Furious! Livid! Infuriated! There was not one adjective that could describe how mad he was. He was amazed at his restraint because if it were any other god they would have already released many lightning bolts toward the planet below.
He had decided to release his daughters from their confines knowing that they are anxious to be released from limbo after being cooped up for such a long time. When he recited the spell to free them, there was nothing. Nothing. All of his daughters are gone and he can't figure out how they left. The first thing he decides to do is find his wife. Maybe she can make some sense of this nonsense.
Mnemosyne was at first saddened to hear that her daughters were missing. But secretly she couldn't have been more proud of them. Many times she told Zeus that locking them up and keeping their spirits free to move about away from Olympus was the wrong thing to do and it would backfire on him. It seems that this has rung true. She has an idea who started this but will wait until her thoughts are confirmed.
Mnemosyne knows that the muse who started all of this had a reason and a plan to involve her sisters to avoid being brought back. She knows that her husband will collect them all not giving any of them the chance to explain why they escaped. They are likely in the wind scattered on the planet below avoiding their father. What she can't figure out is how she was able to be summoned in the first place. Muses have what could be the seventh sense so to speak. She knows that they are mischievous and can sometimes hear when someone is in need. This makes her think more about who it could have been. Polymnia. (Kate) She is the only one whose spirit could have heard the calling of someone in distress on the planet below. Since she has figured out who the culprit is the only way that she can get them all back is to let Polymnia's calling run its course. She's not too sure that Zeus would want to hear her theory so she'll keep him guessing as to how to get them back. Sometimes women do know better.
Kate (Polymnia) realizes that her clothing is not appropriate for the climate as it is a bit cold for the time that she is in. A lot has changed since she has been on this planet last. But her fascination with the world around her has her nearly frozen standing firmly in place on the sidewalk facing 8th Avenue. Not only do they have yellow-wheeled vehicles, but she also notices that many people get in and out of them at different destinations and pick-up points. This leaves her to believe that they are a form of conveyance. The next sight she sees is that there are numerous winged birds in the air above her. They are very large and move at a very fast speed. They catch the sun's reflection and she thinks they resemble Hermes. Sleek and fast as the wind.
Turning away from the bus terminal, Kate walks along 8th Avenue looking to find something to wear. Knowing that what she's wearing now will probably get the attention of the constables who walk the streets, she quickly ducks into a boutique that could have what she needs.
"Hello, may I help you?" The overzealous saleswoman asks.
"Hello. I am looking for something better to wear. Do you have anything to show me?"
"I think I might have something in your size? What pleases you?" She asks.
Kate looks at the items hanging in the display window and what is on the racks. It's hard for her to decide on something and what fits in with this era. Lost as to what to select she looks to the saleswoman to show her something that would fit her.
"I have just the thing. Give me a minute and I'll be right back."
In less than half an hour Kate has a bright smile on her face as she walks out of the boutique. The saleswoman whose name was Fiona had sold her a dress with a bright floral pattern and matching high-heeled shoes. But it didn't stop there. Kate asked for and got an overcoat because it looked like it was going to rain, an umbrella, and a small backpack.
The owner, Fiona, watched as her last customer walks out the door. She has an odd feeling about her as if she was taken advantage of but she can't figure out how. She knows that the woman came in here asking for something that would fit her in her size in the form of a dress. And then she also needed matching shoes and stockings the whole ensemble. She was happy to oblige but after the initial meeting, she doesn't remember anything at all. The only thing she remembers is waving goodbye to her last customer as she walked out the door.
Even though she was here to help someone who needed her help she decided to roam free because she had been cooped up in the heavens for the past 350-plus years. She turned South on 8th Avenue and headed in the direction of the writer who needs her help. She's not in a rush to get there so she does a little sightseeing along the way. This city is vibrant and alive and people are larger than life. She loves everything about it. She walks on and sees a dance studio on her left. She slows down as she gets closer to the corner studio and peers through the glass. What she sees inside are women like herself practicing The Art of Dance.
She watches intently as an older group of women practice their dance moves. They are very skilled at what they do. Then she looks to the right. What she sees makes her feel so happy inside. Some little girls could not be older than 7 are working with the barre. She sees who must be their teacher explaining to them what to do when they approach the bar. She can tell that the bar is a bit lower so it can accommodate their small bodies. The teacher gets them warmed up with exercises that stretch their bodies and then they start doing basic moves. She can tell that they are still limbering up because they are extending their arms outward and stretching to touch their toes with the opposing arm. She stands there and watches for about 25 minutes. The teacher brings the small children through the full routine of warming up before they start dancing. Once they are warmed up and ready to go, Kate watches as they start to sway to the music. Once they start having fun and letting go, on the sidewalk outside looking through the glass, Kate starts to sway to the music as well.
Before she knows it people are gathering behind her as she mimics the moves the girls are making inside the studio. She doesn't notice until she sees the reflection of the people in the glass. Then she decides it's time to move on. She continues walking down 8th Avenue towards The Garment District. As she walks through District she sees men and women pushing and pulling racks of clothing. There must be some sort of event that's going on that requires them to provide these items. She doesn't know exactly what they're doing but she is amazed at what they are bringing to this event. She continues walking further south and she's headed toward Chelsea. She walks through Greenwich Village and she knows he is close to the writer's location. She only has a couple of blocks to go before she gets to where he is.
"You need to tell me! You are my wife and I demand that you tell me what you know."
"You never did understand did you husband? You think the world revolves around you and the decisions that you make but we all know that the mighty Zeus can't keep control over his daughters. What did you think was going to happen after so much time being locked up? Muses are meant to help. They are created in your image and you simply lock them up! How can you be so callous?"
"Mnemosyne, They are my world! It was not my intention to keep them bound to the heavens for long. This was simply just a time for them to reflect. I had decided to release them from their confines but when I arrived they were already missing."
"Zeus, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but keeping them locked up gave them time to think. You do know what happens when they think, don't you? They start thinking that they are not worthy of the gifts that they are given. But there is one in particular who can tune in to the needs of people who are distressed so to speak. And she was the one who figured out how to break free of the hold you had on her. I'm pretty sure you know what she did once she was free. She freed her sisters and then they just vanished. So now you have your work cut out for you Zeus because if they don't want to be found they won't be."
"Balderdash! I know my daughters and they would never betray me in this fashion! I will find them and bring them back no matter how long it takes." He tells her.
Mnemosyne has only two words for her husband,
"Good Luck!"
He could swear he heard it again. But this time it was more pronounced than the last he heard it. The voice told him to concentrate on his writing. He lies in bed and chalked it up as his imagination runs wild within the confines of his brain. He tried to write all of last night while Alexis was out with her friends. She was back by her 10 pm curfew and she stopped by his office.
"Any luck dad?"
"That depends on what you're asking about? I did have some luck in finding someplace to go to get away, but I'm having no luck whatsoever getting past this writer's block that I'm having."
"You need to relax. Trying to put writing out of your mind just temporarily. I know Gina is on your back about getting the outline to her but as they say, you can't rush greatness."
Rick looks at his daughter with a questionable look on his face.
"What?" She asks when she sees the look on his face.
"How did you know about the outline I was supposed to have to Gina already?"
"Dad come on it's not hard to figure out and I don't mean the writer's block. What I mean is that Gina is always calling and since you promised her an outline and the first couple of chapters of the new book months ago I just put two plus two together. I mean I like her and everything but she can be very vindictive when she wants to be."
His daughter knows way too much of the real world for his liking. He pities the man that goes up against her in anything that she feels strongly about. It wouldn't be pretty.
"Yes but Alexis this is not your problem to worry about. I know that you're concerned about what happens but you shouldn't be. Ever since I ended the Storm series, I've banked enough money so that if I ever did have a situation like the one I'm facing now I would still be able to survive without an income. My investments have been fruitful and you have nothing to worry about."
"Dad It's not the money I'm worried about. What I'm worried about is your creative drive. Writer's block aside to me it just seems that you're not into writing anything anymore."
His daughter had him there. At least that part was true. It's not that he didn't have ideas jumping around in his head it's just that he didn't feel that he was good enough to get back on the New York Times bestseller list. He needed something extravagant that would grab the reader's attention. And so far he came up with absolutely nothing.
You can do anything you put your mind to. Simply shut out everything around you and concentrate. I have faith in your abilities.
He quickly looks around and sees absolutely nothing but his daughter standing right in front of his desk. Feeling foolish he asks her this,
"Alexis, did you hear that?"
"Hear what dad?"
"I just could have sworn I heard a voice."
"A voice? Coming from where?"
He looks at his daughter and can see the haunted look on her face. Before he realizes what he's asking her he stops and changes the subject. He doesn't want her to think that he is slowly losing his mind. So he asks what her plans are for tonight.
"So what are you doing tonight? It's Friday night do you have plans?"
"Actually no. Paige and Kim were going to come over to study but Kim couldn't make it and Paige didn't want to go over the material with just me and her. Kim's having issues with keeping her grades up so we're probably going to get together tomorrow."
"Well, I do have a location picked out to get away if you want to hear about it."
"Sure dad why not."
Rick finally can use his laptop for other than his poor excuse for writing. He pulls the lid up and waves her over to come to sit next to him so he can show her what he had found.
The first selection he shows her is Crete. When he looks toward her he can see that this is not where she wants to go. So he makes a deal with her.
"Alexis I will give you three passes on the five trips that I have planned. I can already tell that this is not where you want to go."
"You're right it isn't. But the fact that it's a 20-hour plane ride kind of puts off any kind of relaxation we could find when we get there."
"What else do you have?" She asks brightly.
"Okay well, we could go here." He says as he pulls up the itinerary for the next trip.
By the time he shows her the five destinations, he would like to go to, he asks her to select the one she likes the most and then a runner-up. Oddly enough she chose Ireland as her runner-up and Cancun as her first choice. He sits back in his desk chair as he watches her re-read the description of the resort they will stay at in Cancun.
"Dad, I think this one in Cancun is the one we should go to. They have a soft ice cream machine in the lobby!"
Leave it to his daughter to think of snacks at a time like this.
"Okay, so what do you say to two weeks in Cancun?" He asks his daughter.
"I think I can be happy with your choice. And I'm glad you could see things my way."
"Your way?"
Rick puts together a package at Riu resorts. He decides that the Hotel Riu Caribe is the best hotel for them. He reads what she had read and found out that the entertainment would fit his daughter to a tee. He books 2 weeks at the hotel and a round-trip ticket from the both of them leaving next weekend. This week she will finish up with school and have the summer to relax. Just as he closes the laptop lid there is a knock on the front door.
TBC