Circe

The tide rolled in, grabbing sand from the shore and pulling it back into the sea, claiming it for Poseidon.

High above the beach, a woman dressed in a simple off white gown that fluttered in the wind, stared at the sea expectantly. The saltwater air caressed her skin and played with the dark colored curls of her hair.

The air shimmered beside her revealing the lithe figure of a water nymph took shape, her main companion on the island.

“Poseidon continues to press his claim on the island”, the nymph remarked in her liquid voice.

The woman nodded her head in silence, her eyes staring out at the unending horizon.

“You are expecting someone?”

A long sigh..

“I have had dreams of late.”, she replied as she made her way along the downward path that brought them closer to the beach. The roar of the tide filled her ears as if it called to her, beckoning.

“What kind of dreams, miladay?”

“Dreams of men and the sea. The dark seems to torment them, teasing and taunting them like a trickster and then laughing at their pain and suffering.

They struggle in the violent waters near here.”

“Have you not already sworn off the world of men, milady? Why do you torture yourself so?”

Circe continued to stare out the sea, her long, brown, braided hair flowing in the salt water air.

“A duty I suppose…my perspective has…changed…”

“Odysseus?”

Circe nodded. “Sometimes, a person comes along that gives you pause.”

“And a child”

Circe lowered ahead a single tear slid down her face and fell to the sea. Slowly she raised her head, her brow furrowing and her head tilted to the side.

“These people….they could be….”

“Could be what milady?”

“Something…..something different…….I feel it….a heaviness that rivals even Scilla and Charybdis”

“What does it mean, milady?”

“It could very well mean that all we know is about to change.”

As she said this, the sky over the island darkened, and the sun seemed to hide itself behind the clouds blanketing the beach in a suffocating green.

The water nymph shivered.

**********

The sea bubbled and rolled as the storm raged across the sky, unleashing torrents of rain and wind, buffeting the wooden sailing vessel

In spite of the squall, the middle aged sea captain seemed unbothered by the storm. His face bore a look of grim determination as his subordinates went about their tasks, securing the rigging.

Not a word was spoken on the deck, until his first mate arrived with news.

“First Officer reporting, Captain.”

“Speak”

“News from the crows nest. There’s definitely an island just beyond the storm.”

“As predicted. Excellent,” the Captain replied, saltwater and sweat dripping down his brow. “This island could be our salvation. The storm tries to deter us, but by the gods, we will press on!”

The first mate looked at his captain, noting the gleam in his eyes. He had seen that look before..and heard that challenge to the higher beings. Hubris. A hubris to challenge the Almighty and that time, it led them all to…..but he dared not speak it or think it. He decided to try a different tactic.

“I’ve heard many tales of this place, captain. They say that monsters, sea serpents and sorcerers live here.”

The captain smiled while continuing to stare down the storm in a determined defiance. The waves lapped at the vessel like the tongue of an ancient sea serpent and the thunder cackled in the deep booming tones of a death knell.

“Can you think of any other place more suited for those such as us? I have dreamt of this place for over a decade! It calls to me! Calls to us! It is our right, and we will NOT BE DENIED!”

The first mate looked at the captain and he too smiled. “ Maybe it would work out”, he thought to himself.

The lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the incoming tidal wave that was the size of a small mountain. The captain gritted his teeth as he steered his ship into it, trying to reach the crest. The wave crashed into the deck, with a force that should have shattered the wood yet still, the ship just kept going.

“Ooohhh, no you don’t! You can’t scare me away, not that easy! We’re heading to you whether you like it or not!”

***********

“Milady! What manner of men are these?”, the nymph shrieked hearing the booming thunder.

The great sorceress inclined her head. “Not ordinary men, I’d say. Something drives them forward. A power like nothing else I have ever encountered. “

She sighed for a moment, gazing out at the sea.

“Hope,my friend”

“Hope?” echoed the water nymph. “Milady, the storm is not like any other. My people have dreamt of it. A storm like this one brings portents of doom! This will be unlike any magic we have known. Even Mighty Zeus trembles! “

“Yes and even so, they seek hope. They believe they might find it here.”

The shimmering, translucent figure seemed to shake its head. “Why, milady? What hope is here in this place?”

Another pause

“Sanctuary, perhaps?”

**********,

Slowly, the vessel seemed to push its way through the barrier, the bow piercing it like a needle.

The water nymph started trembling for the first time of her very long existence. Her large eyes grew even wider on her translucent face. She covered her mouth to ward off the putrid scent as the blood red sails emerged.

A ship with no flag and blood red sails that was more powerful than a storm cast by the Great Circe.

Circe stood on the hill, observing the scene and took an inhale of breath and slowly let it out as she watched the small cutter with the pale face of the captain standing in the center.

The captain approached the great sorceress slowly, his pale skin that barely covered his skull, seeming to glow with each flash of lightening.

“Sorceress”, he intoned.

Hanging her head briefly in a sort of resignation, she replied “Dutchman”

He took a step forward, placing his right foot on a protruding rock on the beach.

“You have tried valiantly to keep me out, Sorcoress. You fought bravely but foolishly.” His face held that grim resolve of a triumphant conqueror as he watched her shaking her head.

“Captain….”.she began. “You really don't understand.”

The Captain frowned..”what is this you say, Sorceress?”, he growled.

“Captain, that storm was a warning to all to stay away.”

“Yes, and I piloted my ship through all your traps!” He exclaimed in triumph. “I, Captain Phillip Vanderdecken, have navigated through storms conjured by gods and have emerged victorious!"

“Yes, Captain and you have led yourself and your crew to the final trap — namely, this island”

The Captain’s face fell. “What.???”

“Yes, Captain.”, she said, meeting his sunken eyes, peering into his very soul. “The island is a trap or a prison depending on how you look at it and I am the only inmate….until now.”