seirína

Thinking back I never thought my life was going to end up like it did. Its strange to think about how the world we live in has changed so much though out history. Like when your parents would tell you storys of when they were a kid, we would always roll our eyes and think yeah sure but that was like a million years ago. Maybe because time is always changing its never going to stay the same wether its ten years from now or fifty it wont be the same as these moments the moments of our childhood. I still remember when I thought my life was never going to change, that I was king of the world at my peak. What I didnt know was everything I have ever know was about to change.

It was the last day of my seinor year, class of 2016, and my parents had suprised me the night before with a trip to see my grandparents.....my girlfriend did not take that well. I was standing at my locker when she stormed up to me. " what do you mean you cant come with me to my parents vacation house this summer you promised Sean" "like i said in my text my parents suprised me with a last minute famliy trip to seirína to see my grandparents" she looked at me all confused and irritated "look if you didn't want to spend the summer with me you could just say that you don't have to lie to me about some fake ass place I've never even heard of" i rolled my eyes geography was never her best subject she still thinks narina is a real place "i didn't make it up it's a small island next to greece it's called seirína because theres an old folk tale about how seirins live there and would make some of the young men who just came of age disappear into the water without a trace they called them panemorfi seirína which means beautiful seirin in greek" she looked satified with my answer enough to at least make her leave me the fuck alone i couldn't wait to get away from her.

After school was over my parents rushed us to the airport. It was gonna be a 42 hour flight and there was nothing to do but play on my phone and sleep.

"Ahhh we finally made it and it only took 5 planes and a boat to get here" grumbled my dad. My mom jabed him in the side and said in a mocking sing song voice "now honey if you complain seirína's monsters will eat you" she winked at me we both knew how much my dad believes in the supernatural. Even though we thought it was funny my dad was not entertained " you shouldn't joke about the supernatural world it pisses them off you know how many rituals it would take to keep the peace with their world and ours". Thankfully my grandparents pulled up just in time to stop my dad from going into full rant mode. After some awkward greets we pilled in there van and headed out to their place. This island has to be hands down the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Going up to higher ground gave me a better veiw of the surrounding area, the island was surrounded by crystle clear water most of the people who live here built their houses up the cliffs so when storms hit they wouldnt be washed away. The bottom of the cliffs are still mostly wooden and sandy. There was a dock on the north side of the island where our boat came in, and on the far south part of the island there was a massive cemetery that dated back hundreds of years, my mother would always tell me stories of when my ancestors first came to the island and how all of them are buried there dating all the way back to the 12th century to now. I've always loved history and ate up every story my mom has ever told me. I made a mental note to go look around the cemetery the first chance I get and to try and find out more about my familys history I wonder how far back I can go on my hunt to figure more out, theres so many things about this place that seems familiar its just I can't figure out what. its just that everything I've see so far feels like I've been here before even though this is my first vist. I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice when we pulled up to my grandparents farm....or manor would be more like it because it's huge! I couldn't believe my mom grew up in a place like this they had over two hundred acres of land with a river that runs through to the ocean, massive trees covered the land with a beautiful mansion in the middle of a clearing several Vineyards scattered all around. 'So thats how they made their money' I thought 'they make wine that makes explains why mom knows so much about wines.' I was in awe and it must have showed because my grandparents where staring and me chuckling.

That night we sat down for dinner and I felt extremely underdressed for some reason my parents forgot to mention that every evening meal had a dress code because I was rocking my ac/dc tshirt and faded jeans while everyone else was in what looked like there sunday best. "Oh well", I thought to myself " i'm hungry and im not getting changed just for a meal with my family screw that." focusing on what was infront of me they had a freaking feast laid out, there was grilled fish with lemon, 5 different types of vegetables 3 of which I didnt even recognize, rice, 3 different kinds of bread. My grandpa handed me a cup of wine, and I looked over at my mom to make sure it was ok for me to drink and she giggled like there was something I was supposed to know but didn't. It was then explained to me that on the island the legal drinking age was sixteen so it was ok for me to have some ... I realized something that night I am not a wine drinker and for that matter I can't understand why adults likes this crap. After dinner was over my grandma grabed my arm and said "I have something to show you my dear come come follow me." I knew not to question her so I just let her drag me along to a room that was covered in photos and painting, I was in awe they had date back all the way to the 14th century I'm not quite sure how she knews that I love history but I could spend days in here studing every painting and picture. She pointed at an old black and white photo haning up and said " this is the first picture me and your grandfather ever took together and my favorite one we were 15 and 16 in those days but I remember it like it was yesterday it was july 7, 1963 the first date we ever went on and I knew right then and there he was the man I wanted to spend my life with two months later we were married" she chuckled and had a sparkle in her eyes. I could tell that her love for my grandpa hasn't fade one bit in the 63 years they've been married. She directed me to a painting in the far back. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the painting she was pointing at it was of a young couple a beautiful young girl she looked about 15 her hair went down her back with big ringlet the color of night crystal blue eyes and bright red lips she was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen! she entranced me so much that I almost missed the guy standing next to her. I had to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me because he looks exactly like me the likeness is uncanny. My grandma explained "thats who your named after thats you very great grandfather this was painted in September of 1533 when they were married the girl in the painting name is Callie it was said that Sean just came to the island one day and fell in love with Callie instantly and a few months after they meet they got married" my heart ached for some reason looking at the portrait I couldnt quite explain it at the time but it felt like my heart was breaking into a millon pieces just by looking at it.

The next day I decided to go for a walk I can't recall how long I've been walking. When I looked up I had reached the cemetery it wasn't my exact goal to be there but it was a pleasant suprise. I walked around looking at all the head stone the newest ones were in the front so I made my way to the back to where the older ones were. I found just the one i was looking for it said 'here lyes callie gataki 1518-1588' tears started streaming down my face. Wiping them away I felt so sad and lonely like a part of me was missing. 'I had to meet her' i thought 'but how could i? She lived in the 1500s and i dont'. I'm not sure what came over me... my knees felt weak and buckled making me collapse to the ground. Frantically I cleared away the overgrowth of the headstone next to her and stopped dead in my tracks..... "Th…th…theres no ingraving on this one" i whispered to myself that makes no sense 'he should be next to her…. Why isnt he next to her' I screamed in my head. None of this made sense. His name slip through my lips "sean gataki". All of the sudden the earth turned to water it start swirrling around me I tried to move but couldnt. In the distance i heard a voice singing it was so beautiful and peaceful I felt my whole body relax and sink further and futher into the water the last thing i heard was the singer whisper "I'm going to take you far far away to where your meant to be".