∘₊✧───── Remembering Home ─────✧₊∘
✦ An island never forgets its daughters ✦

Graci had grown up both in London and on the Greek island of Spetses, living life between the soft moments on Greece and the playful fun in London.

Currently, she was on the beach near her grandparents' house. Picking out this year's shell was something she was excited for. But she also wanted it to be the perfect one to encapsulate her eleventh summer.

Most of her shells had been boring, but she wanted this to be special, her last summer before her life was flipped over by Hogwarts. It'll be amazing, but what about my friends? Pure bloods probably don't have to think about that. They're either home-schooled or have their same group of pompous pureblood friends.

She knew that statement didn't fit with her beliefs, but she still didn't know how she would do at Hogwarts. Despite growing up with magic she still didn't have a huge understanding of it, minus some charms, but most people knew a lot about that. Apparently it was the easiest class. Or something. They were lying. It was easy, but definitely not the easiest. Right?

Graci didn't like how cluttered her mind was getting. Like she couldn't think straight or there was a heavy layer of smog over her brain. It was hard. Like she could only focus in the morning.

Just ground yourself and get out of your head. Seashell.

Her feet were sifting through the sand, the grains tumbling and turning, soon to unearth a beautiful conch shell. (Hopefully!)

Being on Spetses usually grounded her more than London but lately only the morning sun could change anything. And her grandparents. they were the dawn for her, bringing her joy no matter how far away from earth her brain was.

So lost in her thoughts, Graci didn't realize she was tripping till she had to catch herself before face planting. No matter how many summers spent in Greece, sand in your eyes and hair is never pleasant.

Graci took a moment to search for what she had stepped on, and behold. Just what she was looking for. Life can be good. Life can be good.

Graci was so happy that she felt grounded again, and the sun came out from behind the clouds. All was well, all was well.

She enjoyed the walk back, humming/singing a song, Holocene by Bon Iver.
~And at once I knew I was not magnificent
Strayed above the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
And I could see for miles, miles, miles~

"Pappoús, I think I found the one!" Graci had hurried inside to her grandfather's study, carefully holding out the conch shell.

"It's very beautiful Graci, what does it speak to you?"

Every time Graci brought one of the shells to her Pappoús he asked her this. "Well. I think..." Graci thought back to finding it. "I think it speaks to the fact that oftentimes the most simple things have the ability to ground us."

Her Pappoús smiled at her and then wrote it down on one of the old pieces of parchment he always seemed to have floating around.

"I'll go get the box!" Graci carefully set the shell down and went to her room to get her shell box. It was a pretty little thing, and it always surprised her how many shells it could hold. And that the shells never cracked against each other. She supposed that Pappoús had put an enchantment on them because every year they seemed the exact same.

Graci traced the wave patterns on the side, getting stuck in the nostalgia. She opened it up, picking out the letter from Zoe that hardly left the box. You're the only one who gets it.

She smiled at it fondly, tucking it back in her shell from the past year, and bringing the box to her Pappoús.

"Got it, did you write a message this year, too?" The past few years her Pappoús had left her a note for the next year and set it in his locked drawer.

"Yes I did, λουλούδι μου. My Flower" He opened the drawer, picking out an inconspicuous piece of paper and handed it to her. "From last year. Read it in your room and then go see your Giagiá, help her make dinner."

"Love you Pappoús." Graci hugged him and then flounced down the hall to her room.

Maturity is something you decide. Love is something you choose. Change is something you must embrace. I love you για πάντα και για πάντα. Forever and ever

Graci smiled. He always had the best pieces of advice, no matter how vague and used they were. They always applied.

She made her way to the kitchen, adoration for this place clear on her face. She loved it here. This was her home. No matter if she forgot that and thought it was something else, it would always be true.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“Some stories are passed through time, like an eternal flame held by those who came before.”

∘₊✧───── Remembering Home ─────✧₊∘
✦ An island never forgets its daughters ✦

Graci felt most at home here, on Spetses, happily cooking with her Giagiá. In truth, Graci didn't help much, just watched and learned, stirring something here, pouring something there.

Her parents were out in town having a date night, and Zoe was outside reading in her favourite chair. Pappoús was in his office doing some paperwork for the town's imports.

Graci was sent to set the table for the four of them, outside on the patio. They were going to have souvlaki, Graci's favourite dish.

She kind of wish that Zoe would've went and looked for the seashell with her, but Zoe had seemed so peaceful, her hair floating on the breeze, immersed in a fantasy world.

"Giagiá, the table's ready!"

"Of course, go get your αδερφή Sister and I'll get the food on the table."

"Okay, Giagiá, I'll get Pappoús as well." Graci smiled at her grandmother and went outside to gather Zoe.

"Hey, Zo, Time to eaaaaat!"

Graci didn't wait for a reply and went to her Pappoús's study.

"Pappoús, dinner's ready, we're having souvlaki."

"Coming, λουλούδι μου my flower, would you like to talk after dinner?"

"I... I would like that very much Pappoús."

Dinner was delicious, and Giagiá had gone to town that day so she had all the newest gossip. This was how most of Graci's summer had gone, but every day was better than the last, and every year she loathed leaving Greece. They'd actually have to leave earlier this year to get school supplies.

After everything was cleaned up Graci and her grandparents went to the porch swing, as Zoe had decided to go to her room and read.

"αγάπη μουMy love, Graci found her shell today."

"Oh, what kind was it."

"It was a conch shell, Giagiá. I almost tripped on it I was so lost in thought."

"And what were you thinking of, Graci?"

"Oh. Well. Not much really. I can't seem to be able to think straight lately, unless I'm with you guys. Or present within the living world at least."

"That's quite insightful Graci. Care to tell your Giagiá what you told me earlier?"

"Oh, yes, if I remember correctly I said 'it speaks to the fact that oftentimes the most simple things have the ability to ground us'. Once I found the seashell I got out of my head. Sometimes I think that without you guys I'd get lost up there and never find my way back."

"λουλούδι μουMy Flower, I think it is two things that give this 'mental fog' you speak of. The first is the fact that you are growing. Both your brain and your body. Everything is changing. And second, well. That's really all, but being present with other people does bring us back to earth."

"That makes sense. I think I'm also struggling with the thought that literally everything is changing. I won't be able to see Makayli and Lindin ever except for Christmas/Winter break, and what if me and Zoe don't get sorted into the same house?"..."What then?"

"Then you will see how strong your relationship actually is. If you seek each other out. How you change in tandem to this new school. You can choose the direction, but change will figure out the path Graci."

"You guys are so smart. You'd think that you're ancient. Most of the people I know aren't nearly that wise."

"Then again, most of the people you know are your age, so you can't expect them to know as much as your fifty-five year old grandparents."

"True true."

They sat together for a couple hours, going inside when her parents got home, asking how their date went.

This is the life. I wish I could always live here. Maybe when I'm older, get a job in town and stay with an old and senile Giagiá and Pappoús. That'd be fun, but I can't imagine Pappoús being old and senile.

That night Graci slept soundly, surrounded by love and a sense of grounding peace. Maybe change won't be too bad, so long as my family is there through it all.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

“Some stories are passed through time, like an eternal flame held by those who came before.”

∘₊✧─────Tale of the Ashen Fox─────✧₊∘
✦ An island never forgets its daughters ✦

Graci's Giagiá was one of her favourite storytellers. And her favourite story her Giagiá told her — the one she never got tired of hearing —was probably the Tale of the Ashen Fox.

Graci and her Giagiá were sitting out on the beach cuddled in an old quilt next to a small fire. Their feet were buried in the sand, a gentle breeze caressing their faces. The moon shone through the fog of dusk, illuminating the crashing waves before them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“They say the sea once whispered secrets to a fox with silver eyes…”

“She wasn’t born like other creatures. No den, no mother, no cry. Just fog — rolling in over the cliffs — and there she was. Pale as ash, with fur soft as dusk and eyes that held whole storms. She walks where the world grows thin, koukla mouMy doll. Between sleep and waking. Between here and there.

They say when the fog rolls in thick and strange, the Ashen Fox walks the cliffs — silent, watching. You won’t see her... but if you feel safer, like someone’s watching over you, that’s how you know.

She doesn’t speak, not in words. She speaks in wind shifts, in forgotten memories, in the way your heart slows when you thought you were alone. She walks with those who are drifting — not just in the woods or on the sea, but in their own minds. The ones standing at the edge, not sure which way to go.

The Ashen Fox finds those who are about to be lost — and leads them home another way. Not the path they came from. Not the one they thought they needed. A quieter way. A true one.

Some say she’s just a dream. A story told to soothe children. But those people don’t understand. The line between dreams and waking isn’t a line at all. It’s a mist. And she lives inside it.

So if one day you feel like the fog is thicker than it should be... like something is following you, softly, kindly — don’t run. That means she’s found you. And that you’re not lost. Not really.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graci used to think the fog only lived out here, on the cliffs and sea. But now she knew better. Some days it lived behind her ribs, slow and thick. And sometimes, she hoped, the Ashen Fox would find her there, too.

Some days, I wish there were no fog at all— just light, clean and certain. Some days, though, I feel like I am The Ashen Fox. Never quite in reality, always stuck between.

Graci looked lazily into the distance, like she was looking for the silhouette of a fox in far off mountains.

"Thank you, Giagiá."

"Anytime, koukla mou. Remember, just because you are lost in the fog doesn't mean the light will not come."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Ashen Fox finds those who are about to be lost — and leads them home another way.
They say when the fog rolls in thick and strange, the Ashen Fox walks the cliffs — silent, watching. You won’t see it… but if you feel safer, like someone’s watching over you, that’s how you know.