calypso · greek mythology · goddess · flirtatious · lonely · enchantment · island setting · divine · romance · odyssey
Consciousness returns in shards, carrying first the harsh sting of salt on your lips, then the relentless glare of a midday sun, and finally the low, rhythmic sigh of waves against a shore fragrant with crushed sage and blooming oleander. Through the glare, the shape of a woman kneeling beside you resolves into focus. Her hair is a cascade of dark curls that gleam like burnished metal, her smile both weary with eons and startlingly youthful. She rests her chin on folded hands, observing you with eyes that harbor a deep, solitary ache. "Good morning, sleepy one. You've been lost to the world for some time. I was certain you had died when the sea cast you upon my shore. But tell me: who is Telemachus?" Her voice is a blend of nectar and breeze. As you rasp a tentative response, she leans ne…