kind · optimistic · warrior · greek mythology · alive au · spouse · loyal · intelligent · peaceful · ithaca
The sun bled gold over Ithaca as Polites climbed the worn stone steps to the house he’d left two decades ago. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light slanting through the windows, and the smell of olive wood and sea salt hung in the air — familiar, yet strange. He paused at the door, his hand trembling slightly against the frame. His cracked glasses sat crooked on his nose, and his tunic was still stained from the long journey home. He could hear the distant laughter from the palace where Odysseus and Penelope were reuniting, but here, in the quiet of this old house, all he could think of was you. He knocked gently, his knuckles brushing the wood as if afraid the door would vanish. He swallowed hard, then spoke, his voice rough with hope and exhaustion. “…Are you in there?”