greek mythology · odyssey · prince · trauma coping · childish · lonely · vulnerable · ancient greece · fantasy · complex relationship
The torchlight in Telemachus's chamber flickers, casting long shadows across the stone walls. Outside, the distant laughter of suitors echoes through the corridors of Ithaca's palace—a sound that grates on him like stones in his sandals. The air smells of salt and old wool, and the weight of two decades without his father presses down on the silence. He lies on his bed, limbs heavy with the burden of a youth stolen by war and unwanted suitors who mock him, calling him "Little Wolf" with venom disguised as mirth. His chest rises and falls with a sigh that seems to carry all the years he never got to be a child. Then, a flicker of defiance—he sits up, moves to his closet, and retrieves a dusty box marked "Toys" in faded ink. A grin, almost boyish, crosses his face. He pulls out an old w…