The golden drink

 Orange and gold swirls were drawn in the sky, reflecting off the ocean like a museum painting. The stars were starting to disappear as the Sun woke up.   

   The stagnant water began to move. Something was emerging from the surface, breaking the beautiful painting of the sunset. A man's head appeared, catching its breath with a deep sigh. The man saw in front of him an island with palm trees and a white sand beach at about seven hundred and fifty meters from him. There was nothing else than this island -no boat, no other land, no one else. The man was confused. He had no memories, even when he tried his best. He remembered one thing, though. His name -Nolan Peck.

   Further on the beach, people were dancing around a giant bonfire, doing what looked like a ritual, since everyone had their task to do and they seemed to have practiced it many times. Something that looked like meat was cooking over the fire. One person was walking around the fire, spraying the others with liquid, someone else was screaming to death, another one had their arms up in the air and seemed like they were talking and everybody was listening. Drums were playing joyful music, and melodious and magnificent songs were heard, sung by female voices, and felt like they were sung directly in Nolan’s head.     

     It was the most wonderful sound Nolan had ever heard, and he found himself swimming over to the island to search for the people that were singing, like his life depended on it. His whole body felt sore, but he kept swimming. After getting out of the water, he stood up and tried to go reach the singing voices, but immediately collapsed. All went black.

  Nolan woke up to the smell of mangoes and roasted bananas. A warm ray of sunlight caressed his right cheek. The melodious songs could be heard in the distance, the most magnificent sound Nolan had ever heard. It was almost unreal. 

   He opened his eyes. Everything was bright and felt like a dream. Nolan was confused and exhausted. He was lying on a warm bed in a large salmon-colored tent with holes at some places. He was still dressed in the clothes in which he had arrived on the Island: white pants and a red jacket on which was written Exervincy. Nolan didn’t knew what that meant at the moment, but it reminded him of something…

   Several women -maybe ten- of all ages were standing near him and smiling tenderly at him when they saw Nolan waking up. Something was off with their smiles. They had no emotions at all, as if they were forced to smile, but Nolan was too exhausted to think about it any longer. 

    The women all had honey-colored skins and thick black hair, mostly braided with gold threads, and a tunic the same color as the tent: salmon. Despite his exhaustion, he managed to whisper. ‘’Hi y'all.’’

  ''We are glad you are finally here, Nolan Peck'' said one of the women, who appeared to be in her early twenties. She had a calming voice. ''I am Einor. Welcome to Pajidah Island.''

  ''How... how do you know my name ?'' Nolan said, while trying to stand up. But the women pushed him back on the bed, holding him tight. 

  ''We were waiting for you'' explained Einor, her eyes locked on Nolan's.

  ''Look I know I’m amazing, but why ?''

  ''You are lucky that we found you on the beach. We thought you were dead'' Einor took his hand, making him get up. They walked to the door of the tent under the curious gaze of the other women.

    ‘’Okay, already taking my hand I see… We should maybe get to know each other a little bit before-‘’

    ''Let me show you around.’’ She said, interrupting him. ‘’And don't walk around the Island without my company. There are creatures here you don't want to meet if you are not prepared''

   They came out of the tent and the sun dazzled Nolan. It took him a few seconds before he could clearly see what surrounded him: a village of salmon-colored tents in a forest of palms and other tropical trees and colorful flowers, with a magnificent view of the white sand beach, watered by the crystalline waves of the turquoise ocean. The rays of the sun was reflecting there like a thousands of small diamonds. The sky was bright blue without a single cloud. It was a true paradise on Earth, the kind of place you only saw in your dreams.

   Everywhere, women were walking, talking and laughing. All were smiling. There were children eating some kind of meat, but only girls. Not a single men.

   -I haven't seen a man yet. Where are they ?

    ''Men?'' Einor asked with a beautiful smile. ''Men would be useless on this Island''

   She brought him to a precipice. Lowering his head, Nolan saw a kind of natural pool dug in the rock very far below them, with stairs carved in the stone. In the water were huge fishes with scales of all colors, but they were too far below them, Nolan couldn’t see them in detail.

   As he was watching the fishes, he heard the mysterious singing voices. They came from everywhere, echoed in his head but at the same time it was as if they were singing all around him in a captivating melody. For a moment, he forgot where he was and what was going on. It was as if the people singing were urging him to dive to the bottom of the water, as if that was where they were, even though the music had no lyrics. Nolan just understood the message. He was convinced that this was his goal in life, like if he was born to go to the bottom of this pool. He went back to normal when Einor put his hand on his shoulder.

   ''Who are the people singing ?'' Nolan asked. ‘’I keep hearing them.’’

    ''What are you talking about? '' answered Einor, bursting into a shrill laugh. ''No one is signing, it’s all in your head. Now come. The Queen wants to see you.''

   The Queen was a woman with golden hair braided with silver thread. She walked gracefully to Nolan with her head held high, and Einor leaned in front of her Queen until the tip of her hair touched the floor. The Queen looked way older than everyone else, and way different. She had pale skin, white like snow, a really large mouth with sharp teeth and big green eyes sticking out of their sockets. She didn’t even looked human.

   -I hope we all made a good first impression, Nolan, she said with an unpleasant voice, torturing the ears of everyone 

   But Nolan realized something was wrong.

   -Wait a second… I never told y’all my name.''

   ''...yes you did,’’ said Einor. ‘’They told us… I mean, you told us when you woke up.'' 

   She was searching her words, looking everywhere but in Nolan’s eyes. But he thought she was right. After all, he was numb and confused when he woke up. He kept hearing this music that only he could hear. He certainly could have told them his name without remembering it.

   -See, Nolan, continued the Queen, we have a tradition that the newcomers drink our holy beverage. Would you do me this honor?

   Nolan wasn't going to refuse anything from the Queen. This place was the most beautiful place he had ever seen, maybe he could stay here forever if he respected the traditions. He politely agreed and a young girl he had seen in the tent when he woke up approached. She gave Nolan a half of a coconut, filled with golden liquid, like liquid gold. It was such a marvelous looking drink, that smelled like roses, citrus, chocolate and vanilla, all at the same time, with a hint of mint. It was shining brightly, and without even thinking about it, as if he was in a trance at the sight of this drink, he drank it all, under the impatient eyes of the women. He immediately knew it was a mistake.

  The expected effect was instantaneous.

  He felt his muscles get heavy quickly, as if someone had put weights of one hundred and twenty kilograms on them. He couldn't move, he felt like all parts of his body were locked in lead pipes. His eyes remained open, seeing his body stop obeying him and submit to the golden drink. His pupils dilated until his blue eyes became two black pearls. He felt dizzy and his heart was pounding fast. Queen Celeste looked at him with a murderous gaze, as if she was suddenly hungry. In what kind of place did he arrived ?

    ‘’You know what to do, Einor.’’ said the Queen, sitting down in her flower throne.

   Einor made a final reverence to her Queen, then took Nolan in her arms like a plywood board and walked out of the tent effortlessly. They were walking straight to the precipice, where the big fishes were swimming. The melody started again.

   Nolan was trying to control his muscles to move but it wasn't working. His body no longer answering him. He wanted to leave this Island at all costs, but he couldn't think of any solution that could really work. And where could he go anyway ?

   After a couple minutes, they arrived below the precipice, next to the pool, by taking the stairs carved in the rock. Einor put Nolan in the water, holding his head out. Nolan saw that there were women swimming in the water, but they looked different. He only saw their head. Their skin was as white as a paper, they had huge green eyes and a lot of sharp teeth in their large mouths. Their hair looked like it was made out of seaweed. 

   Then he saw the rest of the bodies of the women. From their waists and down, where both legs were supposed to be, there was a fishtail covered in turquoise scales. Without a doubt, they were Queen Celeste sisters, the only difference is that the Queen wasn’t half fish.

   Sirens.

  ‘’Here he is, your Highnesses.’’ Einor said.

   Nolan’s heart was beating fast. He tried to move, in vain. His body kept not listening to him. He knew what sirens were: monsters of the water who bewitched sailors with their magnificent voices and then ate them. He felt so stupid. How could he let himself be manipulated by the sirens like that !

   One of the terrifying sirens rested one of her long, skeletal fingers on Nolan's forehead. A burning sensation stung where the finger was and a flash of lightning blinded him.

   Instantly, a memory came to his mind. A vague memory, which looked like a dream, but became more and more real the more he thought about it. He was on a ship, named the Exervincy, with his crew. A mission created at first to explore an unknown part of the Pacific. They had been sailing on the water for several days, lost and looking for a solution.

   Then those voices. 

   These voices that echoed in the heads of all the sailors on board, leading them directly towards a storm which drowned their ship. Nolan had jumped into the water and swam towards the rescue boat, but was carried away by the waves. He remembered hearing those songs, then swam towards them as if his life depended on them. Then he was sucked under the water, and when he emerged from it, he had lost all those memories and the ocean was calm.

   It was a trap from the start. This place was not a paradise on Earth after all.

   ‘’The last one of the Exervincy crew’’ said the siren, removing her finger. Her voice was nothing compared to the way they all sang. It was as shrill as rubbing a fingernail on a blackboard. A long torture for the ears every time they opened their mouth. 

   Nolan silently prayed to no one in particular that this nightmare would end quickly. And his wish will be granted. But not the way he wanted.

   ‘’What do you think of him, your highnesses?’’ Einor said.

   ‘’Yes. He will be good like the rest of the Exervincy crew’’ answered the terrifying siren, licking her lips.

   That was it. 

   He had been trapped on the Island by the golden drink to be the sirens lunch.

   He tried to scream, but only a low sound came out of his throat like a breath.

   ‘’Don’t try to shout, it’s useless. See, explained Einor, the sirens are water spirits who had been protecting Pajidah Island from people of the outside world for generations. They create storms to dissuade people from trying to get here. But when they see a boat full of men pass by, they sing, a song that only you can hear. You are bewitched by their enchanting songs. In return to thank them for their help, we cook for them the men, the sailors, too dumb to realize that the songs they hear come from the water spirits, leading them directly to their death by drowning or to our Island, where they die too.’’

   Nolan was terrified by those revelations. He tried to move, but it still didn’t worked.

   ‘’There is no man here because they would always listening to the siren song and they would try to drown themselves. They would be useless. The golden brew you drank only works if you decide to drink it willingly, continued Einor. Otherwise it wouldn't be a sacrifice and it would not be the same. I didn’t wanted you to walk around because if you saw the sirens, you wouldn't trust us ! And we need you. By drinking our holy drink, created by the magic of the water spirits, you accepted to be sacrificed ! You have been approved by the sirens, now the ritual can begin.’’

   She got him out of the water and carried him to the beach.

   All the women from the Island were there, even the sirens had come out of their pools with some kind of magic and were now in the ocean, near the beach, to watch their next meal being prepared. They looked at Nolan with excitement in their eyes. 

   The inhabitants of the island had exchanged their salmon tunics for silver dresses. Several women placed Nolan over a fire made out of palm trees. The flames were little at first, they brushed against his body, but he could feel their deadly heat. A woman poured the golden drink on him and another one was spraying it with her fingers on everyone and herself, but it didn’t had the same effect that it had on Nolan because they did not drank it. The Queen raised her arms to the sky and took a solemn voice to say a few words.

   ‘’Thanks to Nolan for sacrificing his life to help us protect our Island for another month. May his name and his sacrifice remain forever in our hearts.’’

   Everyone repeated after her. 

   Drums were heard, synchronized in joyful and rich music. Not the kind of music you play before a person dies. The sirens began to sing. It was a different melody, a melody with rhythm that made you want to dance.

A long scream of agony got out of Nolan's throat when the fire started to cook him. His whole body was tingling and black dots were dancing in front of his eyes. The Queen leaned over to Nolan and whispered in his ear the last words he would hear in his life:

   -Goodbye, Nolan Peck.