As a young child I had no idea what was going on.
Over the years in the places we've lived bad things happened. Storms were always frequent, lighting crashed almost every night, thunder became my sweet lullaby even. However, whenever my mother, Maria di Angelo, checked the local news for any storms nothing would appear. I didn't understand it, but it never bothered me. Some nights I'd catch my mother talking to herself repeatedly muttering the words "The lightning... I have to get them away from the lighting..." and when she'd see me she'd just smile and carry me to my bed, telling me to go to bed again. I'd just shake it off and go to sleep.
One late evening, the thunder and lighting grew especially loud. Everything that could swing and rattle and break did just that. The ceiling light swung violently, the various items on the cupboards and tables all shook until they fell from their places and broke. I was frightened to the last nerve in my body. My hands were clenched into fists so tight I started shaking, my heart was pounding so violently I swore that it could've jumped right out of my chest.
My mother suddenly rushed into my room. Nico was in her arms. He was too old to be carried by her, but she did so anyway. The look on her face devastated me. Her face was dotted with droplets of sweat, her breath looked heavy by the way she panted. The thing that disturbed me most was her eyes. They looked scared beyond belief. No, they weren't scared. My mother was never scared. Her eyes showed sadness, genuine sadness, as if she knew what would happen next and that it wasn't something good.
She placed Nico right beside me and whispered something. I couldn't hear it under all the noises, but her delicate lips carved the words "I love you" before she leaned in, kissed my forehead and Nico's cheek, then ran and disappeared. I wanted to run to her. I wanted to be by her side, knowing that being with her was the only place I knew I'd be safe. Looking at Nico while the thoughts circled around my head, I just knew I couldn't leave my brother there alone in the dark.
All of a sudden, the loudest blast of thunder shook the whole hotel. It was so loud that it must've caused a minor earthquake. The thunder rattled my eardrums, my ears started to pop multiple times. Only seconds later lighting had struck through the roof a good distance away from Nico and I. When the lightning flashed, it portrayed a fake daylight. It was so bright it blinded me but despite those I held Nico close to my chest, making sure he heard my heartbeat, that he heard a sign of life and that he wasn't alone.
Suddenly, everything stopped. The surroundings became still and quiet. My ears were still ringing from the thunder and for some reason I can hear someone laughing, as if the thunder and lighting were his bidding. When the ringing reduced and my sight came back, I realized that I was still holding Nico. He was small for his age. He had black hair and pale skin, making him look like a ghost. His eyes were shut, but water kept running down his cheeks. His hands were holding onto my clothes as if they were his lifeline, which I concluded that they were considering the situation.
Not a moment sooner than the realization a young woman in Ancient Greek clothing appeared in front of us. She wore a black cloth covering her whole body, including her head, but never touched her face. She had green eyes and small dry lips, giving the idea that she rarely talked but I had the feeling that when she did she said powerful things. Beside her stood a tall man with pale-white skin. He had a long chin, a pointed nose, and somehow pointed eyes. They were dark eyes, and not just because they were black, but they released an aura of grief, as if he'd seen every death the world experienced.
The man started shouting at the girl with green eyes, she was obviously scared of him. He raised his hand and even I winced. He might've heard me because he stopped what he was doing, knelt in front of me and smiled. His smile was cold and emotionless, but I had a strange feeling that I've seen that smile before. It comforted me. Nico, who was still clinging on to dear life, shifted his head to look at the man and surprisingly loosened his grip around me. The man carried Nico and reached out for my hand. My eyes firmly glued to the man.
He started walking us out of the hotel, everything was dark. The place seemed to radiate the aura of death. When the man stopped walking, he let go of my hand and put Nico down. Another strange man wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, which made no sense since the whole place was darker than the night, appeared next to him and said, "Are you sure, my lord?" With a single nod the man with black eyes, the first that appeared to us, knelt once more in front of us. He smiled his emotionless smile once again and said, "Never forget that your mother and I loved you both very much."
I took Nico's hand, "Who are you?"
"My name is Hades," he said, "I'm your father."
Then everything went black.
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