Thank you to all of my many friends at ERWA who have given your precious time and energy to edit and help me make this a better story.
The Journey: Pressed to Enlightenment
Gymnos wakes up and rubs his eyes. He can hear rain beating against the windows. Fumbling in the dark, he finds the remote. The button responds with a faint click and the heavy brocade drapes creep open with a slight whirring noise. The rain streams down the windows as the gray light enters the room. What the hell! The weather lady had promised a sunny 85-degree day. He can feel his hard penis pressing against the smooth satin sheets. Running his fingers through the golden curls around the shaft, he thinks of yanking off a quick one. Looking at the clock, he sees it is already 9 a.m. "Shit."
He slides off the golden colored bedding. Standing, he stretches before walking to the window. He gazes at the rain pelting down, the rivers of water streaming down the driveway into the flooded street. Suddenly a loud crack accompanies a bright blue bolt of lightning. A large branch from the huge Acacia is sheared off. The limb hits the grass with a loud thud and splash. Jumping back a foot he almost falls over. "Damn fuckers. God must hate me." He turns from the window and looks at himself in the full-length mirror on the back of the closet door. Raising both arms over his head, he takes in his beautiful, toned body. The curly blonde hair that fills his pits glows like sunlit wheat. Unabashed, he gazes at the waves of amber that cascade over his muscled chest and continue to the thickly forested bush. His cock is hanging at a forty-five degree angle. He reaches down and strokes it with one hand sliding the other over his stomach.
God may hate me, but I love me.
"Gym, your breakfast is ready."
His mother always gets up early and prepares his breakfast. It doesn't matter that she works the late shift at the factory. She always manages to break out of bed to take care of her family.
Gymnos digs through the pile of clothes on the chair and pulls out a pair of saffron colored silk shorts. Holding them to his nose, he sniffs to see if they are wearable. He catches a glimpse of his ass while bending over to put the shorts on. They drop as he straightens, gazing at his perfectly round bubble butt.
"Gym, it's getting cold. Hurry up."
Gymnos picks the shorts off the floor and puts them on, pushing his semi-erect dick down one leg and arranging his ball sack. Walking to the door, he takes one last longing glance at his body as he passes the dresser mirror.
He knows he's handsome. So hot to be bad, is his take
He hops down the stairs and hurries to the kitchen. His mother is standing at the stove stirring something in the fry pan.
"Morning, Mom," he intones as he walks up next to her. Pushing her raven curls back, he plants a kiss on her cheek. She is wearing a sheer pink robe over her baby-doll pajamas. He knows she is very sexy for her age.
"You're going to be late if you don't hurry."
The storm obscures the view from the window over the sink. "Fuck school. I'm not going out in that rain."
"Seriously? You have the big game with Stanford tonight! So the captain of the team doesn't show up because he can't go out in the rain? You got that scholarship for one reason: you're damned good. You're definitely going to school today." His mother lifts the pan from the stove. She turns to the center island and scoops out fried onions and peppers with tomatoes. She gently slides the mixture on to the scrambled eggs. Opening the refrigerator, she removes a bag of grated cheese and tops his breakfast.
Gymnos sits down sullenly in front of the plate. "Some naked lady came by looking for dad last night."
His mom turns to him, eyes wide. They then turn to a squint. "Naked lady? You're so full of shit sometimes Gym, I never know when you're pulling my leg."
"Honest. The doorbell rang and there was this beautiful naked lady standing there. In the street was a bright red Escalade and a man in a black uniform standing with the door open."
"Are you doing drugs again, Gym? Honestly, nobody walks up to the door naked, especially not a lady."
"Mom, honest, it's the truth. She asked if Kasos lived here. I told her yes, but that he was still at work. She gave me this card and told me to have him call her."
"Where's the card?"
Gymnos leaves his seat and goes to the front hallway, returning empty handed. "It's gone. I left it on the table in the entry. Dad must have found it. I think her name was Sotiria."
Mom runs out of the kitchen, down the hallway and throws open the basement door. She runs down the stairs.
Gymnos takes a bite of food, thinking briefly, and then turns to follow her. When he reaches the stairs, he listens but doesn't hear anything. He takes the stairs two at a time down to the basement. His mother isn't there. He smells something familiar, ahh, sulfur. The rotten egg smell from chem lab. "Mom? Mom? Where are you?" He goes through the basement but no one is there. He turns quickly and runs back upstairs. "Mom!" The only sound he hears is the wind and rain beating against the house. Running out the front door, he looks up and down the street. Suddenly, quite inexplicably, he notices that the clouds and rain are only covering a small area around his block. Blue skies are clearly visible all around the rest of the neighborhood.
He returns to the house, quickly moving from room to room he scours the house. He hears a loud clap come from the basement and returns there. Searching again, he notices at the far corner that the bookcase is ajar. A dim yellow light is shining out from behind. Walking to the bookcase he tugs, moving it slightly. He grabs the edge with both hands and gives it a strong pull. It scrapes across the carpet, creaking as it gives way.
He finds what appears to be a hallway leading underground, away from the house. "What the hell?" He peers down the dimly lit corridor. Apparently, it ends about twenty feet away. He moves gingerly down the length. At the end, it turns and goes on. Amazed, he continues to follow it. He passes the last light, moving slowly in the dark.
A door suddenly opens. An orange glow emanates from inside. The lady who had come to the house is standing there, still nude. She motions for him to come.
"Hey, where's my mom?"
The lady says nothing. She turns and walks behind the door.
Gymnos hurries to the door and goes through. He stops abruptly as he is standing on sharp gravel. Looking around, he sees rocks and large boulders. There appear to be fires burning in several pits. The roof of the room is quite high and carved out of bedrock. He carefully inches his way over the gravel to a sandy path. "What the hell is this place?"
"You are in Thermopolis. Welcome."
****
"He's arrived. Zeus will be pleased. We must ensure his journey."
"Gymnos is so beautiful, all golden and muscular, I might be in love."
"Oh, Zephyrus, you're too gentle a wind."
"We're here to watch, Oreithyia; it will be enjoyable at least."
****
He turns to see the naked lady again. "Where's my mom?" He notices that she is not so much a lady, but a statuesque young woman.
"She has crossed over to find your father."
"Crossed over where?"
The young woman points to a gap in the boulders. "Beyond there. She has crossed to Galatian."
"What is Galatian? Why is my father there?" He keeps looking around at the strange environ. Normally he would be staring at the naked woman, but he is so confused he doesn't even think of her beauty.
"Galatian is a place of learning. Your father is there to learn the old ways and bring scholars there new learning. I'm sure your parents are sitting at Zeus' table right now, laughing and having a joyous time."
****
"Such lies, she is truly evil."
