Prologue

Calypso felt the water drift over her head and felt instantly overwhelmed by still calmness. Her dark brown hair drifted and tangled as if the tendrils had a life of their own. Instinctively she held her breath the moment she became submerged, not thinking it wouldn’t be necessary. Calypso began to swim with the flow of the current and a grin soon covered her face. Ducking and diving, she felt as free as any fish, as free as anything not roped in by the everyday mundane world. In this place she could be what her spirit told her to be. Even the white gown she wore couldn’t hinder her; instead it gave Calypso the appearance of an underwater ballroom dancer. A more graceful demeanor than if she’d been anywhere on land.

 

Suddenly, the waters turned cold and Calypso surfaced with a gasp. She looked around to see if anyone had intruded. As her confusion increased she floated lazily along. But after a while Calypso put her panic down to nerves and tried to move on. The serene, dreamlike state was gone and Calypso was caught between a feeling of sharpness and grogginess. As she swam along, her head just above the surface and hair slithering behind, she couldn’t help but wonder,

“What could I learn from this?”

Stopping once again Calypso noticed there was a slight snowfall and the wind had picked up. There was laughter and squeals of delight, but they were far away. Then a bear like roar shattered the silence and this time Calypso gave her own squeal of joy. Her family was with her, even here, never leaving her despite having no blood relations. Slowly the sounds began to drift closer and she half expected them to show up. Until the startling realization hit her.

“Oh no. They’re coming” Calypso thought.

She couldn’t help diving back under the world, seeking her previous calm. Though her family meant the world they were not the easiest group to deal with.

“And they didn’t even call” she couldn’t help but huff, coming back up.

Calypso took a deep breath and, releasing as much tension as she could, floated on her back. Before long she found her inner calm once more and had begun to drift off. And that is when she heard the most annoying, dreaded,   horrible sound.