It was light there. Sunny. Unlike here where it was night all the time. Simi had been happy in Katateros with her family. Everything had been wonderful in the hall of the gods. Even most of the old gods had been nice to her.
And she wanted terribly to be happy again.
The Simi didn’t want to feel like this. She didn’t want to have the sadness in her heart or wetness on her cheeks. Simi missed smiling and laughing and playing chase through the old temples. “Please make the Simi happy, akra. Simi don’t like this aches in her bellies and heart.”
Akra-Apollymi cupped her cheek and nodded, then everything went dark.
Simi had no idea what was happening. Not until the light returned and she found herself inside a large room behind a huge throne made of stone.
She remembered this place from long ago. It was Archon’s throne …
Apollymi’s mean husband who used to scowl at the Simi and her matera. Only the Atlantean god wasn’t here to scowl at her now. The hall was eerily empty with no mean gods in it anywhere.
That made Simi afraid. Where had all the gods gone? Would they come back and hate her or chase her away?
She had no matera or sissy for protection and she was a little demon. Little demons could eats and fight, but that was nothing compared to what a big god could do.
Terrified, she tried to find a place to hide so that they wouldn’t pull her wings off.
All of a sudden, a huge shadow fell over her.
No! They’d found her before she could hide. Eyes wide in terror, she looked up to see …
Well, it wasn’t Archon and for that she was mighty thankful. Confuzzled, she stared up at the boy-man who towered over her with a curious frown. Extremely tall and handsome, he had long black hair and swirling silver eyes just like akra-Apollymi.
The Simi smiled, hoping he wouldn’t pull her wings off.
Not sure what else to do, she glanced to the huge staff he held. It was topped by Apollymi’s sun emblem that was pierced by three lightning bolts. That gave the Simi some more hope. “Are you Simi’s akri?”
Akri was the masculine term for ‘lord and master,’ though Simi and her family used it for akra even though she was more friend than someone who wanted to control them. She hoped her new akri was that kind of akri, and not the mean one.
His scowl deepened. “I’m no one’s akri.”
“Oh …” That didn’t help at all. She looked about for the one akra-Apollymi had sent her to find. If this wasn’t her akri, maybe her akri was lost, too. “But akra sent me here. She said my akri would be waiting. The Simi is confuzzled. I lost my mama and now the Simi needs her akri or else there won’t be anyone to take care of Simi.” Frustrated and afraid that she would be forever alone, she sat down and started crying again.
What if she never found her akri?
Was she stuck here? With no Rik-rik or sissy? She couldn’t imagine anything worse than being stuck in this place alone. Without anyone.
No. Simi needed her family!
The stranger laid down his staff so that he could pick her up. “Don’t cry. It’ll be all right. We’ll find your mother.”
That only made it worse! “Akra said the Simi’s matera is dead. Them evil Greek people kilded the Simi’s mama. Now the Simi needs her akri to love her.”
She didn’t have anyone else.
If he wasn’t her akri, she was alone in this world, too, and she didn’t know how to get back home to Kalosis.
He rocked her gently in his arms as akra-Apollymi’s shady ghosty form appeared beside them.
Simi stopped crying as she saw her there. “Akra, he says the Simi’s akri isn’t here.”
Akra-Apollymi smiled at them. “He is your akri, Simi.”
“What?” her akri asked in shocked surprise.
“Her mother, Xiamara, was your protector. Like you, Simi is all alone in the world with no one to care for her. She needs you, Apostolos.”
