DIMITRI

  The captain explained that they were heading to Constantinople, while the journey would take weeks or even months. He patted Dimitri’s head, telling him how lucky he was to be an apprentice of such a great physician. He helped all of the crew for years, and this was his last journey with them. But Dimitri did not care about it as he watched Odysseus walking inside his cabin. So, he decided to follow him.

  ‘’Hey boy’’ Captain grabbed Dimitri by the collar and pulled him away from the door. ‘’None enters the physician's cabin without permission.’’

  All of the crew nodded in sync. The captain kept talking about how he needed to dress better for the journey and that Dimitri must follow each lesson the physician would say. He wanted to comment that it seemed that Odysseus was actually the captain, not him. But he loved his neck and did not want to take any more risks.

  Taking a good look at the bronze mirror, the young boy could not recognize himself. Even with his short light brown hair and his tired honey eyes, the boy did not look like an orphan anymore. The aroma of the sea made him soon realize that he wouldn’t see the old streets with rats and gamblers of Crete anymore. He won’t see the old place that he once called home. Dimitri won’t be an orphan or a liar anymore. He will be someone’s apprentice. And that scared him. What could he possibly do for a physician? He had no knowledge of medicine, and he didn’t have the stomach to see blood every day. He could remember the first time he saw a violent act happening near his sleeping corner of the street and the moment one of the men shed blood from his broken teeth, Dimitri threw up.

  No matter what, Dimitri took a look at the clothes once again.

  The fabric was warm and loose all over his body, while it had the shade of dark The scent of expensive oils was exploding in Dimitri’s nostrils.

  ‘’It’s from South Asia’’Captain commented with a laugh. ‘’My, we would be dead without the teacher, he has a way with words. ‘’

  He is now called the physician teacher. As if the captain were an apprentice of his, too. How could that be? And what kind of apprentice would he be for his now teacher? Every person he asked on the ship had good words to say. That he was a smart man, generous, and he had a way of the tongue. Maybe they didn’t actually buy the lie, and they all lied to him.

  But then, they started laughing.

  ‘’He is always late’’A drunk man said and poured more wine on his mouth.

  ‘’Oh, and a terrible cook’’Another man pointed and turned to Dimitri.’’If you want your stomach to survive, learn how to cook.’’

  Dimitri nodded.

  ‘’And he is strange,’’Another man murmured.’’With the belongings of his.’’

  ‘’And terrifying’’The captain chuckled.’’Remember the time Jonah decided to take that special dagger of his?’’

  Dimitri turned to the man whose name was Jonah and who had two missing fingers in each hand.

  I suppose this wasn’t an accident.

  So, if he made a mistake, he would lose his fingers or more? In that moment, Dimitri imagined that his fate was better back on land. But they were all so far away now.

  The captain rested on the boy’s shoulder.

  ‘’Relax kid.’’ He tried to calm him down.’’Teacher is actually a nice person if -’’

  ‘’I am eleven,’’ stated Dimitri with his chin up.

  The crowd laughed.

  ‘’Oh, sir, our apologies’’The captain chuckled again and looked at the clouds, confused as the waves began to get harsher. Dimitri mimicked him and looked now at the dark clouds that were covering the stars. There was a storm.

  The captain ordered everyone, and now, the crew was a mess with the waters getting rougher and rougher with the wind aiming for the torches, making every light except for one vanish.

  Now, with the remaining light keeping life, there was a woman standing in front of a crowd of sailors. Everyone looked at her with such interest, and Dimitri did too. Her dress was made of beautiful gold and white silk, her raven hair was all loose and wet, as her face was pale like snow and drenched from sea water.

  The captain was the first to take a step close to her while he was ordering his crew to stay put, while the storm was making the waves attack the deck of the ship.

  ‘’Lady, are you alright?’’ asked the captain to the shaking woman whose mouth was wide open. No words were coming out.

  ‘’What’s your name?’’ The woman asked with her eyes turning to Jonah.

  Jonah had a wide smile of interest as he looked at the beautiful woman.

  ‘’I am Jonah, Loudovikos-’’He announced.

  The woman smiled with that response, but the captain faced Jonah with horror.

  What was that about?

  Little did Jonah know that his body would fall to the deck, and all life would get out of him.

  The woman began to shriek with water dripping out of her body. She took more steps, this time to the captain.

  ‘’Your name, your name’’She screamed eagerly.

  The captain did not reply, and that made the ship move heavily down as if it were about to sink. Horror conquered Dimitri. What could that possibly be? A demon that was about to take his life for his crimes? Was that his ending? Sea water getting inside his mouth, his stomach getting upside down, and his eyes about to pop from the fear his heart was containing.

  He did not want that. No, he couldn’t possibly die like this; he refused to die. Even with tears falling down his face and seeing a few men giving up their names for salvation, he couldn’t possibly-

  The door of Odysseus opened finally, and he appeared with a sack of wine and a black, covered dagger wrapped on his belt.

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  He took a few steps with his gaze shifting to Dimitri, who was petrified.

  I cannot die. I refuse to die like this. I don’t want to die.

  The man smiled and leaned close to him and whispered.

  ‘’Lesson number one. Never reveal your name’’ He entrusted him with wise advice.

  The woman laughed and launched into Odysseus' arms.

  ‘’What’s your name?’’

  ‘’I am Odysseus’’ The man announced, and Dimitri’s mouth opened wide. He disobeyed his lesson. Everyone stared at him, confused, while the captain began praying to God.

  The woman laughed for a second, but nothing happened. The storm became calmer as her smile faded and she sat down on the deck. The man repeated her actions and offered her the sack of wine.

  ‘’Teacher, it is expensive’’Captain tried to scold him, but the teacher glared at him. He never spoke again.

  The woman opened the flask and took a small sip.

  ‘’What’s your name?’’Odysseus asked.

  ‘’I am Thessaloniki, the sister of Alexander the Great.’’She answered.’’I am a mermaid walking around the sea, and I am asking you, strangers, about my brother. Is he alive or not?’’

  Dimitri heard about the myth. Of that woman asking sailors about her brother, if he is still alive on earth, or if he has gone to the ground. There was only one right answer. Yes, he was alive, and he was a king. But if you answered wrong, the ship would sink.

  One simple answer, and that was it.

  ‘’He is dead’’Odysseus replied.

  Everyone’s jaws dropped to the floor.

  Was that the teacher Dimitri had to follow?

  The woman began to scream, and the waves began to get even harsher with the clouds commanding a rain.

  ‘’He is not dead, he is not dead.’’

  ‘’He is, but that’s not the man that you are asking about’’

  The woman’s eyes fell to the man, and he replied in a whisper. Only a whisper that felt that Dimitri was the one and only who could hear it.

  ‘’Your son, oh dear goddess, he was a hero for many. With pride and wrath, he managed such great things’’There was a sadness in his tone. ‘’With the need to avenge his one and only, he was considered the greatest of all. But he was still a mortal. And he…’’

  The goddess wept. And wept and wept, making the storm calmer.

  ‘’He is not dead’’She wept out loud.

  The teacher grabbed the flask from the woman’s hand and took one sip from it. ‘’Now go, goddess, mourn alone or move on. You son was a mortal, and your love for a mortal shouldn’t be eternal.’’

  Suddenly, the last light snuffed out, but Dimitri could see her eyes glowing light blue as she was now standing tall.

  ‘’How dare you, mortal man?’’ She screamed, and the sea began to attack again.

  ‘’How dare you, Thetis, nyriad of waters still losing your pride all cause for a mortal son?’’ mouthed the teacher, and the woman shouted once again, ready to attack him. Lightning struck, and Dimtri found a glimpse of the man drawing the dagger, still covered with the leather.

  There was darkness for a while. And then, the light on the candles appeared again with a calm sea and with no woman. The captain walked close to the teacher, whose face was all calm and showed no emotion towards what had happened. The captain took out his cloak and gave it to the Teacher, who now walked back to his room. Everyone looked calm and relieved that it had ended, and none batted an eye at the fact that a woman had killed their friends.

  ‘’Prepare for burial’’The teacher ordered and shut his door.

  They showered the bodies in oils and placed tight bandages all around. The captain did explain that it was all common now, as if the sea were a mysterious place. Dimitri wondered if seeing women like these was all so natural for sailors. Maybe the physicians at sea were experts at dealing with them. But how could it be possible?

  Dimitri wondered if the rest of the crew saw Odysseus’ sad expression when he found the woman. The rage he was holding when he was speaking to her.

  Thetis was her name.

  They prayed and let the bodies sink to the sea. They cried and sang until the ship was far away. Dimitri turned his gaze to the door.

  ‘’Where is Odysseus?’’asked the young boy.

  The captain sniffed.’’He prefers to mourn alone. We do not know why.’’

  ‘’Do you know anything about him?’’Dimitri asked, and that made the entire crew furious.

  ‘’He saved our life’’He pointed at Dimitri's chest.’’Your life. ‘’ Such great anger was written on his face. ‘’Is that not good enough?’’

  No.

  Why did he save him? They had already hours at sea, and he could not smell the land anymore, just plain salt and wine from the crew. Everything familiar that he knew about the land he grew up in was now gone.

  When the crew was busy this morning, Dimitri decided to take a chance to talk to the man inside his chambers. Why did the man save him? The man who spoke harshly to a mother who lost her son? A man so cold that he couldn’t even attend a funeral?

  ‘’I am sorry’’He said as he opened the door and wished that he did not.

  The first thing that he found was a golden hound that was resting near the teacher’s bed. When it opened its blue eyes, the dog alerted the Teacher that someone was there by barking. But Dimitri’s gaze moved up to see the teacher, and his mouth opened wide. Between the herbs and books, there was the tall, great teacher he had to follow.

  The man’s tunic was down, revealing everything. His scars around the back, a golden mark around his throat, and…If Dimitri had lived long enough, would he have had a pair of breasts just like Odysseus had? The curves of a woman?

  The man turned to the boy with terror as he tried to cover himself.

  He could have screamed, he could have called it out, but instead, he kept staring for a few seconds and shut the door, feeling his face all flushed. The captain walked back to him with a smile.

  ‘’He was naked?’’

  Dimitri nodded.

  ‘’Yes, I know, what you saw’’He sighed.

  ‘’I saw nothing’’Dimitri shrieked.

  And the captain laughed.’’I know that poor man was forced to lose his manhood.’’

  Manhood? So he was a eunuch? Or pretended to be one.

  ‘’Again’’The captain grabbed Dimitri by the ear and let out a painful sound.’’ Don’t you ever open his chambers again.’’

  Before asking more questions, the captain walked away. And Dimitri shrank behind the door. With the million questions he now had, Dimitri knew one thing for certain.

  ‘’I won’t tell’’He whispered to his savior. ‘’You have my word.’’

  Maybe that meant nothing for Odysseus. But for a trickster like Dimitri, someone who never saw loyalty and prayer for a god as important, it was the first time someone gave him a chance at life. He would follow Odysseus until the end of time.

  Then, a woman's gentle voice whispered inside the room.

  ‘’You will not learn my real name,’’ she explained.

  ‘’Why?’’

  ‘’For your own good, I am a man’’A man spoke again.’’Understood?’’

  And Dimitri hummed.’’Yes, teacher.’’