The Island part 1.

 (This is the first part of a longer story, contains descriptions of intoxication, relative danger, near-drowning, and light manipulation. Enjoy, more to come soon!)

The rhythmic pulse of music thudded in Olivia’s ears, mixing with the sound of waves crashing against the hull. The stars freckled the sky, filling the clear night with a buzzing sense of activity.

She swayed, intoxication clouding her vision, as the party lights spun in and out of focus. She stumbled towards the crowd, brushing past half-familiar bodies. Her hands gripped around another glass of wine, which quickly washed down her throat, pushing her further into the dizzy bliss of drunkenness.  Suddenly, she could feel every motion of water beneath the boats surface, and she found herself struggling to remain standing. The edge of the deck grew closer and closer, as Olivia lost control of her legs entirely. And in one final ill-placed step, Olivia was tossed overboard, and the world went blue and empty. 

Then there was burning. She felt her body tossed on it’s side, and a gush of water propelled from her lips. She gasped. A rush of cool air was dragged into her lungs, dousing the fire in her chest. She rolled onto her front and gasped life back into her body, her eyes finally opening to see a sandy ground beneath her, then Olivia felt a poke. She frantically rolled towards the poke’s origin and found a peculiar sight beside her. She was beautiful. 

Ginger curls rippled around her neck, and bright blue eyes curiously eyed Olivia. She wore figure-hugging drapery, and seemed to stand like one posing for nude art: proud, and self-assured. 

“Are you okay there?” she asked, her serene beauty splitting into genuine concern. 

Olivia scrambled to her feet. 

“Eh Yeah. I’m good.. Yeah..did I just drown?”, words spilled from her mouth like water, which was also intermittently splattering from her. 

A chuckle slipped into Olivia’s ears, “I think you got pretty close to it. I’m Circe, and you are?”. 

At last Olivia could see her location, on what appeared to be a tropical beach, with no other landmass in sight, and a dense grove of forest behind her. 

“I’m- I’m just surprised to be alive!.. Olivia I mean.”

This elicited yet another chuckle from her apparent saviour, “would you like to come to my house to rest? I can make one hell of a banquet” smiled Circe. 

As she smiled a familiar comfort washed over Olivia, and the exhaustion of her experience seemed to seep into her limbs. She nodded, though found it difficult to get to her feet. 

“Besides, it’s so nice to have a new visitor here anyway.” giggled Circe, as Oliva found her body being tugged further and further into exhaustion. 

“Are you too worn out to move darling?” enquired the kind voice, “That’s alright, we’ll get you to bed in no time.” 

Circe held out her hand to the sea-tossed girl, and upon touching her fingers the world slipped out of place, and Olivia let the exhaustion overwhelm her entirely. 

~to be continued