A Shadow Monster Gives Me Advice

       I kept running until my eyes stung and the tears stopped flowing. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as though it would burst at any moment, and I slumped against an immense oak tree. Sweat was plastered to my forehead, and my head was moistened from crying. Don't call me a baby or pathetic, because you'd probably become upset or embarrassed too if everyone started staring and laughing at you.


     The insults played over and over in my head like a broken record. 


             No wonder she had anger issues!


            That explains why she creates nothing but chaos!


            What a freak!


          Normally I'd just let those senseless words breeze past me, but now that my life had just changed I just couldn't control myself. 


       Control


          The word etched itself into my head so I'd never forget it or its meaning. I suppose it was something I need to work on. Control. 




        Ten minutes passed, and by then I had forgotten about how I was thought of as an outcast. In fact, I'd realized that I should forget everything. My past, my memories, my worries, basically everything that would ruin me. I however couldn't forget my dad or my friends I had left behind, the memories of them were just too precious for me to erase. Anyways, it was important for me to forget so I could rise from the ashes of my past, and create for me a bright future. 


  "Remain optimistic about life," my dad had always told me. He was right, but it's so hard to remain positive. It's especially hard after what's happened to me. Wait, no, I can't think about my past. Not now. Not ever. 


      Behind me I heard the crunching of feet on crisp fallen leaves. The hairs stood up on my neck. Chiron had warned me monsters lived in these woods, so ultimately I presumed it was a creature that I had had nightmares of as a five year-old.


    Tensely, I pick up a nearby branch, and stand up, ready to attack. Peeking my head around the tree, I don't see anything at first. Then, I see a shadow slithering within the ground, making its way towards me. I instinctively raise the branch just as a shadowy head emerges, and bring it down hard onto it yelling,"Die psycho monster!" 


   The monster produces a human-like yelp, and jumps out of the ground. I raise the branch again to bring it down on its head again, but it says in a tone mixed with pain and annoyance,"Sara, put the bloody branch down!"


   "Nico?" I asked the 'monster,' placing the branch onto the ground.


   Nico groaned, his head covering his head. "Why in Zeus' name would you do that?"


     "Oh I don't know, I just happen to spot a strange shadow creature emerging from the ground so I decided to bonk it on the head to kill it" I spat in annoyance. "Why do you think I did it?"

     Nico waved away my question and stood up from the mossy forest floor. 
   "Well, my head is throbbing now thanks to you," Nico continued to rant. 


   "Sorry," I apologized, quietly, sitting down against the tree again. "I imagine you probably think I'm even more psycho now."


  "Nah, I just think you're crazy," Nico said, sitting down next to me. "Which is a good thing, because we don't have a lot of people like you around here."


   I smile for the first time today, and actually feel like I maybe do belong here at Camp Hlaf-Blood. 


  "It's just that I feel like nobody accepts me," I say, my true emotions beginning to spill out. 


  "It just seems like that," Nico says, as though he was trying to console me. "They honestly just don't know how to react to to the first kid of a god. Trust me, I know how it feels. People didn't accept me at first since my dad is Hades, and as you know by now the big three shouldn't have children. However, they all broke the rules. Poseidon about four times, my dad two times, and Zeus once."


   I nod, not knowing how else to respond.  "Anyways, people eventually accepted me because of the things I accomplished, and the abilities I have. All you have to do is prove to yourself first that you're worth it."


   "Wow Nico," I say in awe. "You actually gave me advice that was serious."


   Nico laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did. I should consider being one of those social worker dudes!"
       We both burst out laughing, and I felt a happiness inside that I haven't felt in days, maybe weeks. Yeah, it sounds sappy, but you want the truth, don't you?


    After our talk, Nico and I walk out of the woods. Nico, proud of himself for lifting my spirits. Me, feeling like I can take on the world.