Poseidon's Atlantis Adventure

Cleito described her home as they approached. It was a four-thousand-eight-hundred-square-mile paradise of emerald valleys, mountains, spires, and cliffs. Its varied climates ranged from humid tropical to subarctic. Her magical home jutted out over a ridge overlooking the sea with a cobalt-blue rooftop made of lava mix. The three-thousand-four-hundred-square-foot, four-sided structure could withstand earthquakes and hurricanes, and well insulated.

Her father, Euenor, glanced out the open wooden shutters to see his daughter walking toward home with a visitor. In his fifties and seven feet in height, his white hair hung in long locks over his muscular, tanned shoulders. A short beard gave him a regal presence. He wore a red smock with the seal of a golden eight-star crest that covered his belted, white, knee-length tunic. He smiled at the young couple. His piercing blue eyes matched his daughter’s.

The patriarch called to his wife, Leucippus. “Come here. I can’t talk to you without your dear face close to mine.”

Laughing at her husband’s antics, she wiped her hands on a cloth before the meal and sat across from him so that he could hold her hands and look into her eyes. She wore a floor-length white linen dress tied around the waist with a cotton ribbon. A pale-yellow tassel dangled off the end of each tie knot. In her mid-forties now, silver strands wove through her blonde hair, which was pulled into a bun on top of her head. Her smile was bright when she saw Cleito walking home with Poseidon and waved to them inside.

Leu threw her hand across her mouth. “Oh, my gosh! It’s Poseidon!”

The front mahogany door opened. Cleito casually entered with Poseidon, as if it were normal to drop in for dinner with an uninvited guest.

Poseidon marched through the threshold behind Cleito and had to duck under the doorway lintel to get inside of the roomy house with large windows for light and air flow. Leucippus’s presence startled the sea god.

He smiled. “White Horse, is that you? What happened to you after your abduction and the rescue that happened with Hades?”

Cleito’s mother blushed. Her lips arched into a broad smile and her cheeks reddened like a morning glory. She moved back in amazement to see the god of the sea, Poseidon.

“Mother, do you know this man?” Cleito asked, to which her mother slowly nodded. “I met him many years ago. But please, won’t you invite him in?”

Euenor’s brow knitted at the surprising exchange. How did his wife know this stranger? “So, tell us, Leu. How do you know him?”

Leucippus rushed out of the room. “I smell our midday meal burning.” Her daughter went after her into the kitchen.

Standing next to Leu, she asked, “Mother, please tell me. How do you know Poseidon?”

Meanwhile, in the dining area, the tension between Euenor and Poseidon turned awkward. Avoiding interaction, each man’s eyes ping-ponged back and forth.

Poseidon lowered his voice and mumbled, “Let us wait for Leucippus. She will reveal how we are familiar. I do not want any misunderstandings.”

Fragrant, fresh snapper, sautéed spinach, and fruit wafted into the dining room as Leucippus and Cleito brought in each dish to sit on the oval, acacia wood table. Nervous energy filled the room as Cleito began to pass the dishes around the table.

Poseidon raised his head to glimpse Leucippus turning shades of red. When each person had filled their plate, she cleared her throat and spoke in a trembling voice. “I connect my bloodline to Poseidon’s family. Your father knows that at one time, I was a water nymph. A long time ago, my sisters and I were companions of Persephone. Hades, the God of the Underworld, abducted her. When Poseidon came to rescue us, he saw my strength and purity of heart and named me White Horse, or Leucippus.”

“It was a proud moment for me. However, Poseidon, being a god, turned me into a mortal. Anyone who has been around gods long enough knows it’s agony. I have not shared this story because it might sound strange. It was a painful memory.”

Poseidon reached across the table to touch Leucippus’s hand. “I am so sorry for what happened to you and your sisters. You were brave. Your heart was fervent, so I wanted to honor you with the proper name, White Horse, and allow you to live a life with the promise of a family.” With damp eyes, he said, “And I see you have wonderful loved ones!”

Euenor’s jaw dropped in shock as his wife told her incredible story. She’d descended from the god of the sea! He remembered when he had first noticed her. She was a water nymph, which he never thought was possible. Her agelessness amazed him over the years.

Cleito’s eyes shone with delight, and her smile widened as the news began to sink in. “Wow, Mom, what a secret you have been keeping from us all these years! We would never have known, had Poseidon not washed up on our shores.”