You had lived on the island of Ogygia for thousands of years, perhaps even more. It had been so long that you could no longer keep track of time. Each day felt odious, and they all sank away into the waves of time on your beach. You were a gorgeous nymph that had been cast away to this island, living through the eternal cycle of loneliness, finally receiving company, and being abandoned once more.

Most of the pain you endured came from always being the second choice. You fell in love with every traveler who found themselves on your island, but you had yet to find a soul who loved you as deeply as you loved them. Still, you wandered on the beach each morning and night, hoping that one day you would find someone who could change your fate.

You did not know how much time had passed since your last visitor, but one morning after many years, you found someone new to satiate the pain in your heart. He was lying down with his hair wet and covered head to toe in sand. He was handsome in a mature way, that gave you the feeling that perhaps you had found sanctuary. You felt an overwhelming flow of affection pierce you when you heard his soft breathing, and he was muttering something in his sleep.

You knew that it was the curse at work, making you feel what you knew would inevitably end poorly. However, you longed to feel alive, and you prayed that perhaps the ending would be different this time. You knelt at his side and rested one of your hands on his shoulder and stroked his hair with the other, and he slowly began to stir. He murmured what he had been saying earlier a little louder. "Petra..."