. I hated the fame. A couple years after the war, Andromeda passed away. Atlanta died about a week after Andromeda; I think she missed her long time duet partner and best friend. For awhile, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep training parakeets, but I pushed through. I've got thirty-five now, and only Bobbette doesn't have a name from Greek mythology, and still, none of them are named Demeter. The newest addition to the flock is Andromeda Jr. Little 'Dromeda Jr. hasn't quite joined the choral singing yet, but she's almost ready with "Amazing Grace."
I never did get an orchid. Dad offered to buy me one, shortly after he married Helen, but I didn't really want it. Maybe I'm over thinking things here, but I think the orchid just represented my family, and I got a family. I got Dad back, I got Helen, I got my half-siblings, and I got my parakeets. I was given an amazing world, a world worth fighting for, and I didn't need an orchid to make it better.
I had my family.
