CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE UNANNOUNCED VISITOR

As the sun dimmed its glow, going below the horizon, and casting a soft glow over the world, Tryton and Riona decided to leave the park and start walking homeward. The evening was filled with car lights, street lights and the aroma that came from those preparing roadside 

As they walked through the dark streets, suddenly, a figure in a dark hoodie walked out from a dark corner, walking briskly past them. Tryton caught a glimpse of a mischievous smile that seemed oddly familiar, and his senses tingled with a strange sensation. 

"Did you see that person?" Tryton exclaimed, turning around in surprise. 

"It felt like I knew that person, but he disappeared so quickly."

Riona's curiosity piqued, and she scanned the surroundings, but the person had vanished without a trace.

"Who do you think it was?" Riona asked, with concern in her voice.

Tryton shrugged, with a confused face. 

"I'm not sure, but something about that smile felt strangely familiar. It must have been my imagination, don't worry about it" he said, 

His eyes narrowed as he continued to search the shadows for any sign of the hooded figure but it didn't help, he couldn't be found.

As Tryton dropped off Riona on her street he watched her disappear into the street, erasing her presence from his sight. Tryton turned on his heels and headed the opposite way toward his penthouse.

While he headed back home, Tryton's thoughts drifted back to the hooded figure and his sinister smile. He entered the elevator and pushed the button leading to the top floor.

Upon unlocking the door and stepping into his house, a familiar voice echoed through the darkness,

"Welcome back, Thanatos," the voice said, echoing darkness

Tryton reacted immediately,

" Master Hades," he acknowledged, kneeling.

The room remained cloaked in darkness, the only light emanating was that from the luminescent glow of the city outside the windows.

" Hmm! I see you having fun being around mortals?"Hades asked, his voice was godly, weaving through the stillness of the room.

Triton remained quiet to the question,

" Was that the girl I saw earlier?" Hades went ahead to ask,

Immediately Thanatos' eyes twitched, he had finally realized that the dark figure he had seen earlier was Hades.

" Yes master" he responded,

"Hmm!" Hades exclaimed.

He stood up and walked towards the light reflecting from the window, he saw the beautiful lights of the city and nurtured its sight,

" What brings you here, master?" Thanatos inquired,

Hades was silent for a while, then he turned around and went back to sit, turning on the lamp beside him. The light illuminated only where he sat, displaying his dark presence, long hair, and red eyes. 

He crossed his legs, and leaned his cheek on his slightly folded fist,

" The thin line between the living and the dead was severed," he said calmly,

" You don't have anything to do with it do you?" he added,

Thanatos eyes lit up with guilt because he knew he had made the mistake of saving Miko earlier that day, which was not supposed to happen. After all, it's against his jurisdiction, and a little misstep from him would alter the balance of life and death. 

" I did make a mistake master, by saving a young child from an accident earlier today" Thanatos said, bowing down,

" What have you done, Thanatos!" Hades responded calmly,

" An innocent life will be lost, to replace the life that was saved, you know this right? " Hades added,

Thanatos nodded, agreeing to what Hades said,

" Fix this!" Hades added,

Immediately after saying that, Hades vanished from the building. 

Thanatos thought about what Hades had said and regretted stepping in, but the truth was that Thanatos being the god of death, had a soft spot for children, he couldn't help but step in to save Miko, but then a life would be lost earlier than it's proposed time so it could create balance, but 

"Whose life will it be?" Thanatos thought to himself.

He never had an idea of who it might be, he just had to wait on it.

********

Meanwhile, after Riona got home, almost immediately, Lydia's name flashed on her phone's screen. Riona had to stifle a smile on her face when she finally realized who was calling her.

Without hesitation, Riona tapped the answer button, bringing the phone to her ear. 

"Hey, Lydia!" she greeted,

Lydia's voice, full of curiosity, cut through the line.

"Spill it! What happened? Did you kiss him?"

A giggle escaped Riona's lips before she composed herself and responded,

" He said nothing happened, that he just took me home upon your request" 

"Really!, here I was expecting to hear something more interesting," Lydia complained.

"But wait, I noticed something different about Tryton today, or shall I say I saw a different part of him" Riona added

" Tell me everything," Lydia responded with a lot of curiosity in her voice.

A soft smile curled at the corners of Riona's lips as she conjured that particular moment in her mind. 

"I had never seen a smile on Tryton's face until today," Riona responded,

" What! A smile?, Are you for real?" Lydia asked the question for confirmation,

" You must have made quite an impression on him, right?" Lydia added,

" No actually it's quite the opposite, he smiled at a kid" Riona replied,

" A kid? hmm! That's new" Lydia confirmed,

" He kinda likes children a lot, because the smile I saw earlier was genuine and real" Riona said, remembering the smile on Tryton's face.

" It was like I was staring at a different person entirely" she added,

Lydia sighed wistfully,

"Oh, how sweet! It sounds like the beginning of a good friendship." Lydia said,

" He might not be that bad maybe, he was really cool today. We will see though"

They both giggled in unison, lost in the conversations. As the hour grew late, they both said good night,

" Good night, Lydia I gotta go. I will see you at work tomorrow then!" Riona said,

" Most definitely, of course. Good night!". Lydia responded, and they both ended the call.