"Are you sure about this…?" I ask Venus from inside the bathroom.
"Yes. 100% sure. Now get your beautiful butt out here to show me." I take a breath and exit the bathroom with my new high-waisted skirt on. It comes down only just above my knees and a little lower in the back… The fabric is beautiful with the black background and the peony floral pattern. It works fantastically with the deep forest green flowing sleeveless blouse we paired it with. Venus gives me an appraising look, "You know… I think it'll look better with the shirt tucked into the top of the skirt." Venus comes up to me and tucks in the bottom of the loose blouse, fluffing it up a little so it has some room for movement. While doing this Venus spots that I have put yoga shorts on underneath the skirt and one of my favourite nylon and lacey camisole in a similar dark green under the top. Whatever makes her more comfortable wearing the outfit, I guess.
"I don't know Venus… This skirt is a little shorter than the other one…" I tug a little at the front hem of the skirt.
"If you're wearing the shorts underneath you should be fine, right?" I look at Venus sheepishly, "At least with the yoga shorts there isn't any texture or shape coming through. And if it makes you more comfortable, do it." Venus pulls her phone out of her pocket, "But it's too late to second guess. Mom is waiting for us downstairs. We have to go now…" Venus whips around grabs her bag and I pull mine off the chair. We go to the door of the hotel room and as Venus opens the door, I take once last look in the mirror. I smooth out the flowing fabric of the skirt and follow Venus to the door and out into the world.
"Be careful now!" As much as I love my mom… I do not need her to coddle me.
"Don't worry, mum. I'll make sure she doesn't go too far." My older sister jokingly says to mom loud enough for me to hear, knowing how much it irritates me to be treated like a child. And they all do it. I have my mom, my dad, my sister, Mesonyx, twin brothers, Aquilo and Zephyr, and one more sister, Venus... All siblings are older than me with Venus closest to me in age. But that makes six people who all treat me like a juvenile. Six! Despite the fact that I am, in fact, completely finished my bachelor's degree with a double major.
"You guys are acting like I'm eight years old and wandering off into the deep, dark woods all alone." I sit down on the boulder poking out of the river that I managed to clamber over to, the water rushing all around me, "I am old enough to take care of myself…" I look over to see my mom and sister sharing a laugh on the shore. I roll my eyes and pull out my camera. The way the light is sparkling off the river's rushing waters, and how the forest swallows the river further down is just perfect. I want to preserve it so I can paint it myself later on.
I take a deep breath in; this whole day has been fantastic. My mom is finally in attendance with us, we had a great lunch on the island, and mom, Venus and I are even going to go shopping later on once we return to Naples.
"Alright, did you get your picture?" Venus impatiently shouts at me.
"Yes, I did…" I slowly stand up and take a step back to the shore.
"Great! Let's get back to the docks so we can catch that ferry back to Naples!" Right… Venus had that party she had been invited to while we were waiting to board the ferry in the morning. She may be a few years older than I am, but she has always been more of a partier than I am.
"Okay, okay…" I hop over the bigger gap in the stones. One of them shifts under my weight and I hear my mom shout in shock at me catching my balance. Luckily, I am decently agile and did not fall into the river. Agility seems to be something that my whole family seems to have in abundance.
"Do not scare me like that, Astraea!" She walks up to me hands on her hips as I walk towards them over the grass. It is a wonder that she isn't thoroughly examining me top to bottom, but I can see her hands move to wringing in front of her with the effort not to.
"Sorry, mum. But you know I have better balance than to fall into the river from that."
"Yes, I suppose I do know that." I smile at her and mom smiles back as she begins to walk back up the slope to the road where the rented bicycles wait for us to return them to the rental place near the ferry to get back to Naples from our day visit to Capri island.
We leave the bicycles with the rental service and get in line to board the ferry once it's ready. Vee decides to go freshen up in the bathroom for a few minutes, so I decide to lose myself out the windows looking out at the ferry docked a few piers down. Ahead of us is a family of five, parents and three kids… Three very… Excited kids. They are running around their evidently exhausted parents. After hearing them discussing what to do about their hyper children I realized they are British tourists.
The dad picks up a little girl in an adorable pink dress, he tickles her, and she giggles uncontrollably before hugging her dad. I look over to see my mom smiling at the family. But the smile seems sad, I wonder if it is because we never did stuff like that as a family… We travelled locally as a family but never really took an international vacation, despite my parents often being abroad for work. Maybe that affected her more than I know.
I gaze out the window, watching the seagulls zip around the harbour and the people in uniforms walking back and forth on the ferry to prepare it for us to embark to take our ride back to Naples.
"You know… You have always been like that." Mom says to me, I look back over to her.
"Like what?" She smiles more fully now, with a sparkle in her jade green eyes.
"Well, ever since you were a tiny baby, fresh home from the hospital, you always just watched. You would observe everything. More than once I found myself checking on you because you were so quiet… Your sisters and brothers, especially your brothers, had always been so loud. I always knew where and how they were without having to ask… So, when you came along and would just quietly sit there watching everything going on around you, I didn't even know how to handle it at first. But after a while we just got used to it, you always let us know when something was wrong with you…" She put her hand on my cheek, "God… I can't believe you're twenty-five now… I'm sorry we weren't able to spend your birthday together this year… Work has been a nightmare."
"That's okay, mum. Vee made sure it was an awesome twenty-fifth birthday." Then Vee prances back over to us.
"You are still my beautiful ray of light…" Mom looks at me with glowing eyes and a proud smile.
"Thanks, mom. I love you too." And then I go back to looking out the window until I see someone lean sideways to let someone else pass.
That person is an extremely good-looking guy a few people ahead of the family. Dark hair, and from what I can tell dark eyes. Tall too… I look over a few more times between conversation with mom and Vee. I always try not to look too much, because unlike with Vee, if I were to be caught looking it wouldn't end with the guy coming over and flirting with me… It would end with the guy walking away at a brisk pace to get away from the creepy staring person.
Once we get onto the ferry, we go into one of the inside areas to find a section of seats to sit down in for the trip back to Naples. Luckily, we are even able to snatch up on the spots with a table. Near the back end of the ferry. I know there's a real name for it, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it's called…
"Once we get back to Naples, we'll go get those new clothes! And maybe even a dress for you to show off your curves at the party tonight!" Venus waggles her eyebrows at me, once again attempting to convince me to join her at the party that she was invited to by the guys who had been flirting shamelessly at the docks in Naples.
"Nice try. But unlikely… We would have to find some dress to make me want to go to your party." Her eyes light up, "Wait…"
"That sounds like a challenge!" She exclaims excitedly.
"No no no…"
"And I accept!" She slaps her hand down on the table, startling the couple passing by us towards a table further down.
"Scusi…" My mom says to them before giving Vee the look.
We chat about little things for a while until the ferry is well away from the dock.
"I'm going to head on over to the washroom… I'll be back in a bit, but I might head on deck for a while to get a few pictures too." I fish my camera pouch out of my shoulder bag and leave the bag on the booth with my mom.
"Sure Raea, just make sure to come back before we get to the dock in Naples. I don't want to be saddled carrying your bag of bricks…" Mom smiles as I get up and walk down the hall to door where the little washroom picture is leading me. Which actually just leads to another hallway… Ah, but at the end of the hallway is my destination. I start walking down the hall when another door opens and someone in a deep hood strides out and walks straight into me.
"Oh, sorry…" God, how Canadian of me… I roll my eyes at myself. Person walks into me and I'm the one apologizing…
"No, I should have been more paying attention. Pardon me." He sidesteps, nods briskly, and goes through the door that I had come from.
Once I finish in the washroom, I go and grab a drink from a vending machine before heading out onto the deck outside. Once I find a door out to the deck of the ferry I pull my camera out of its camera pouch. I start at the front of the ferry snapping shots of Vesuvius as it gets slowly gets closer. Taking my time, I move down the side of the railing where I can start to photograph the landmass of Italy as it goes by the side of the ferry.
Sure enough, the view is fantastic, from this side I can just see Sorento with some stunning atmospheric effects from the humidity coupled with the pristine skies. I snap a few shots and then just admire the view for a little bit. That is until I look over to see a dark-haired man arrive and lean onto the railing just a couple feet away from me. Oh my God… That's the guy that I saw in the line up earlier. I start pack up my camera to go to another part of the ferry so that I am not disturbing what I'm sure he hopes to be a private moment to watch the land as we finish passing the closer part of land that hosts Sorrento.
"I noticed you taking some pictures… But if you go to the other side of the ferry you might still catch a view of Isola d'Ischia. As long as it isn't too far away." I stop putting my camera away out of shock. I think he just spoke to me… I turn to look to the other side of me to see if maybe there was someone there that he could be talking to… But nope. Just me and him. Judging from his voice, he definitely is Italian, but his English is pretty damn good. I slide my hands over the fabric of my skirt, feeling supremely self-conscious, and suddenly unsure of whether I should have worn the skirt or if I should have just gone with my capris...
"Thanks… I guess I should go… Uh, check out that view…" I bite my lip and step back from the railing, and the man steps back as well and smiles. This guy is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Especially with how strong his shoulders look underneath the jacket he is wearing… Nope. Stop it.
"Would you mind having some company?" He scratches the back of his neck.
"But you just got over here to see Vesuvius, didn't you?"
"No, I was just sitting inside watching Vesuvius get closer and thought to get some fresh air… Then I spotted you taking your photos…" The image of the woman admiring the place where her hand was joined with that of her significant other floats through my mind.
"Oh… Well, I don't mind if you come along… But are you sure… Well… that you don't…" I look at his deep, warm brown eyes.
"Have something better to do?" He chuckles the sound is smooth and relaxing, "No, I'm meeting my brother in Naples to help him set up for his big party… But for now? I think this would be a wonderful use of my time..." I wonder if he saw me with Venus... He probably wants to invite her to that party he just mentioned… I wonder if I'll have to break it to him that she's already had her evening booked?
"Huh… Well then… I guess… Um… I'm Astraea." I start walking and he comes along. What am I even supposed to do in this situation?!
"I'm Darin, it is a pleasure to meet you." He actually takes a couple of quicker steps before falling into pace next to me, at least until we come across a crowded area where he chooses to walk right behind me.
When we get around the front of the ferry, I get distracted by the view in front of us with Vesuvius getting larger by the minute, and I slow down to admire it. There are a few clouds hovering around it now, they look fluffy and lazy just floating near the volcano like that. Then I remember that I'm not alone and look over to see Darin admiring the view as well. Before I can stop my hands, I snap a quick photo of the seascape and Vesuvius, with him near the left edge of the photo. I imagine he is just looking for a way to pass the time of the ferry ride until we arrive in Naples again. I wonder if he has a girlfriend waiting for him at the docks with his brother…
I better not flirt just in case…
Not that I even know how to flirt in the first place… Or… How to tell if someone if flirting with me… What if he's flirting with me and I don't even know it?
We continue our walk around the ferry and get to the side where we can only just see the island north of Capri… Ischia. It is breathtaking…
"So… Are you a photographer?" He asks as he turns to face me.
"Kind of, I suppose… But I mostly take photos so that I can paint them later on…"
"So, you're a painter… And you're in Italy for the scenery then?"
"Well… Partly… I have actually been touring from north to south with my sister. Enjoying the scenery is part of the perk package…" I was hoping that by bringing up Vee he might just skip all this and get to asking about inviting her to that party… But… He doesn't… And we just continue to chat. At one point I slip my camera into its pouch and let it hang off my wrist.
I completely lose track of the time while we chat aimlessly, until I notice that Ischia seems to have moved closer to the front of the ferry instead of straight out the side… Have we changed directions?
"Wait… Isn't this ferry supposed to be going straight to Naples?"
"Yes, that is the idea…" He follows where I had been looking and realizes the same thing I did… That we seem to have changed course. "I'll go see if I can find a crew member to ask about what is going on…"
He goes into the ferry through a door labeled 'Restricted Access,' and I speed walk back the way we came. While there had been more than a few people admiring the views on their way over to see the north view, now the deck seemed devoid of people.
The sun is glistening on the waters and I can see the tips of the higher land of the Italian coast to the north-east. But coming around the other side of the ferry I am greeted with a completely different view. Where I just left the sunny comfortable weather, I take in the view of an ominous looking storm closing in on us quickly, darkening the skies. The storm has already swallowed the view that I had only just photographed, the land of the Italian coast and Vesuvius are gone to the black clouds coming right at us. Anxiety fills my gut as I hear shouting from above me. An announcement goes over the intercom in Italian first, I may have been able to understand if the intercom nearest to me wasn't sounding so garbled and broken.
The ferry is turning away from the storm, but the clouds seem to be moving impossibly fast… And they say the weather changes quickly in Alberta…
I hear the unmistakable sound of a gleeful child, shouting laughter and pounding feet coming around the corner I had just come around myself. This is followed by the sounds of parents shouting just out of reach. Just as I see a little girl in the pink dress come ripping around the corner, I feel a lurch as this side of the ship tips towards the stormy sea water. A sharp pain in my shoulder as I slam into the metal rail at the edge of the deck.
"ISLA!" I hear a woman shriek followed by the sound of a small scream and a splash. I stand holding onto the railing for balance and I look over the edge of the ferry. Amidst the waves I see a small spot of pink in the water not far from the side of the boat. "ISLA! NO!" The woman, the little girl's mother, wails over the edge as her husband grips her and their other two children tightly to the railing of the ferry. One of the other children, another little girl is wailing sobs into her father's side.
I watch for a moment and see a wave crash over the little girl's head, she can't swim alone long enough to be saved… The parents are holding on tightly to their other two children… I can hear shouting all over the ship, but no one is here yet…
I clench my jaw, another wave crashes over the little girl. I take a breath and hurl myself over the edge of the railing before letting myself think any longer on it.
"Astraea!" I hear someone above shout just before I hit the water.
I swim up to the surface and look for the little girl.
"ISLA! Where are you?!"
"HELP!" I barely hear the little voice over the crashing of the waves and the growing rumbles of thunder. I spin myself around and see the little girl get swallowed by a wave that is coming right at me. I take a breath and dive into the wave to get to the little girl. I reach her just as she slips under the water again and I pull her up to the surface with me. Beyond a bit of a gash on her arm and what looks like a bump forming on her head she looks okay.
"You're Isla, right?" The distressed little girl nods, "I'll get you out of this." I promise the trembling child.
"ASTRAEA! TAKE THIS!" I hear a shout from the ferry and look over to see Darin tossing down a bright orange lifesaver attached to a long rope come down into the water just between us and the ferry. I pull the little girl to the lifesaver and put it over her head so she can hold on to it. I hold her tightly from the outside of the lifesaver and I wave up at Darin and the crowd of crew members that have gathered at the edge railing of the ferry. I turn to the sea finding that the storm is upon us, the skies morph into a dark roiling mass of soot black clouds, lightning flashes streaking across the sky, and thunder roaring all around us. I help her get her arms around the ropes of the lifesaver.
"Isla, you need to hold on very tightly to this." The terrified little girl gives me a tiny nod and grips the ropes attached around the lifesaver until her knuckles are white. "You're going to be okay. They're already pulling us up." I feel the rope go taut as the crew on board the ferry works to pull us out of the water.
I turn my back to the waves to hopefully better protect Isla from the raging water. Although, as we get closer to the ferry the water spins us around so that my back is to the ferry. I'm spun around just in time to see the gargantuan wave coming right for the ferry. I hear shouting from the deck, and I think I hear the garbled sounds of the ferry's intercom system.
"Astraea! Hold on!" I hear come from the deck above us. My only thought, No kidding!
"Isla, hold on as tight as you can, your mom and dad are waiting for you up there." I do my best to sound reassuring, there is a whole team of people helping to get this girl back on that ferry.
"Okay…" She whimpers, her eyes scrunched shut.
"Let's have a quick competition on who can hold their breath the longest, alright?"
"I'm good at that… I can even beat my older brother at it."
"That's amazing. Ready? Set?" She nods, "Go!" We both suck in as much air as possible just as the wave crashes over us. I feel it push us uncontrollably towards the ferry. Hold grip the lifesaver as tight as I'm able to.
We hit the side of the ferry and my back and shoulder take the brunt of the impact, we hit hard but not so hard that I lose grip of the lifesaver. I'm definitely going to feel that in the morning though… With my spare second to think, I regret not having a squishier back anymore. Out of the corner of my eyes I see a bright flash of a life jacket and see one of the crew making his way to us.
I feel the current pull us away and as I feel the current change, I brace to hit the ferry again.
Only this time the current whips us up a little bit too and my head crashes against the metal of the ferry.
Everything goes black.
I open my eyes, unable to feel anything right away and hoping to see the concerned faces of my mom and sister. However, I am only greeted with the sight of turbulent waves with an angry looking sky above me; lightning and thunder filling the world around me. Bringing myself to be upright in the water, I can see the ferry bobbing up and down in the waves a fair distance away from me. I've swam further in the ocean before… But that was in clear conditions with less current due to being in shallower water…
My head is pounding, but I have to try to get closer to the ferry… Or I'm done for… Whether I sink from waves or from not being able to stay afloat long enough to be rescued. I start swimming in the direction of the ferry, but it feels like every set of swim strokes only take me further away from the ferry. I try to wave at the ferry hoping that the glaring whiteness of my arms could be seen, but I can't see any difference on the ferry as I get pulled further away from it.
Every movement of my head causes stars to bloom across my vision and I can feel pain beginning in my shoulder to my back. Probably from hitting the ferry with the force of a tsunami…
God… I hope they got that little girl back on the ferry…
I turn to look behind me only to be submerged by wave cresting over me and crashing down. I get spun in circles from the momentum of the wave. The saltwater stings my eyes as I open them to see where the surface is. But as I swim, the currents are pulling me around like a ragdoll, and instead of up I'm only sinking further into the depths of the sea. I try desperately to follow the bubbles to the surface, but everything keeps getting colder and darker. The flashes of lightning becoming dim… The sounds of crashing waves and rolling thunder fading into nothing.
And just what's left of my breath bursts from my mouth, a warm golden light begins to envelop me from below and I can no longer keep my eyes open.
As my eyes close, everything becomes warm and peaceful.
Then nothing.
The sound of water washing against the shore is the first thing that comes to me.
Then the sensation of water splashing against me.
Then pain.
My whole body is in pain, dull then sharp. The pain seems to be pulsing across my entire body. For seconds, it is only a dull throb… Then for what seems like hours the pain is excruciating. I try to scream. To call out… For someone to help me. But I can't move. I can't speak. I can't even open my eyes… All I can do is try to focus on the sensation of the water against my skin as I burn from the inside out.
When the pain finally subsides, I'm able to open my eyes.
It is nighttime. And the stars are clear and brilliant. The whole sky is flooded with the shimmering pin pricks of light. I sit up slowly anticipating everything to be aching and sore from whatever pain had just overtaken me. But no pain comes. I look out the over water, the moonlight sparkling off the waves near the shore and further out the water is so still that it reflects the countless stars above.
"Starry maiden…" A voice from behind me causes me to whip around, my head aches a bit from the sudden movement.
"What?"
"You look like the stars brought you here, maiden." The source gets closer and I can see that it is a man in a simple looking robe draped around him.
"Why are you delaying?" A strong and serene voice emerges from the darkness.
"I've found a maiden, master." The man dips his head low as a magnificent looking man and woman approaching from just behind him.
They look unreal… Geometric marks across their skin giving off a warm light that pulses from their very being… Their clothing much finer looking than the first man, some parts look as though they were spun from light.
Once they get a full look at me their expressions become puzzled and they exchange a look before the man kneels down to speak with me.
"Who are you?" The man asks.
"Where did you come from?" The woman adds looking out over the glittering waters of the sea.
I stare at the ground for a few moments… Then it hits me.
"I don't know…" I look at my hands and then up at them, "Who are you?"
"I am Astraeus, and this is my wife, Eos." The man says to me as the woman smiles down at me.
"And…" I look in awe at the glowing marking on their bare arms and necks, "What are you?"
"We are called Isu."