1 Athena

"I'd like to buy a plane ticket to your furthest destination today," she told the airline employee. She didn't know where she wanted to go, she just knew she wanted to get out. It wasn't right for her anymore. As soon as the employee handed over the piece of paper the mysterious woman slammed five $100 bills on the counter and briskly walked off to find her gate. Constantly, the woman is looking over her shoulder searching for something that just isn't there. She walks with her head down and not noticing her surroundings, she bumps into something causing them both to trip over and drop their belongings. Without looking at the person she ran into, she frantically grabbed the fallen items from the floor and ran to her gate. When she got to her designated area, she was finally able to sit down. She sat down with a thud and a deep breath. The sweat on her forehead curved down and disappeared in her shirt. For the first time since she got her ticket, she finally looked down at it. "Greece," She didn't think that one day she would end up going back. She wouldn't have much when she got there, all she would have are the clothes on her back and another to change into. Bouncing her leg up and down, she waits. After what felt like forever, she finally heard the permission to board the plane.

The woman tossed her bag into the overhead compartment and plopped down on her seat and let out a deep breath. She closed her eyes as people were passing by her, she heard the clicks of people putting their suitcases away and people settling themselves in their designated seats. She felt eyes burning into the side of her head, but she didn't dare to open her eyes to see who it was. After what felt like hours of continuous sound, there was a ding that indicated seat belts needed to be worn. She was so out of it, she didn't even hear the flight attendant explain the emergency procedure. After everyone put their seatbelts on, the plane began to roll down the runway gaining speed. As the plane ascended into the air, the woman let out another breath. It seems as if she has let out a thousand deep breaths. Finally, the plane levels out, seat belts come off, and passengers are free to move about the cabin. The unknown woman keeps her seat belt on, she tightens it. People move freely about the cabin, going to the bathroom or talking with their friends who are in a different cabin. The woman closes her eyes again, trying to get some sleep. She left so abruptly after she quit her job, she didn't have time to relax. The whole week she had been preparing to leave by getting money out of the bank that she didn't have, stuffing all of her clothes in suitcases, and making sure she left nothing behind.

It's eerily quiet and dark in the cabin. Passengers have finally fallen asleep or have just decided to stop talking to one another. The unnamed woman still hasn't fallen asleep, her mind is going a mile a minute and doesn't want to turn off. She hasn't moved an inch, her body is stuck in cement. She doesn't want to move at all, the only time she wants to move is when she gets off of the plane and into her new life. It's so quiet that she jumps when the flight attendant taps her on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am, would you like some water or juice?" She shakes her head no without making eye contact with the lady. The attendant accepts the answer and places a blanket on the empty seat next to the woman. The woman places the blanket over her legs and before she could even count sheep in her head, she feels another presence next to her. "Hi, I'm Elliot, most people call me Elle though," The person next to her said, she didn't say anything back but instead turned her body closer to the window.

"What's your name? If you don't mind me asking," the woman still doesn't say anything. The person next to her waits for a second before speaking again.

"Well, okay. I just wanted to give you this. You dropped it earlier when you ran into me. I just wanted to make sure you get it back, it seems important," Elliot goes to stand from the seat and places a small, wallet-sized, picture on the seat.

"It was nice meeting you, have a safe flight." They turn on their heels and leave the cabin to go back to their seat. The woman never once thought about breaking eye contact with the clouds. She wanted nothing more than to just lay on one of them.

Finally breaking eye contact with nothingness, she looked down at the seat and studied the picture. She turned her body back around and picked up the picture. The picture was of a little girl with a smile on her face. She slid the picture in her pocket and went back to looking out the window. She closed her eyes and let the darkness overtake her.

"Ma'am, the plane is going to be beginning its descent, we need you to put your seatbelt on," The woman jolted awake after being tapped on the shoulder. She looked around the cabin and saw that the other passengers were cleaning up their area and putting their seat belts on. The woman looked to her right and saw that she had finally made it to the place she always wanted to go to. She put her seatbelt on with a smile on her face and got ready to land.

She was the last off the plane and the last to grab her suitcase from the conveyor belt. The woman walked through the partially empty airport and went outside to look for some sort of transportation. When she walked out of the terminal doors, she inhaled the scent of the new city. She looked all around her, she took note of how different her life is going to be. A honk took her out of her dream state. She turned her head to the source of the sound and it was a line of taxis picking people up and taking them somewhere else. She got in one of the empty cars and told the driver to take her to a random hotel. With the driver being confused, they took off through the city. The lights illuminated her face through the window as she leaned her head against it. She still had no idea what she was going to do here or long she's going to stay here.

The car rolls to a stop in front of a tall building that she can't understand the name of. She hands the driver a hundred dollar bill out of a stack from one of her bags. The woman grabs her bags and skips out of the vehicle and into the big building. It was pretty late at night so there wasn't a line at the desk looking for a room. She walks up to the desk and grabs the workers' attention.

"Can I have one of your cheapest rooms with just one bed?" she asks as she looks around the lobby. It doesn't look that bad, it's just not what she is used to. Children play in the lobby by kicking a soccer ball around.

"Sure, how long is your stay?" The worker speaks in perfect English which the woman is grateful for. She at least knows who she can go to if she needs help now. She responds with a shrug and a shake of her head. The worker gives her a bright smile and begins to type on her keyboard.

"Well, that's alright! I went ahead and got you set up with a room that you can pay off whenever you stay. All I need from you now is a name," The worker waits for her response while looking at the woman whose head is down. The woman doesn't respond straight away, she keeps her head down. After a few seconds, she slowly lifts her head and responds to the lively worker.

"Paris Stewart."

The worker types in her computer once again after flashing the woman another smile. Paris stands behind the desk, switching her weight from foot to foot, she looks behind her noticing that the children that were playing have now gone. The hotel has lights that illuminated the outdated furniture in the lobby. The TV in the middle of the room is playing a show that any English speaker might not understand. Looking around, there is no elevator. The light blue paint on the walls is chipping and underneath is a patchy orange. The tile on the floor looks as if the construction team wasn't paying attention to where they were laying them. People walk in and out of the building with no real purpose.

The worker grabs her attention by sliding a card over the desk. The woman pauses her thoughts and looks up at the person behind the desk. She stares at the slightly younger woman for a few seconds before grabbing the key. The worker gives her a reassuring nod that she is good to go. She turns on her heels and looks at what room she's going to be staying in. Room 509. Paris gets into the room, after struggling to open the door because the lock was stuck, and pauses in the middle of the room. The room is smaller than her one-bedroom apartment back in New York. She floats around the room trying to find some good in it, she makes it to the window of the room and opens it. The bright city lights fill the room and overtake the older woman's thoughts. The view from the fifth floor might not seem like a good perspective, but it gives Paris more insight into the city than she had before.

Eventually, Paris retreats to her bed for whoever knows how long and she lays on the soft material. Soon, darkness overtakes her and she doesn't wake until the next morning. When she wakes up, she decides that the first day she is there, she's going to go look around the city. She doesn't have a lot of money left, but she'll make due for the time being. She leaves through the front doors and is instantly hit with the smell of cigarettes. She walks for what feels like years and she thinks to herself that this trip might not turn out the way she wants it to, but it'll be worth it. She's always wanted to go back to Athens, but she only needed to go when she needed to. She continues to walk constantly looking in random places, hoping that whatever she stumbles upon will be the very thing she's looking for. In one of the last bars she looked into, she noticed they were looking for new people, she knew at some point that she would need a job. She couldn't stretch a dime into a dollar forever, no matter how long she's going to be in Greece.

She walked into the bar and was instantly surrounded by the strong smell of alcohol and male body odor. As she continues her path into the bar, she sees a woman behind the bar taking her orders. She walks up to an empty seat at the bar and slides onto it. Looking around the establishment, she sees that most of the people here are men, hardly any women are shown. The women that are in the bar appear to be working for it. The bar is dimly lit with orange glowing lamps scattered around the area. The stools and booths have a velvet felt and are attached to brown mahogany support beams and backs.

"What can I get you, hun?" The woman behind that bar asked. She had midnight black hair that flowed down to her shoulders, but not going past it. The worker had to be more than 5'5 feet. She wears a black tank top with jeans and knee-high boots. She's getting other customer's drinks as she's waiting for the woman to answer. Paris is glad that someone else speaks English, but that still doesn't make the stay easier. "Just water," Paris responds quietly, the bartender almost didn't hear her.

"Are you okay? You look a little anxious," The bartender has a worried look on her face as she slides a glass of clear liquid off to the seemingly younger woman. "I'm… perfectly," the woman pauses and breaks eye contact with the bartender. "Not okay," The woman finishes after letting out a shaky breath. "Would you like to tell me about it? I mean, I'm probably not your first choice, but I sure am a great listener. The name's Angel," The bartender sticks her hand out waiting for a shake. Paris looks at her hand and in the workers' eyes. After a few seconds, they connect hands and Angel turns her back to the woman and grabs two glasses and a large bottle. "It seems like we're going to need something stronger than." The two girls laugh as she pours the dark liquid into the glasses.

"Wow," the bartender replied after the woman finished her story. "So," Angel draws out the word as her face scrunches up in confusion. -that's why you're here? You could've said you were here for the hell of it, but that?" She takes a long sip from her glass and looks Paris into the eyes, "That's crazy," The younger woman laughs off the comment and begins looking around. She noticed that most of the people have gone and it's just people waiting around for their rides. "How long are you here for?" Paris responds with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Well, where are you staying?" Paris didn't know the name of the hotel, but she saw a picture of the place when she first walked in and pointed to it.

Dumbfounded, Angel looks at her with an unconvinced look."You're staying there? You have enough money for that?" Paris looks down as she feels her eyes begin to water. She responds with another shake of her head. "Give me a second sweetheart," The bartender walks off into the direction of the kitchen and Paris is left alone at the bar with her thoughts. It was a total longshot that this trip would work out, but she has high hopes. She doesn't want to go back to the States without another story to tell, she doesn't want the girl in the picture to be disappointed in her. A short while later the bartender comes back and notices that the last person has left the bar, she grabs a jacket that is hanging near the door and looks in the direction of Paris. "Come on, let's go," Confused, Paris rises from her seat and follows Angel out the door. They both walk for a few blocks without saying anything until they reach the destination of a familiar hotel and they both enter. "Take me to your room," Angel softly demands the younger woman.

They reach the ninth room on the fifth floor and Paris begins to enter the room, "Grab your stuff," Angel says as she waits outside the room. Paris opens her mouth to say something, but realizes that nothing will come out and follows the older woman's order. She quickly runs into the room and grabs her bags, she didn't get a chance to unpack yet, which is now something she is glad for. She walks out of the room to where Angel is still waiting in the hallway. Angel grabs one of the bags from her hand and begins walking back to the elevator. Dragging her feet, Paris walks behind Angel and enters the elevator. Neither of them say anything to each other. Angel keeps her head towards the doors.

A short walk later, they both arrive back at the bar. Angel leads them through the back and into a hallway. At the end of the hallway, there is a staircase. Angel proceeds to go up the stairs, but Paris lingers at the bottom. Angel feels that she is no longer being followed and looks back. "It's okay. There's no big or scary monster up here," She turns back and continues up the stairs. Paris lingers another second and follows the older woman. When they reach the top of the stairs, she is met with two doors. They enter the one on the left. The room looks like one big studio apartment. There is a kitchen with a gas stove that looks like it would cause a fire if someone turned it on. There is a mattress that is close to a large bay window. She drops her bag by the door and continues to gaze around the room. The floor is a dark brown wood that she doesn't know the name of. The ceilings are high and there are tall pillars that are scattered around the room. "What is this?" Paris asks as she slowly creeps around the room. "It's your new temporary home silly," the older woman says while laughing. Paris looks at the woman like she's crazy. "Look," Angel begins to walk to where the younger woman is and puts her hands on her shoulders. "You need a place to stay, you couldn't afford that hotel, and at some point, you're going to need a job. So, think of this as a favor. You can stay up here, while you work down there. Free," Paris doesn't say anything for a couple of seconds, she doesn't even make eye contact. After a beat, Paris leans in and hugs the older woman tightly whispering a phrase of gratitude.

The bar is packed on a winter night, some people looking for a pick me up, others looking for warmth. Paris is behind the bar getting drinks for patrons as the door flies open. "Do you have another story for me tonight?" The whole time Paris has worked at the bar, she's been telling stories. The patrons sometimes come in just for the stories, she has become a favorite in the local bar. "I'll see if I can cook one up for you tonight," She says with a bright and confident smile on her face. Most of the people that come into the bar are tourists who aren't sure where to go. The door is constantly opening and closing, so Paris doesn't think anything of it when she feels a new presence sitting at one of the empty stools. She slides a glass of water towards the area of the unidentified person and continues to slide drinks over to others. She finally makes it towards the new customer, but before she could speak, the customer does. "I hear you tell stories, do you think instead of a drink, I could get one of those?" Paris responds with a confused smile on her face and begins to tell the customer a story of her creation. The story was about her and someone she had met about six years ago, she met them in Greece. They were inseparable, both here because of their university in America. Paris explains that they spent the entire two weeks of the trip together and that the only time they were apart was when they were sleeping and using the bathroom. She goes on to say that they had gotten extremely close and wanted to savor every waking moment. Eventually, the trip had to come to an end, they both knew it would have to, but that didn't mean they had to like it. During their departure, they both promised each other that if anything happened, they would both meet up back in Greece. They parted ways without getting any contact information, but they both left with a promise.

"I don't even remember their name," The customer looked at the young bartender with a sympathetic smile. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what was the" the customer motioned air quotations, "something?" Paris looks down at her feet as she shifts the weight from left to right. She pulls out a tiny picture, one that she has been holding close to her heart for the better part of a month and a half. She slides the picture over to the person with a proud smile on her face. "She did, she's my world. I talk to her every chance I get. I named her after the place her other parent and I met--"

"Athena."

Paris snapped her eyes to the customer with a shocked face and wide eyes. This was the first time she took a look at the customer. They were still looking down at the picture, which is now clutched in their right hand. "Paris from NYU. Elliot from the plane and the University of Oregon," the now-named person mumbles while not making eye contact. Paris doesn't say anything, still in a shocked state. Memories flash in her mind from hearing them on the plane, spending two weeks with them, and spending half a lifetime looking for them. The two weeks were the best in her life and she was heartbroken when they had to split. She never expected to see them again, but on one hand, she didn't know what to expect coming back here. Paris runs through the bar and out through the back. Her fingers snake through her short hair as her brain tries to wrap around the entire situation. Her thoughts are so loud that she doesn't hear the back door swing open and close. The person goes to touch Paris' shoulder, but she flinches back and goes to yell at the person but instantly shuts her mouth. "I- I'm sorry," Elliot laughs, but it's not because of something funny, more out of nervousness and awkwardness. "I don't even know what to say to you, I didn't think I would ever see you again. I-I mean, you have a kid? Ho-how old is she?" Elliot begins to talk frantically. They pace back and forth, their hands moving in every direction possible.

"Six."

Elliot doesn't say anything right away, pondering the response. "That would," they pause, "She's mine?" Paris let tears slip past the gates of her eyes, but doesn't break eye contact. Elliot let their tears slip past their eyes, "I've waited six years to see you again, to talk to you, to hear your voice, to see your eyes when you first wake up in the morning and see how tired, but how bright they look. I made a promise to myself that no matter what you came with, I would still love you with every bone in my body. I would steal the moon and the stars if you asked me to. I've waited," Elliot steps closer to Paris' shaking body, "for this moment, to see that you kept the promise that we made here. But it seems like I don't know you anymore. I understand why you didn't tell me, there was no way you could've," Elliot cups her cheeks in their hands, "but now that we're here, why don't you get off early and we go catch up because there's a lot to talk about,".

Elliot and Paris end up at a 24-hour coffee shop that's not too far from the bar. They've been there for over three hours and the sun is peeking up over the clouds and waking up the city. They talked about all of the things that they missed from the time that they left each other to the time when they met up again. Paris shared stories, pictures, and videos about their daughter Athena. They connected so well that it doesn't seem like there was a gap in the relationship. On the outside looking in, it looked as if they had been together for years. They laughed and cried together for hours until they both had to return to their quarters. They both stand on a street corner ready to go two opposite directions until they should meet again. Before they walk away from each other, Elliot grabs Paris' attention by grabbing both of her hands.

"I leave tomorrow to go back to Oregon, I'm pretty sure I can change the destination and add on a ticket. How do you feel about going back home, and starting over?" Elliot has a sense of hopefulness in their voice. Paris continues to gaze in Elliot's eyes and shows them a smile.

"I'll see you tomorrow Elle," she gives them a peck on the cheek, turns on her heels and walks into the sunrise leaving Elliot content with the future to come.