I'm the daughter of who?
I don't remember how I died, I just remember the pain. I wake up in.. a throne? What? I step down, trying to see where I am, and come face to face with...God? He says, " How would you like to be reborn, child?" I swear, not sure what he means. " Ummm, maybe, possibly, could I live in my favorite book, please sir?" He rubs his face, thinking. He accepts, waving me on my way. I enter a.. rollercoaster cart?.. and away I go..then, baby crying. Wait, that's me? I look up, and it's very bright.
I wake up, another stupid day, in this stupid foster home. "EUN-JI! UP, NOW! SCHOOL!" I step out of bed, and touch my crescent moon necklace. All I have of my birth mother, according to the foster agency.
I pull on my clothes, my only set. Blue ripped shoes, jeans ripped at the knees, and purple shirt. I check myself in the mirror, my slanted eyes looking back. Eddie, my older foster brother, pokes his head in my room. " Hey, brat, it's time for breakfast!" I flip him off. Even at 9, I know I'm supposed to be "good and innocent" but these people treat me like I'm trash. I sit down at the table, to eggs with ketchup all over them. My foster mother knows I'm allergic to tomatoes. She's trying to frame it as an accident. I eat the toast as I leave the house.
I take the forest route to school, and listen to music on my Walkman, Green Day's basket case playing. I climb a tree, getting into the music. As I look at the ground, I notice something... something black and furry? It has horns, but a human body? It senses me, and slams into the tree, knocking me down.
I land on a rock, piercing my stomach. Oh, that's a lot of blood. I try to stand, but my leg won't hold me. The monster roars, and my body takes off, all pain forgotten. It chases me out of the forest, and into the city. I think I lost it in an alley, so I slow down. A girl jumps out at me, screaming and wielding a hammer. I punch her in the face, and pounce on her, really looking at her. She's just a baby! Her blonde hair is so dirty, and her face is scratched up. I get off her, offering my hand. She takes it hesitantly. "Annabeth" she practically whispered. "Eun-ji" I respond. As I lift up my shirt, to see just how effed I am, we hear voices.
Female?: I told you, Luke, I heard something.
Male?: And I told you, Thalia, it was nothing.
I scramble around for a weapon, and spotting none, I just.. pass out apparently. Thank you, you stupid body.
I come to, seeing a beautiful girl holding me. Short black hair, piercing blue eyes, and adorable freckles. I can't hear what she's saying, but Annabeth is relaxed around them, so they must be safe, right?
The girl notices I'm awake, and sits me up, still holding me. She introduces herself as Thalia, and the boy, Luke. He's older than all of us, being 14. Thalia is 12, and Annabeth is 7. We all explain our situations.
We decide to stay together, as a family. They patch me up as best they can, and as long as I don't bend over too much, my stomach should be fine. We travel all over, taking refuge where we can, scrounging for food. We take turns stealing from gas stations, I'm the best. One time, I went in with a flat jacket, and by the time I left, my buttons almost popped off. We finally had enough to eat!
Then, a furry goat boy turned up. He said to follow him.
G: c'mon, c'mon, we gotta hurry, it's not safe!
And it wasn't. There were all manner of monsters after us, well mainly Thalia, and we ran. The goat boy, Grover, lead us through the woods, to safety. As we were at the bottom of the hill, Annabeth screamed. Her leg broken, I ran and got her. Most of us crossed the hill. Most.
I look back, seeing Thalia fighting the monsters. I start to cry, holding Annabeth tightly.
We cross the hill, and... Thalia is gone. My best friend, my most treasured person. I cry into Annabeth's hair, Luke's arm around me. Grover is talking to...a horseman? He... I pass out. I wake up in a white room, my stomach stitched up, my leg in a cast.
I sit up, my head fuzzy. Curled at the foot of my bed is Annabeth, her hair clean, her face healed. She's snoring slightly. I see Luke next to me, his short blonde hair wet, his blue eyes watching me. The horseman, Chiron, lets us out. I ride on his back, and he takes us to a cabin, labeled Hermes. Inside, he gives us a tour, introducing us to Chris Rodriguez, the cabin leader.
We settle into a routine. Annabeth sleeps in my top bunk, and Luke helps us down in the morning. We eat together, and we're still a family. Thalia got turned into a tree, a mercy from her father Zeus. I talk to her everyday, hoping she can hear me, hoping she can't. I spend so many nights crying into that tree, it became my anchor. When Luke teases me, I run and tell Thalia. When Annabeth got a good grade( cause of course I give her schoolwork, she's a kid) we run and show Thalia. In a way, just talking to a tree, it's like I can hear her. (Luke, be nice to Eun-ji, she'll beat you up! Good job, Annabeth, you're so smart!)
2 weeks pass.
One night at the campfire, I get claimed. A silver bow and arrow appears over my head, casting a glow over my short brown hair.
Chiron: Hail, Eun-ji Choi, daughter of Artemis.
The camp roars with questions. I'm very confused. But...she's a virgin goddess. How? Did she break her vow? Should I exist? If Thalia were here, she would know just what to say... probably.
Okay, so I had a crush on my best friend, so what? She's a tree, now. There's- nothing's gonna- shut up! You never had crushes? Shit doesn't make sense.
The next day, I get to choose my weapon. I try my hand at archery, but just can't. I can't grip the bow right, and all my arrows miss. I try out hunting axes. I cant- ohh I can! The axe embeds itself in the target, a perfect bullseye. Chiron gives me the full set, 4 axes clinking in a belt holster. I walk around proudly, showing off. Clarisse tells me exactly where I can shove them, and I flip her off. She cackles, and pats me on the back. I think she has a crush on me. I pass her and show Annabeth my axes, grinning.
That night, I move into the Artemis cabin. The beds are made of... animal fur? No, just normal mattresses, with fuzzy animal fur blankets. I choose.. the farthest one. The beds are made of wood, with ordinary mattresses. I carve my name on the headboard. It's slightly wonky, but all mine.
Annabeth knocks on the door. Another nightmare. I bring her in, and she climbs in bed with me.
A: since you got this room, does that mean I'm alone?
M: no. Never, baby. I'm always here. I'm always here.
I kiss her head, and we snuggle to sleep.
5 years pass.
I'm now 14, with Annabeth 12. Luke is 19, and has a new scar. We still sleep together, though Annabeth is much too big. I can never say no, her nightmares are awful. I'm as tall as Luke, he's 5 foot 9. I'm 5 foot 10. We still have our routine, eat together, train, school.
I go to a school in the city, per Chiron's wishes. I started calling him dad when I was 12. He can always tell when I'm upset, often sitting with me. When he doesn't, I go to the campfire to talk to Hestia. I always offer her candy, and in return, she listens. Sometimes I help her tend the fire, but I always get burnt.
I give Chiron this week's schoolwork, showing him my passing grades. Luke used to joke that I only passed cause I'm Korean, but I always hit him. Annabeth passed, too. Her only trouble is English class, but I help her. No, I'm not dyslexic. I am ADHD, though. And autistic. I can read clearly, it's just I slur my words together, and it's hard to read out loud.
My foster families were always abusive. They hated me for being Asian, for having "devil eyes"( heterochromia. Left green right blue), for being autistic, and I don't know what else. My first memory, I was 1. My first foster mother drowned me, her husband stopped her. At 2, I was beat really badly, with whatever they had in their hands at the moment. At 3, my next parents, they didn't know I was allergic to tomatoes. It was an accident. Still, I got taken away. At 4, I was kidnapped by a crazy lady. She tortured me for months, with belts, chains, whatever. At 5, I was assaulted. It was awful. He laughed when I cried, and told me to behave, it would feel good. At 6, I was given to my last foster family. The Johnson's were nice, but kinda distant. They cared, but only about grades and food. We got good grades, and we were never hungry. That's about it, and people don't know how hurtful that is. We were never in trouble, but we never got attention. Kids need attention, y'know? After the abuse, I became mute. By choice. If all my words were gonna hurt me, I just wouldn't talk.
There's a commotion at the border, Thalia's tree. Something about...the minotaur...new camper... What's going on? They bring a boy in. Black hair, minotaur horn, torn shirt. Shit. Is he dead?
Annabeth: he's the one, he has to be.