
Back to My Island
Twenty years ago, we answered our great king’s call to war. Seventy-five of us left our island to join the great fleet. I was their prince but only the first among equals. We were young, eager and ready to fight to avenge our king’s honour.
We joined so many others like us and laid siege to that accursed city for ten years. The outcome of the war was always uncertain and sometimes the gods weren’t with us. I witnessed the death of so many good men from both sides. At the end, only my cunning plan gained us victory. We broke the siege, lay devastation and won the war. Watching the fire consume the once great city left a bitter taste in my mouth.
That wasn’t the end but only the beginning of my journey back. It took me ten more years to once again touch the stony shore of my island, of my home. My companions and I faced so many adventures and so much danger. I am the only one left alive, the only one who has returned.
My son will be a man now, he won’t recognise me. I don’t know if my wife is still alive and still waiting for me or if she believed that I was lost and now someone else lays beside her on the olive wood bed I carved from the live tree so long ago. Not a day has gone by that I haven’t yearned for her, for my home, because she is my home.
I thought of her when the unforgiving sea was trying to take us, when I avoided listening to the sirens’ call, when I laid beside another, when we blinded a giant, when my companions consumed the lotus fruit and forgot what’s important. I didn’t forget, I didn’t stop travelling and fighting the gods and their adversities so that I could reach my home.
Now I am here again, older, tired but ready to fight for my family, my place, my home. I am here again, Penelope, I came home to you.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI love this. Before reading it I knew nothing about Odysseus, and your story has taken me on a voyage through his voyages. I gather she had declined other proposals, and was waiting for him at home after all. His behaviour regarding faithfulness seems to be rather the subject of much debate, and you have alluded to this gently and subtly. I really enjoyed this story.
Thank you Susan and apologies for the late reply…I guess it was very difficult for both of them to be apart for 20 years! In the Iliad, Homer inform us that many of the warriors during the siege of Troy were in the same situation, away from their home and loved ones. Even after the Greek victory and his journey towards home, Odysseus met many challenges in the form of Calypso and… Read more »
A Classic told well. Well written.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleWow! Thank you so much for your kind comments! I think the Odyssey is the first travel and adventure book in history, a great collection of myths and legends built around reality. Yes, Penelope waited for him and they were reunited at the end. It didn’t matter that they were old and tired, they were together again! I guess no one else counted for him. Penelope is not just his wife to… Read more »
As a Greek student who has been given the chance to study the Odyssey, I can say with ease that your story is very accurate with the original and it does justice to the ancient rhapsody. Well done!
Thank you Katy, I feel honoured by your comment! I love History and Classics. Odysseus has always been a symbol for what I feel humankind should strive for: discovery, growth, courage and dare. However, at the end, what’s important for him and for all of us, especially during times like these, is the knowledge that those we love are what really matters.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleI agree with @katy-bizi, especially when she said your story “does justice to the ancient rhapsody”. Very nice work – Keep Writing, and hope to see more of your new stories here on the Voice.club!
Well-done. Although I am not so familiar with Greek Mythology you take me there with your words. And as I travel with him all the way on his journey coming back to his family, his place, and his home I learn a lot of things like faithfulness and love.
Thank you Lotchie! I love Odysseus. I consider him to be the first explorer and adventurer and he showed the way for the Gullivers, Robinson Crusoes and so many others. He was so ambitious to start with but then all he wanted was to go home to his family. I just thought about so many people stranded away from their families in times like these we are having and he just came… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleYes, you are not mistaken for making this story, this is so relevant to this time of the pandemic. I am happy for you.