Lady of Sparta

The flight was long and boring to say the least. The man who sat next to me fell asleep. Thankfully he didn’t use me as a pillow. I didn't want to be drooled on. I counted that as a small blessing. My legs were cramped, and the food was tasteless. I was glad that I could stretch my legs when the flight attendants told us that we could leave and thanked us for our business. The airport looked like any airport. It had signs in Greek and other languages like French, English, and German. I could only read two of the languages they had on the signs.

I walked to customs. There was a quick video, and I showed the man my passport. He smiled at me as he let me go to the luggage area. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it on. I felt more comfortable with it on for emergencies. I stopped at a place to change my American money into Greek currency.

There were people walking around in front of me. It wasn’t long before I had my bags and called a taxi to take me to my hotel. I was glad that I learned Greek when I was a child. My parents were determined to make me learn another language. When I told them that I wanted to speak Greek, they were more than eager to teach me the language. Well, I should say they had someone else teach me.

“So what brings you here?” the driver asked, making small talk.

“The place always interested me,” I replied absently. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to look around. I was excited. I made it to Sparta in one piece. I was looking at the buildings and people who lived here every day. I was in the town that I dreamed about.

It was almost like it was a dream even though it sounded like a cliché. My heart pumped in my chest like it was about to come fly out as I sat in the taxi. I tried to calm my heart with a few breathes, but it wasn’t working. Nothing could stop the overreacting of my heart as the buildings passed. I was sure that I had a smile on my face.

“You’re the first to have said that. Most just say they came here to see the Spartan history,” the taxi driver laughed.

“I guess I’m not like most of the other tourists.” I smiled at him. I knew that was typical thing to say. I just couldn't resist saying that. It brought out a teasing side of me.

“It seems like it. I have to say there is a lot of history in Sparta. I’m sure you will get to see it,” he pointed out, looking at me through the mirror. There was a friendly smile on his face.

“I would hope so,” I replied.

The taxi pulled to a stop next to a tall building with windows indicating different rooms. I paid the man and stepped out of the small car. I went into the hotel’s lobby. There was a little grouping of couches and a vending machine. There were a few kids, running around with their parents on their tail. I walked up to the front desk. “Hello, I had a reservation,” I informed the woman and gave her my name.

She nodded before turning to her computer. She pulled out a key, and told me where the room was. “I hope you enjoy your stay here,” she said with a warm smile planted on her face.

I walked towards the elevators and carried my bags to my room for the next three months. I was feeling a little jet lagged, but I couldn’t let myself fall into my want to do what I normally do. I had noticed that the woman also gave me a map of the city, so I sat down and looked through it. I hoped that I wouldn’t get lost in this town even though I feel like I would.

My phone beeped indicating that I had a voicemail. I listened to it on speaker as I looked at the map and circled the places that I planned on seeing.

”Hey, it’s Dad. Listen, I would like to apologize how we behaved yesterday. I would like to wish you a safe journey, and I hope you have fun over there. We just worry about you. Please understand about that.” The message ends. I listened to it three times before finally deleting it.

I didn’t know how to reply to that. I quickly stuffed my phone into my pocket along with the map. I felt like I knew the map well enough to start wondering around. I brought it with me just in case I would need it. I walked the streets, stopping to grab something to eat.

I didn’t go in the museums. I had spent most of my time just getting the feel. I looked at the businesses advertising their product. I enjoyed walking around in the Spartan streets. Something inside of me was sparked. I felt a little more alive. I knew there was a huge grin on my face. I was sure that I would have to have surgery to get rid of it.

There were a few people that looked at me, but others minded their own business. I wasn’t bothered by their stares. I imagined I was interesting to them. I had a dull pink shirt with a floral design and blue jeans on. I tried to blend in, but my pink shirt seemed to be a little different than their fashion.

The sun beat down on me. I looked around for some shade just to cool off for a minute or two. I found a group of trees that looked almost like a cave. I walked into the shade. The sound of cars from the road was loud closer to the entrance, but when I was completely under the shade it was distant and almost like it wasn’t there. Then I felt the air pressure become heavy, and energy sparked, becoming hotter than what it was in the open air. I became dizzy and ran out of the trees. I puked behind a bush.

When I looked up, I saw feet that were connected to a man wearing some kind of armor. He had his arms straightened out, holding an arrow and a bow directed at me. I stumbled back and tripped over a rock. Had that been there a second ago? My arm scraped across some sort of thorn bearing plant. It dug into my skin, forcing blood to flow out the wound.

The man dropped the weapon and stepped closer to me. He stepped around my puked-up lunch. He said something. It was Greek, but I couldn’t completely understand what he was saying. It almost sounded like it hadn’t evolved like it had now. It sounded much older, and influenced by other languages.

“I don’t understand,” I said.

He reached out to me, and I pushed myself away from him. He just had an arrow pointed at my heart. How could I know that I was safe? He tried again to help me up, but I thought he was going to attack me. Again, I pushed away from him. This time though I went right into the thorn bush causing me to bleed a little more.

This time he just bent down and pulled me up. I could sense his annoyance at this. His tanned skin rippled over his muscles as he put me on my feet. He went back to pick up the bow. I freaked out afraid he was going to be shot. I took off, running through the trees. I could hear him chasing me. He easily caught up with me because he was stronger than me. He also appeared to know the land better than me.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he shouted when he grabbed my arm, stopping me.