CUPID | (ONC 2024)

CHAPTER X

Send your dreams where nobody hides. Give your tears to the tide
No time
No time
There's no end, there is no goodbye

-M83

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Kore has been given a strong welcome on the island. Everyone had taken her into their arms, like an old friend. The best she could do was smile and pretend she knew everyone as well. It wasn't long until a feast of celebration was declared. Kore was separated from Cupid by the other woman on the island.

She now stands in a dressing room, one that's said used to be hers. Two women giggle as they pick out clothes for Kore. Standing awkwardly in the corner, Kore listens to their conversation, wondering what they're talking about.

A girl named Elena picks up a shiny piece of jewelry, she turns the Kore with a big smile spread across her face. "You have to remember the time when a crab latched onto these earrings when you were sleeping! It was hilarious," Elena rants while adding the earrings to her dinner outfit laid out on a neat bed.

Kore only gives a small smile and nods. Most of the things they bring up, Kore doesn't recognize. At one point Kore brings up something about Cupid, and the two girls only shoot her a weird look.

"Funny how you ended up with Cupid. I guess he is much cuter than the other guy," a girl with long locks had accidentally said. Her hand flew up to her mouth after she said it. Elena had given her a side eye before nervously glancing at Kore.

"Other guy?" Kore's confused voice fills the silence. Nobody answers. Someone shakes their head and another changes the subject.

Elena claps her hands together. "Hurry up and get dressed. We'll meet you down at the dinner hall," she says before pulling her friend out of the front door. Kore watches them go. The room feels so strange to her. The whole place on this island does. How is she ever going to find the dinner hall?

Kore sits down on the bed, next to her clothes. This vacation, if you could call it that, feels anything but nice. She barely got to see Cupid, and everyone acts so strangely here. It sucks that she can't remember her life on the island. It would be easier if she could remember who and what everything is.

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After many minutes of wandering through the halls, someone had found Kore. Eventually, with the help of the stranger, she got to the dinner hall. Almost everyone has found a table to sit at. She scans the tables sitting under the low lighting to find where Cupid sits.

Kore notices Cupid's wings sticking out from his chair. He sits at the head of a long table. Calypso sits on his right. Luckily, there is a free chair saved for her on his left. Kore swerves through the room to get to his table. Many people wave to her to sit at their table, but she pretends like she doesn't see them.

Other tables with the food on top of them line the outsides of the dining room. Kore's stomach growls. She hasn't had anything to eat for so long. There are stuffed turkeys, vegetables, and lots of wine. Kore would have rushed to make herself a plate, but she sat down with everyone else and waited.

Cupid notices her approaching. He stands to pull out her chair. Calypso gives her a warm welcome before pouring her a glass of water. After that, Calypso stands up. Her hands clap together. The whole room seems to fade to silence. Everyone's eyes fall to where Calypso stands.

"Everyone!" Calypso's voice sounds over the whole room. "We are gathered here tonight to welcome back our old friend, Kore!

All the woman in the room put their hands together in applause for Kore. A hot plush spreads across her cheeks as she looks around the room at all the people. When Kore looks over at Cupid, however, she finds him smiling at Calypso, who is smiling back.