"Ma, father is awake."
His weary eyelids flickered firstly then flipped open like the pages of a book. He closed his eyes again after that call had waned out. Then the voice came again. Twas a wonder how the gentle, still, small and feminine voice persisted and kept the call coming.
He opened his eyes again. He couldn't confide in the sleep again. That was what it seemed like to him.
The last thing he remembered was that he was standing by the sea and was waiting for Athena. Then not long after, he had seen a lady standing in the waves, her back to him, few metres into the waters.
He had gone after the lady, calling at the name, ATHENA but the lady didn't look back at him. Then he had kept on walking till he got into the waves. He had kept walking on and fighting his way through the waves. The water had swallowed him up to his chest.
But as soon as he got behind the lady and touched her from behind, she had melted into a warm and salted water which disappeared into the length of the crashing waves.
He had stood there smothered by surprise but hadn't seen a huge wave coming before him. Before he could run out, he was hit and had sank into the depth of the water. That was all.
Then he had opened his eyes to see a lady seated on the bed not far from him. She had her back to him and seemed to be reading from a book.
He had touched his hand to her back and caressed her thinking that twas one of the encounters with Athena or a Nymph or probably the lady he had seen in the water the previous day.
But then the lady had called at a mother and had referred to him as a father. He remembered vividly that he didn't in no wise impregnate any Nymph back in the depth of the ocean. He was as confused.
Then came rushing in, was a middle aged but beautiful woman dressed in a long milk gown with hair braided stylishly. He could hardly remember her. Beside the woman was another lady who was almost the size of the one sitting on the bed.
As soon as the lady seated on the bed saw the woman and the other lady, she stood up and intended to hide the book.
"What's that, sister?"
The other lady hurried to the first lady.
"It's nothing. Father is awake."
The first lady seemed to had fought her way round the trick. The second lady ignored the book and went rushing to the head of the bed and sat close to Vulcan.
The middle aged woman too was already by the bed to the left.
"Oh, goodness! You didn't want to wake up, Vulcan? Everyone's been here wanting to see you after the scene you made at the cave of Myclops yesterday."
The second lady helped Vulcan sit up as he watched the middle aged woman in surprise. He had no faintest idea what she was talking about.
"What scene?"
Vulcan shot, sitting up. He wanted his voice deep and fierce but all he got was a mild and unseasoned counterpart.
"I told you that he didn't do it."
The second lady shot in Vulcan's defense. Vulcan looked from her to the middle aged woman who glared at the lady and looked back at Vulcan, more determinedly.
"Now you don't want us to start with an early morning quarrel again."
The middle aged woman shot. Vulcan didn't know what to say to the three. It seemed as though he was in another phase of Fantasy. He didn't know what to believe.
"And by the way, how'd you get this robe. We all know that you're poor and can't even afford the food for your own livestocks. Plus we didn't see you dressed in this last night."
The woman kept reeling. It seemed as though she was a barrel of words. Before Vulcan could say a thing, the second lady had had her take,
"We can't be sure, ma. We could barely see him amidst the dark yesterday. Plus he was drunk. Like dead drunk."
"He's our father, watch it."
The first lady, who had been silent all along hurled. She seemed to have a hidden beast in her though she seemed reserved.
In that short period of time, Vulcan had made hypotheses but he was still smothered by confusion and didn't know if he would survive.
He looked quickly around the room. Twas like a shithole, though there were few items necessary for a family. He was fed up with the view. He ignored and looked back at the three, sharing his worried gaze.
There was only one question wielding at the base of his consciousness. He couldn't help but ask,
"Who are you guys?"
He watched as the surprise which had been seated in his face all along switched its place, and was spread across the faces of the three.
But why did they seem that surprised? He had asked the right question, he didn't know them.
"Is this some game, Vulcan? Is this your own new trick of running away from responsibilities? We are caught in the claws of whether to call off the wedding ceremony of our first daughter and now you're asking who we are. I'm sure you're about to ask what her name is."
The woman scoffed. But Vulcan was in the darkness of it all. He needed light and he seemed helpless. He couldn't ignite it on his own.
"But sorry, What's her name?"
Vulcan meant it, though he could see disappointment on the face of the second lady. But the first lady whose name he had asked for, didn't seem moved.
"Ok! Now I'm done here. You either stop playing this dimwitted games or leave the home for us."
The middle aged woman stomped off as the second lady followed but the first lady stayed.
She watched her mother and sister walked out then walked closer to the bed and sat near Vulcan.
"My name is Prium. I'm your first daughter. I don't know what happened to you in your sleep after yesterday. But one thing I'm sure of is that you're not doing this on purpose."
She said, her small lips canvasing the strength of her beauty, and the life in her round face.
Vulcan still didn't understand, but he felt deeply within him that he could trust Prium.
Then, soon noise started coming from outside the hut. Twas more of commotion.
"What's that?"
He asked, his face melting into concern.
"You raped the daughter of the King yesternight. Protest is being made before the judgement of the King. We all knew you were drunk and didn't do it on purpose."
Vulcan just watched her speak. He had no faintest idea what to think. He didn't know which sucked more, reality or fantasy.
Why should he believe that he did that? Well that didn't stop the noise from coming.
Suddenly, the door was broken open.