NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: CH 9
After bringing him back to Helios' temple, Hestia gave him a few hours' worth of instruction on how to read, then left him with a few 'my first book' books that would help him learn to read faster.
Every day, Hestia came to visit, sometimes at odd hours during the day, sometimes after nightfall. She explained that she had various duties that would sometimes take her time, and that she would always try and make it to a place she called 'camp' to maintain their campfire.
Harry didn't want to pry about this 'camp' that Hestia didn't seem inclined to talk about, so he didn't ask about it. In his imagination, it was something of a Native American tent village, complete with totem pole and tipis. He enjoyed the thought of Hestia going there every night to light a large bonfire.
As the weeks turned, nearly a month had passed, and Harry was getting pretty good, if he said so himself, at deciphering some of the easier words in some of the more complex books that Hestia had given him. He still wasn't fluent, but every day Hestia came and helped him, and he got a little better.
One day, he was flipping through one of the 'encyclopedias for the youth' that was in his stack of literature, not reading the text but enjoying the pictures.
"Hello Harry," his favorite goddess said, having emerged silently from the fire, and seeing him engrossed.
"Hi Hestia!" Harry greeted back with enthusiasm.
She gave him that smile he had come to associate with her, the kind of smile that warmed him the way no fire ever did. "You seem to be enjoying your books," Hestia said, sitting down next to him and glancing at it.
He nodded enthusiastically. "It's got all kinds of pictures about forests and nature and things. And dinosaurs!"
Hestia laughed softly. " You remind me of some of my relatives, when the subject of dinosaurs comes up." she said. "All excitement."
Harry grinned. "Well, they're dinosaurs, Hestia. They're cool!" he told her, as if it was one great truth of the world.
The young-looking goddess smiled tolerantly. "It's hard to argue against that logic," she admitted, not that she wanted to. "Are you ready for your reading lesson?" The young boy nodded. He loved learning to read and write and to do math. His old school had treated him as if he were dumb because their stupid books had stupid letters that wouldn't stay still, but Hestia had books that he could read and she was helping him learn!
He pointed to the open book. "Can we read about forests?" he asked. "And maybe dinosaurs?"
Hestia laughed again. " Yes, Harry, we can read about nature. I think reading about dinosaurs will have to wait, though."
He looked disappointed. "But why?" he asked, whining as only a seven-year-old could.
Hestia looked on with tolerance. "Because, Harry, dinosaurs have complicated names that are just a bit too hard for you to read yet. Like that one, it's called a Tyrannosaurus Rex."
He looked at the picture, trying to mouth the name to himself. "If you work hard enough, you'll be reading about dinosaurs in no time. For now, let's pick something to read that's easier for you to learn," Hestia suggested, looking at the picture book, and flipping a few pages until she got to an article that she thought would work.
"Like this article," Hestia said. "It's about the rainforest."
Harry nodded, but Hestia could see that he was still a little disappointed. She smiled slightly. How typical of a mortal, even a demigod, to want to run before they could walk. "If you do your best today and tomorrow, I'll take you to see a real forest on Saturday. How does that sound?" she asked, enticing him.
Suddenly, Harry was anything but disappointed. Hestia had to smile at his enthusiasm, before settling in and helping him sound out the ancient Greek words. She enjoyed teaching him, her endless patience and kind and gentle nature being ideally suited for it.
00000
"What does that plant do?" Harry asked, pointing to a large bush with lots of leaves; a plant that Harry thought looked very useful. Harry had indeed done his best, and so Hestia kept her promise to take him to a real forest the following Saturday.
Unfortunately for her, she was the Goddess of the Home and the Hearth, not of plants and shrubs. As she looked at the plant, she was forced to do something no god or goddess enjoyed doing – admitting ignorance. "I'm afraid I don't know," she replied, smiling gently. "After all, I'm not the goddess of the forest, so this lies outside my domain." She plastered her smile back on her face. "Then I'll have a chat with Artie and see if she's willing to teach you. Just keep in mind, she will likely be a strict teacher, so if I do this, and Artie agrees, I want you to promise me that you will continue to do your best, like you have been doing so far."
Harry nodded. "Of course, Hestia!"
She smiled wider, and put her hand on his shoulder. "Then it's agreed. Come, let's enjoy our walk through the woods."
"Oh," Harry answered, a little disappointed. That plant looked useful for something. As they walked further, he pointed to a tree. "How about that tree?"
Hestia kept her smile up; even if she realized that she was in for a very uncomfortable afternoon. It was hardly Harry's fault that he was inquisitive. She should have seen this coming.
"How about that flower?" Harry asked.
Hestia's smile grew slightly. "That's a dandelion, and it is completely edible. It's also very good in salads," she explained. If only all plants were edible, then she could answer Harry's questions.
Hmm… that gave her an idea. "How about I introduce you to my niece?" the
young-looking goddess offered. "She's the goddess of the Hunt, she is an expert on plants and trees, and knows all there is to know about surviving in the wild."
Harry looked at her, and was about to jump at the chance, when he sobered. Hestia was glad to see it, it meant that Harry was starting to use his mind a bit more, and not taking every chance offered to him. Finally, the young boy said, "But don't we need to keep it a secret I live on Olympus?"
"Artie is trustworthy, I'm sure I can convince her to keep the secret," Hestia said, smiling wider.
For a moment, Harry looked at her, thinking things over as well as he could for his age. "Okay," he finally said. "I trust you, Hestia. I'd love to learn more about plants and trees for when I ever have to run again."
Hestia felt her shoulders drop slightly. It wasn't a surprise that Harry would worry about being on his own and having to make it, not after the life he had experienced so far. She hoped his former relatives were having a ghastly time. If she ever ran into them again, she'd make sure her curse held. Harry grinned. "Okay!" He pointed to a shrub. "Does that plant do anything?"
Hestia wanted to sigh. Ah, the exuberance of young mortals. She resigned herself to admitting lots of ignorance, interspersed with edible plants.
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