The Island Curse

The Birthday Party

Our destination was not within walking distance, certainly not while wearing formal attire. We climbed into Niko's jeep, and no one spoke as we bounced along the winding road. The girls exchanged worried looks, but I ignored them, choosing to focus on the landscape. In a few hours, this view would be gone from me forever, and I wanted to savor every sweep of emerald and purple.

When we passed the turn off for the beach where I met Lorelei for the first time, I tensed. Surely, the party wouldn't be held here. I couldn't imagine Tara signing off on that. But we kept driving, heading toward another bit of Island I'd never seen before.

"Okay, Isla you need to wait to put your mask on. We want as many people as possible to know who you are."

I nodded. This part of the plan suited me fine. The mask was clutched in my hand- the sharps ends of shells biting into the tender skin of my palm. Pain was welcome. It meant I was alive.

The girls guided me down a path with patches of long, gold grasses quivering in the breeze. The stems grew less numerous as the land sloped toward the sea. Off to our left, a cliff rose up, green moss painting the gray. The water was calmer here, its hue a vibrant, clear aquamarine.

"This way," Niko said pointing at the cliff.

I didn't realize until then that the cliff was not in the sea. There was a strip of beach that wound around its front, and when we followed the trail around, I gasped. It was another sea cave- the entire center of the cliff was hollowed out, and in the fading light, I could make out smaller tunnels in the back. Like the other cave, silver and gold glittered in the rock.

The entrance had a high lip of stone along the bottom, which kept the water out. It wouldn't do much at high tide or during a storm, but for now it kept most of the floor dry. Plenty of room for dancing teenagers. But in the very center was a large pool, its water constantly disturbed by the waterfall pouring through the hole at the top of the cave. The spray around it spread a fine mist across the room, and something about the scent called to me- begged me to dive into its depths.

Dragging my gaze from the pool, I looked at the rest of the decor. Someone had wedged hundred of candles into the walls. Their flames flashed and twinkled, making the walls shimmer. In corners, beaded curtains were hung. For now they were pulled back, exposing the cushions that were scattered about the ground behind them, creating perfect nooks for talking and... other things. Long tables draped in gold and copper groaned beneath the weight of food piled on their surfaces, and a popular dance song pulsed behind the hum of conversations.

"Y'all this is amazing."

Tara shrugged like it was nothing, but her grin said otherwise. Niko clapped. Her modesty was nonexistent.

"All I had to tell people was that it was for your birthday party, and they gave stuff away. They're either trying to assuage some serious guilt or are just happy you're not trying to run off. Either way, it helped get stuff done."

Her words tarnished some of the magic. Lips pressed tightly together, I secured the mask over my face. Surely, enough people had witnessed my arrival. Unlike in class, they all stared openly. Everyone knew what was happening tonight, and I could feel the excitement in the room. I wondered what they would think if they knew they were celebrating my death more than my birth.

"Where's Kieran?" I asked.

"He said he's running a few minutes behind."

"Oh, well let's go ahead and get something to eat, then."

"Isla?"

"Leslie, hey."

The pale girl offered a twitch of her lips that looked more like a grimace than a smile. She appeared uncomfortable in her gown- a dreamy mermaid style with a standing lace collar that went up to her ears- but I'd never seen her look so lovely. The seafoam color brought out hints of pink in her skin. The pearl mask she'd chosen did little more than hide her eyes.