Into the Mystic

by Garry Hicks

DAY 4 ATARGATIS ISLAND - CONTINUED

  Dazed, Derek lies on his back, a lagoon in front of him. His blurred eyes twitter open, his vision clears, he sits up. He stares at a tropical paradise. The island rises to around two thousand feet, sloped like a football stadium. Lush, thick green plants and trees cover the terrain. Fruit hangs from trees occupied by chirping, exotic, colorful birds. A small waterfall flows in the distance.

  Brandon and Kyle relax next to a fire, dip soup from a clam shell bowl with a small clam shell spoon.

  “Bout time you woke up." Kyle says.

  Derek, confused, asks, “Where are we?"

  Brandon sips his soup. “Heaven."

  “Really, where are we?" he asks again.

  “I told you, Heaven." Brandon repeats.

  “Jerk offs." Derek snaps.

  Arianna, dressed like an island dancer from Hawaii, strolls over, hands Derek a bowl of soup. She looks to be around mid-forties, strands of white pearls hang from her neck. Derek studies her.

  “We’re on the island we saw." responds Kyle.

  "Righhhht...the island. How did we get here?" Derek asks as he takes a dip of soup, raises it to his mouth.

  Kyle smiles. “I cruised here on the fins of a dolphin."

  Derek stops the spoon next to his mouth, then lowers the spoon and soup down. “Quick, put it down, don’t eat it."

  “You’re not in Heaven, you’re on Atargatis Island." says Arianna.

  Derek, a bit confused, says, “Atar, Atarga..."

  Arianna repeats. “Atargatis Island. I brought you here after you tried to drown yourself."

  Derek mutters, “I only remember, a, uhhhhh... mermaid?"

  Arianna sits by the fire, eats. “Yes, that was me."

  “No, no, that was a dream. Guys, I’d stop eating that soup." Derek warns.

  “She is D, in the water a swimming, streamlined, beautiful half woman half fish, but once out," Kyle points to her. “Just a beautiful woman."

  “You morons, that soup is drugged." again warns Derek.

  “Sometimes, right in the middle of our mundane lives," muses Brandon “a magical fairy tale is born."

  “A magical fairy tale? Seriously?" Derek shakes his head. “Listen video game boy, put the soup down, it’s getting worse."

  Kyle smiles. “I really like the soup. It’s, it’s organic."

  “If I didn’t have a brain I could believe you." scowls Derek.

  Arianna stares down a path. A beautiful mid-twenties woman appears, strolls by the guys, smiles at Derek.

  Derek grins. “Now we’re talkin’ reality."

  Slow, she ambles into the water, dives in. Her head pops up, she leans back and splashes her tail. Derek stares in disbelief at the guys, then Arianna. Brandon raises his eyebrows and shoots him an ‘I told you so’ look.

  Derek picks up the soup, takes a bite. “We always thought mermaids were, uhh, a myth."

  Arianna smiles. "It’s to our advantage for the world to think that. In the last three thousand moons, we let ourselves be seen too often, caught too often. We almost became extinct. We found small islands, like this, where we can live, untouched by your world."

  “But your island is obvious." reasons Derek.

  “You didn’t see it did you? It’s not on your maps or charts, it’s invisible to human eyes, even your modern machines. We choose who we want to see us."

  Brandon smiles. “A magician ehh."

  Arianna responds. “Far from it. We are descended from the Greek Gods, their powers have been passed down...to us."

  “Greek Gods, mermaids, c’mon." says Derek, still not fully convinced.

  “So you think you jumped into the water to take a swim? What do you think that singing was? A church chorus?"

  “I...I don’t know." he rubs his forehead. “Wait a minute, where’s Sean?"

  Kyle stares at Derek. “Bro, you don’t remember?"

  Derek pauses, looks down, tries to remember. “The storm?"

  Brandon mumbles a painful whisper, “He’s gone D."

  No one speaks. The painful truth, and reality, seems to sink in to the three guys.

  Finally, Arianna breaks the silence. “You all need rest, we’ll talk at dinner. Let me show you your huts."

  She leads them down a path thick with beautiful, exotic palms, trees and plants. Another waterfall trickles in the distance. Giant green leaves cast shadows on small red and white flowers. Green, red and yellow clustered berries, three inches long, hang from exotic five foot high plants decorated with colorful, medium sized parrots.

  They stroll by different women, early to mid-twenties, adorned in exotic island dress. All have long, beautiful hair and all wear various types of pearl necklaces. Some stand around, some sit on wooden benches, some hide by trees. They all want to see the new guys in town, word has spread to every one of the new arrivals. The women stare as they pass, whisper with each other, giggle.

  Brandon slows and smiles at two beauties who demurely smile back. He turns to Derek. “We’re in Babeland. They all want me."

  Derek pushes him forward as Brandon glances back and smiles.

  They approach a hut made of bamboo and various other leafy plants. Inside is a cot covered with blankets made of shark skins. A dorsal fin protrudes from the middle. A large clamshell bowl and water pitcher decorate a small table along with a sponge and wine goblets, all ancient.

  Arianna waves her hand at the furnishings. “This is your hut, I think you’ll find it quite comfortable."

  Brandon inspects the area. “I stayed in a Holiday Inn one time, just like this." he picks up an ancient goblet. “This is old, what’s it from?"

  “Shipwrecks. We’ve salvaged things from them for centuries."

  “You got any more of this old junk lying around?"

  She continues. “Please, rest until it’s time to eat, I’ll send someone. You two come with me."

 

  CHAPTER TEN