The Beginning of Her Odyssey

Iridescence wakes from her slumber, her eyes slowly opening as the morning light awakens her. The sounds of a soft breeze and chirping birds intermingle together to create a soft melody that fills the air. She gets out of her bed, stretching her arms.

She makes her way to the window, staring out into the forest before her. A lonesome house, surrounded by large trees and varying vegetation that gently dances with the wind. Ogygia, an island created by her mother thousands of years ago, and the place she called home her entire life.

A small bird perches on the window ledge, and the woman looks towards it with a lonely smile.

“Speak to me, my muse, of the cities and folk out there,” she spoke quietly, “of the world outside these walls.” The bird looked at her with its black beady eyes, twisting its head sideways before flying off once more.

Behind her, the sound of knocking on wood causes her to turn around. “Iri, dear?” a womanly voice said from behind her bedroom door.

“It’s open.” Iridescence responds.

The door opens, and a woman enters her room. It was her mother, Kalypso. She was kind and caring to Iridescence, if not a tad overprotective of her. Still, she appreciates all that her mother has done for her, and loves her regardless.

Her mother walks over to Iridescence, a warm and motherly smile on her face. “Iri, I’ll be leaving the island for the day. I’ll be buying some food and other things we need. Remember, don’t-”

“Leave the house alone, yeah I know…” Iri doesn’t understand why her mother won’t let her leave, it’s not like there's anyone else on this island. But still, she didn’t want to disrespect her mother or go against her wishes.

Her mother placed her hand on Iridescene’s head and pulled her in, giving her a hug. “I’ll see you later tonight, okay? There’s some food on the table. I’ll cook dinner when I come home.” She let go of her, and walked out of her room. From the window, Iridescence looks at her mother, seeing her turn around and giving one final wave before she disappears.

Iridescence can feel her stomach rumble, yearning for food after her sleep. She walks out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, seeing a simple breakfast prepared for her. Eggs and bread. However she noticed that the water pitcher was empty.

“Huh… Mother forgot to get water this morning.”

She looked towards the front door, wondering if she should go out to the well.

“Mother told me not to leave the house… But I do need my water…” After much deliberation with herself, she sighed, “I’m just gonna get water. That’s it, nothing more. I’m sure mother will understand.”

Iridescence stands in front of the door leading outside. All she had to do was turn the handle and push through, taking a step on the outside. And yet she felt a pang of fear in the back of her mind. She only knows her mother as kind and caring. Yet, she can’t shake this fear of angering her mother.

“I’m just getting water. It’s not like I’ll be straying too far from the house either… I’ll be back shortly.” She said out loud. With one more deep breath, she grabbed the handle. Her breathing was getting heavy, and it felt as if the handle was getting harder to turn.

“Come on… why is this so hard?!” she asked herself. With one final mental push, she pushed down onto the handle with her might, her eyes shut tightly. She pushed the door, taking a step forward.

The breeze. That was the first thing that Iridescence noticed when she stepped outside. The soft breeze gently pushed onto her body. It felt… different than it does when she feels it from the window. Then the smell. The smell of the morning dew, the grass and trees, and the wind that carries the scent.

She shook her head in an attempt to regain composure. The thrill of being outside was getting to her, but she still remembered what she set out to do. The only problem for her is…

“Wait, which way was the well again?” The last time she's been outside was with her mother when she was but a child, and even then she was enamoured by the feeling of being outside. “I’ll just… follow this path, I suppose. I can always turn back and follow the road if I go too far.”



A few moments later, Iridescence finds herself far from home, and yet still no sign of the well. She sighs, “maybe I should just turn back now… I suppose I can wait for mother to come back.”

As she begins the trek back to her house, she hears the sound of leaves rustling to her side. She quickly turns towards the noise, catching a brief glimpse of… something fleeing.
“An animal?...” she thought. The only animal she’s ever seen from her room are the birds that occasionally land on her windowsill. So the idea of seeing another animal up close excited her.

“I… I know the path, I can easily find my way back. Just a quick peek, and that’s it.”

With her newfound resolve, she strayed off the path and headed through the dense thicket. Straying further and further until she can hear the sounds of waves crashing upon land. She recognized this sound from before, when she was still a child saying goodbye to her father as he left the island, the last time she has ever seen him.

To her surprise, it was not an animal. In fact it was a human. At the very least, she thinks they're human. She doesn’t sense any godlike or divine energy from them, nor does she recognize their appearance. They both stared at each other, a mix of confusion and slight fear on the person’s face.

The person broke the silence, letting out a cough before finally speaking, “so it’s true… She remained here on this island.”

Iridescence soon realized that her breathing stopped, not knowing what to say or do in this situation. Even when the other gods and goddesses came over to visit, she never really interacted with them. Granted, her mother didn’t allow her to interact with them to begin with... Finally she found her voice once more, “W-What do you mean?...”

“Your mother. She is Kalypso, correct?”

“Yeah… How do you know her name?”

The man sighs, “Your mother… is not the person you think she is. Centuries ago, before you were born. She trapped a man here on this island. The other gods couldn’t find out why she did this, but after years of arguments and discussion… She finally allowed him to go free. What she failed to tell us is that she bore his child… You.”
This sudden revelation came to iridescence like a sudden gust of wind. The kind and caring mother that she thinks of fondly… Trapped her father here?

“What do you mean?!” she exclaimed, “My mother loved father!... And my father loved her back!”

“Think carefully! Your father left when you were a young child. Your mother forbade you to leave this island, let alone your house. And she never allowed you to speak to the other gods.” he raised his voice, but soon realized that he was scaring iridescence.

He sighs, “I… Your father is out there, Iridescence. And I made a promise to him that I’d get you out of this island.” The sudden mention of her father perked Iridescence back up.

“My father? You know my father?! And wait… how do you know my name?!”

“Yes, I know your father. I was the one who guided him out of this island to begin with. As for your name… Well, your father spoke about you in great detail during our voyage. He told me how smart you were for a child, and how you had your mother’s beauty… and that he wants you to, one day, get out there and live your own life.”

Tears started to form on Iridescence’s eyes. Hearing the words that her father used to describe her was causing her to feel all sorts of emotions. Yet, she was still wary of the stranger before her. “How do I know... that you’re not just saying these things?” she said through her tears.

The man put his hand into his pocket, fishing out three small pins. Golden all around, all of them in the shape of a flower. Iridescence immediately recognizes it. Pins that her father would wear at all times.

“This is your father’s, right? He told me to give it to you.” He extended his hand towards Iridescence. She slowly walked over to him, and allowed him to place the pins on her hands. She stared at them, a flood of memories and emotions gushing out now. She knows that her father left, so that means he must be out there somewhere. And if this man is the only chance she has to find him…. She’s willing to take this chance.

“Okay…” she quietly whispered.

“Hmm?”

“I’ll trust you. You’ll get me out of this island, right? Then I’ll trust you.”

The man smiled, “good answer. We should leave quickly then. I don’t want your mother finding out what is happening, and the sooner we leave, the better. Come on, follow me.” The man started walking along the shore, with iridescence following him.

Eventually they stop before a boat. At the very least, she thinks it’s a boat. Similar to the pictures she’s seen in books yet it looks different. The boats she’s seen were wooden and large. But this one was much smaller, made out of a strange white metal.

“Come, let’s get going now.” the man said to Iridescence, signaling her to get onto the boat.

“Wait, before we leave… Can I at least know your name?...”

The man smiled, “it’s Hermes. Now let’s get going. I don’t wanna be driving when it gets dark.”

Iridescence took a step onto the boat, sitting upon the leathery seat. The open ocean was now enveloping all of her senses. The sounds of the waves and seafaring birds… The smell and taste of the salty waters. She felt scared, anxious. Leaving behind the home that she has known for hundreds of years.

And yet, there was another emotion that she was feeling swelling within her. Excitement. Going into a world unknown, finally being able to see the world for what it is, and not from behind the formless barrier from behind her room’s window. A loud roar came from the boat, and soon they were in motion. She looked to the back of the boat, the island becoming smaller and smaller as they continued their journey into the open sea.

“The trips gonna be a long one, so just sit back and relax, alright? Hmm… oh, do you want to watch something?” He said, reaching once more into his pocket and taking out a strange square object.

“What's… that?”

“This thing? Wait… You’ve never heard of a cell phone? Man how did you get by being stuck there for hundreds of years.”

She shook her head, “mother never brought anything from the outside except for food.”

He clicked his tongue and laughed, “you have a lot of catching up to do. This thing is amazing. Here, this thing is called a video. Think of it like a… moving picture, of sorts.”

He handed the cell phone to Iridescence, and instantly she became enamoured by the object. It did indeed look like a photo, but it was in motion.

“That’s called a Vtuber, by the way. Sort of the new thing that everyone is into nowadays. What she’s doing is called playing a video game…’ Hermes and iridescence filled the silence with talk of the advances that civilization has made. With him explaining to his best ability, and iridescence asking dozens of questions.

Finally, a different question popped into Iridescence's head. “Hey, are we going to meet with my father as soon as we arrive?”

“Nope.”

“Eh?”

“That was the… caveat that your father has given me. That I’m not allowed to take you directly to him. That you’ll have to… find him yourself, and live out your own life.”

The words weighed heavily on iridescence, and yet she didn’t feel sadness or anger. Finding her father… This was the start of her new journey.

“Of course, I’m not going to leave you alone. I have a place that you’ll be staying in if you want. And your father has left you some money that you should be able to survive on your own for some time.”

She smiled, knowing that her father still worried about her even so. She stood up from the seat, walking next to Hermes and looking out into the ocean. The sun now sets upon the horizon, casting an orange hue over them. Of course the thought of mother finding that she’s gone is in the back of her head, and she worries what her mother will do once she finds out that she's gone.

But for now, all she wanted to do was focus on this journey. The start of her new odyssey.