Blackness. Warmth. A smell of salt. The feel of sand. The taste of the ocean in my mouth. Pain.
I opened my eyes, not knowing what I would see. I didn't remember anything, so theoretically nothing would surprise me.
Huge grains of sand, piling up next to my nose. Beyond them stretched mountains of sand, growing smaller in the distance. They seemed to go on forever.
Pulling myself up, I glance around at wherever I am. Tall, rough-barked trees with long fronds and round shells at the top. Sloping piles of sand. Short grasses, green from sunlight and water. A startled deer looking at me from the shadows of the forest. And miles upon miles of water, glistening from the late morning sun.
How on Earth did I get here? I asked myself. And why don't I remember? I let those two questions hang in my mind for a few moments, but nothing happened. No sudden apocalypse or revelation enlightened me as to my dilemma. I was alone.
Pulling myself upright, I brushed the sand off myself, tiredly noting that my clothing was almost gone. In the process, I discovered a few things. Chafed, red lines ran around my wrists and ankles, the source of the pain that had woken me. Though I couldn't see it, bloody, red lines crossed my back, stinging from sand and salt. I was thin, almost gaunt. Apparently I hadn't eaten for some time. My dark brown curls were matted and covered in grime. All in all, I wasn't a pretty sight.
Sighing and shaking my aching head slowly, I stumbled up the beach and crashed in the soft grasses under the shade of a tree. Leaning back against the said tree, I jerked as the abrasive bark dug into my tender skin. Abandoning the tree, I lay down in the grass, face to the sky, eyes closed again.
I lay there for a few moments, savoring the silence, the soft feel of the grass under my back and the gentle breeze playing over my body. Still, I couldn't stay there for long. Even as tired and beat up as I was, I still knew that night would fall soon here, and that it always rained in this area at night.
My eyes shot open. I had remembered something! I knew that it rained here at night. I might not know where here was, but I knew that it rained at night. And not the soft, gentle, pattering rain like we got at home, the kind that I loved to go out and play in for hours on end, mouth turned to the sky to catch the soft drops. This was a fierce, harsh rain, as unforgiving as the sea had been when I had been thrown in it during the storm.
I jerked upright and immediately winced from the pain in my back. But I almost didn't care. I could remember things! I didn't know why I was so excited about that, but I guess it was natural since I hadn't been able to remember anything when I woke up.
Struggling to me feet with the aid of the tree, I decided that the best thing to do first was to find water, and after that search for shelter, food, and something for my back. Hopefully they would be in a fairly small area so I'd be able to find all three before nightfall and the rains started.
Facing the cool, shadowy depths of the forest, I tottered deeper into it, feeling a sudden weakness in my legs. Brushing aside thick leaves, rough branches and numerous biting bugs, I wandered around the forest, hoping to high heaven that I would find one of the things on my list. If I didn't, I'd be finished off fairly quickly. I wasn't sure why I was so desperate to live since there didn't appear to be a way off this island, but then that's human nature, I suppose.
Whatever gods that are up there seemed to favor me, because I only had to wander around for about half an hour before stumbling on a stream. I gasped and ran up to it, burying my face in the cool , fresh water. Filling myself on the refreshing liquid, I stood up and started to follow the stream to what I hoped was the source.
I decided that I was either extremely lucky or some god up there loved me when I came upon the source of the stream. An overhang sheltered a clear spring as well as a substantial amount of land. It didn't look too comfortable to sleep on, but then I had survived worse. All I needed to do was gather some of those large, soft-looking fronds off the trees and I'd be all set, assuming I could find food. Maybe the shells I had seen would prove edible. If I had ever known what they were, or even how to survive out in the wilderness, I had forgotten it with the rest of my life.
Sighing and shaking my head, feeling suddenly sleepy, I looked up the tall, rough trunks with a tired resignation. Well, I'd need to climb them before I could sleep, so there was no point in wasting time. Time certainly wasn't going to wait for me.
Shaking away the sleep, I selected a likely-looking tree and grasped it firmly. Using my arms, legs and every trick about climbing trees I or my body remembered, I managed to get to the top in relatively good condition. Grasping one of the fronds and tugging it, I discovered that they were more firmly attached than I had anticipated. By comparison, the wooden shells of the fruit came off easily. Dropping several of them on the ground, I set about yanking off the soft leaves.
I quickly discovered that straight pulling on the fronds didn't work. Neither did pulling in alternating directions. My fingernails weren't much use either. I eventually discovered that the best way was to twist the stem until something snapped, then twist it the other way and finally pull it up against the grain. That usually managed to get them off, though I did leave several leaves hanging half-attached when I shimmied down the rough bark.
Bundling up the leaves, I dragged the stack under the overhang and arranged them in a semblance of a bed. It wasn't much, but it should keep me moderately comfortable until I could find a better bed. The fruit-things I had stacked up near my bed would hold me for a while, assuming they were edible. Lying down carefully on the stack of leaves, I watched the patches of sky darken as the sun slipped below the horizon. Thinking about what I would do to find food the next day, I slipped off into the welcome oblivion of sleep as the patter of rain began to sound on the rock above me.
I opened my eyes to find the world had transformed into a glittering shade of green. I closed my eyes and opened them again, expecting the emerald hue to be gone, but still it remained. Sitting up, and wincing as my back reminded me painfully of the cuts, I glanced around and realized the reason the world had changed colors. The bright morning sunlight was filtering through the leaves, casting the world in that unusual shade.
Satisfied that I was neither dreaming, nor had the world gone and changed color overnight, I dragged myself upright and set about figuring out how to find food. I'd have to rely on plants, since I had no weapons to catch or kill animals. I thought that I might have learned how to catch an animal with a vine or something like that, but I couldn't remember how, so ignored that possibility for now. It appeared that I'd better develop a fondness for berries, leaves and roots, because I'd be eating them a fair bit until I figured out or remembered how to catch animals.
Dragging myself to my feet, I surveyed the wet land beyond the overhang with something akin to dismay. I didn't like mud. It was sticky and dirty and felt horrible on my feet. But, I realized, I thought it had healing properties of some sort. Didn't people used to stick mud on bee stings, or something like that?
Suppressing my elation at another remembered fact, I grimaced and stepped out where the mud seemed thinnest. Following the unpredictable path of the drier parts of land, I set about exploring the island, looking for food.
I suppose that since I was following dry ground, it's not surprising that it led me to a cave. But there was something odd about this cave. It seemed... green somehow. Looking at the entrance carefully revealed no out-of-place color, but when I glimpsed it out of the corner of my eye, it seemed to glow green and appear refreshingly dry and warm.
Snapping my head around to glare the now-normal looking cave, I debated whether or not to go inside. It probably didn't have food that I could catch in it, and it probably did have some sort of nasty animal that would jump out at me and try to kill me since I was injured. Still, I felt drawn to the cave. It seemed like a peaceful haven, a resting place from the worries and pain I had now.
Not even realizing it, I took a step towards the cave, and another. I was at its mouth, ready to enter, when I realized what I was doing. What was I doing? Wandering into a potentially dangerous cave while I was injured and starting to get really hungry from lack of food! What had possessed me to do such a crazy thing?
My moment of sanity only lasted a few moments, and I soon found myself wandering deeper and deeper into the cave. I was only exploring, I told myself. I could find a better shelter, perhaps a hidden spring. If I marked the cave as my own somehow, animals wouldn't bother me. I could climb on top of the cave entrance and get to the tops of the trees easier. It all made sense.
Through my self-righteous haze of thoughts, I suddenly realized that the cave looked subtly different. It was... green. But that was unsurprising, moss grew in caves didn't it? A tiny voice whispered that no, moss grew where there was lots of water and caves usually didn't fit that category, but it was easily ignored.
Still wandering deeper, I noticed a breeze whispering along the cave walls, sidling around corners and wrapping around my aching body. It carried a voice that sighed in my ear. I couldn't understand what the voice was saying, but I followed it. It led me unerringly to the strangest and most awing wonders of my life.
The hollow was unnaturally smooth and round. A clear tinkling spring arose in the center, which also seemed to be the source of the strange breeze. Above that perfect spring hovered a lady, subtly glowing the shade of green that had permeated the cave. She was clothed in a dark green dress of some light fabric that fluttered about her. Her skin was dark, but not excessively so and her rich brown hair fell in soft waves to her waist. Her face, though, was what caught my attention. Her red lips were unmoving, though I was sure she was the source of the voice I had heard. Her eyes were a dark green, pupil-less, that caught my soul in one glance and threatened to drown it. I stood there, motionless, staring into her eyes for an eternity. Finally she released me, her voice thundering in my ears and soul, driving me to my knees in awe.
"Welcome, Irisa."
"How do you know my name?" I demanded of the goddess, dazed. She hadn't moved her lips and I hadn't told my birth name to anyone in years!
"I have called you here, Irisa, for a purpose. Do you accept it?"
My soul screamed to accept her proposal, but the logical part of my mind made me ask, "What is your proposal?"
"To spread the word of my coming. To teach others about myself. To be my High Priestess."
Even through the awe-inspiring effects of her voice, I felt a tinge of disappointment from her. I struggled to my feet and bowed my head in acquiescence.
"I accept, goddess. How am I to proclaim you to the world?"
"Call me the Goddess of Whispers. Goddess of the Earth. Redeemer of Lost Souls. The Mother. I will watch over you and care for you, Irisa. You shall be protected."
"Why do you need me, Goddess of Whispers, to spread your glory?"
"Because you are my chosen."
The Goddess descended to alight gently on the ground in front of me. Reaching out with one perfect hand, she touched me between the eyes. I was filled with a sense of peace and contentment as the world faded to black. Even in my oblivion, I could feel the Goddess' presence near me, and it comforted me. That comfort would sustain me through what would come.
April/May 04