Calypso

Millennia had passed since Odysseus had left Calypso, all alone. Yet, his face was the only one that rung in her mind, the only person she’d ever known. Hearing his voice still felt like yesterday, she still felt his presence linger around Ogygia, after his absence, she didn’t even know if it had been days or years or centuries since she was back to zero, back to herself—all she knew is that he was surely dead by now.

Another one of these days, Calypso sat on the sand of her island. The sun was scorching, the sand hot on her feet as she idly counted the knuckles on her fingers. It was a pastime she’s done since she was a child, just banished. “Twenty-eight,” she murmured, the words rotten on her mouth as she’s said it for far too long, expiring like food left in out in the open. From her peripherals, she could notice the waves flowing differently, more harshly, as if there was something in it. It’s nothing, she thought, not wanting to hope for someone else anymore. It’s just gonna be another tree branch, or if it is a person, they’re gonna be dead.

Until someone actually washed up on her shore. A real person, living and breathing. Calypso breathed, wide-eyed as she took in what would either be a miracle or a nightmare. For a moment, her throat felt blocked, before she ended up in tears, bawling as the ground beneath her got covered in her tears, as her cheeks resembled waterfalls, her hands unable to catch the tears flowing. Still crying, Calypso walked on over to the one ashore. They were asleep, their hair and clothes wet from being in the ocean, but most importantly, they were breathing. Calypso ran her hand through their hair, then to caress their cheek, smiling. For once, she couldn’t help but feel happy. Not the grief of Odysseus’ leave, not the disappointment of finding that the thing that washed ashore was only a branch, not the horror of the thing that washed ashore was a corpse. Happiness. That she, just hopefully, would be no longer alone.

“Who… are you?” she whispered, knowing that they were still asleep. As much as she didn’t wish to feel these emotions, to make the same mistakes as she did last time, it couldn’t be controlled. A surge of love, warm from happiness, cold from fear, flowed within her like a tidal wave. Her hand kept caressing the person beneath her’s cheek, soft from the water of the ocean.