A Visit to Olympus by Joseph Mauceri

a visit to oLympus

By: Joseph Mauceri

“Holy crap!” was the first thing Pollux thought when he happened across the man.

He was just behind one of the wide skyroot trees. If Pollux hadn’t ran off on his own, he never would’ve found him. He was laying on the ground, taking quick, sharp breaths with immense difficulty. It was clear he was suffocating.

“Crap!” Pollux shouted in his head again, crouching down next to the man. He’d never actually seen someone suffocating before. Come to think of it, he’d only heard about it from his father. “Focus on the problem at hand.”

He moved to attempt to help him, but then he realized he had no idea what to do. His hands hovered over the man’s body as he just stood there, confused and unsure of himself. That’s when he had a brilliant idea. He took out a small, clear pearl from his pocket, and shoved it down the man’s throat. “Swallow, swallow,” Pollux encouraged. With great difficulty, the man swallowed, and the small sphere went down his throat.

The results were almost immediate. The man’s sputtering ceased, and he started to breathe normally. He sat up, coughing a little as he became accustomed to the air. “Thank you,” he said, finally able to gather his surroundings.

Now that the man was safe, Pollux finally took this opportunity to take in his features. His skin was grey, though it appeared darker since he was covered in soot. He was dressed from head to toe in black rags with a few pieces of armor on his wrists, chest, and knees. A black sword was laid down by his side, which the man picked up as he steadily got to his feet. Pollux couldn’t put his finger on it, but he seemed oddly familiar.

“You okay?” Pollux asked, getting to his feet with him.

“I’m fine now,” the man answered. He looked around, wearing a look of complete amazement. He turned around and around, his eyes darting around the area, absorbing all the information. “Where am I?”

“What do you mean?” Pollux responded. “You’re in Olympus.

Castor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There was some sort of blue ceiling to the cave he was in. It was so much brighter than what he was used to, his eyes were having trouble adjusting. His rapid-blinking was a mix between his utter bewilderment and his nocturnal eyes being able to absorb all the light. Not to mention, all the lava was gone. Instead, all the islands seemed to stay

atop this thick sheet of fluffy white. He turned to the man that had saved him and asked the one question on his mind: “Where am I?”

“What do you mean?” his savior replied. “You’re in Olympus.”

“What’s Olympus?” Castor asked.

“It’s where you are,” said the man, his sympathy for Castor seemingly dwindling.

“Look man, I don’t know how else to describe this.”

Castor’s head continued swerving around the area, still in amazement about where he was. “What kind of cave is this?”

“Cave?” asked the man. “What’s a cave?”

Castor turned back towards the man. That’s when he noticed that he didn’t look like anyone he had ever met before. His skin was pale, but not like his. It was more of a light pink type of color, surrounded by what he could only describe as the lightest tan he had ever seen. He was dressed in dark blue, with skintight t-shirt and black pants, as well as what appeared to be brown sandals on his feet. Even his hair was lighter, being a creamlike yellow in color. He wore a bemused smirk, seeming to find pleasure in Castor’s confusion. Despite having never seen this man before, something about him seemed familiar.

“You don’t know what a cave is?” asked Castor. It was at this moment he finally realized his predicament. “Am I not in Hades anymore?”

Pollux was utterly perplexed by this stranger. The lack of oxygen for a while could explain his delirious statements, but his overall appearance was still drastically different than any other person he’d ever seen in Olympus.

“What’s Hades?” Pollux asked.

The man began pacing back and forth with a worried expression on his face. Pollux looked on in utter confusion as the man began mumbling to himself. “How did this happen? All I did was touch a statue. How do I get back?”

“Are you okay?” Pollux asked.

The man turned towards Pollux, his eyes were puffy and red. Was he about to cry?

“No,” the man whined.

Pollux dragged his hand across his face. “I can’t believe I have to deal with this.” Pollux cleared his throat as he attempted to talk to the man again. “What’s your name, sir? I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before.”

The man sniffled before he answered. “Castor.”

“Castor? That’s an odd name.”

“Well, what’s your name?” the man asked, his sadness being somewhat overwritten by annoyance.

“Pollux,” he answered.

“Well, from my point of view, your name is weird.

Pollux scoffed. “Pollux is an amazing Olympian name. It was the name of the founder of the civilizations of Olympus.

“I don’t doubt it,” said Castor, “but just think before you speak. Perhaps my name has great cultural significance to the Hadesians as well.”

The pair glared at each other, but then their looks softened. Their glares turned into grins, and they began laughing. Somehow, all of their apprehension seemed to wash away.

“Come on,” said Pollux, “I’ll take you to my place. Maybe we can figure out a way to get you home.”

Castor began following him, a small grin having taken hold on his face. “It’s strange,” he thought, “Despite the weird skin, different colored eyes, and maybe even the hair, he kind of looks like me.”