The Isle of Little Ladies

Campfire

"Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya...

"Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya...

"Kumbaya, my lord, Kumbaya...

My lord, kumbaya."

Clem had to admit she was not the best singer, but sitting by the other girls along the firepit, she felt more at ease. Although she didn't know the lyrics to the song, she didn't hesitate to chirp in with a high-pitched kumbaya when she was confident enough to.

Next to her sat Annie and Essie, the latter singing her heart out, even though she hit many notes off-key. The former sang with a sweet, almost perfect tone, and Clem wished she could give Annie a microphone so she could belt out the lyrics for all to hear.

Nor was at the front of the crowd, strumming a homemade guitar. For someone who had seemed so grumpy earlier, Nor moved much more fluidly and calmly here. The guitar put her at ease. Next to her sat Freya, tapping a xylophone to the beat of the girls' singing.

When the singing died down, all the girls turned their attention towards Freya, who had stood up, back straight and all. "Welcome to our nightly campfire." She began, slightly cupping her hands so the girls in the back of the crowd for at least slightly hear. 

Freya started to babble on about some island matters that Clem cared little to nothing for. She reinforced the rule of "no eating sea turtles" (looking straight at Nor while saying this), announced a new harvest of mangoes was now available in her hut to gather, and said that production on crops has been going slow, so the girls should savor as much food as they can.

"Next," Freya continued, "I would like to introduce the newest resident of the Isle. Would Clem please come up?"

Essie nudged at Clem's shoulder, grinning. Taking a deep breath, Clem got up and approached the front of the crowd. Freya smiled with pride. "This is Clem. She arrived today. Please give her a warm welcome."

All the girls stood up and started clapping for Clem. She couldn't help but feel flattered, and felt the red on her cheeks.

When the applause had died down, Freya continued: "Clem will be mentoring with Liz as a gardener. Will she be able to come up to the front as well?"

Clem tensed. She wasn't expecting to meet her mentor this early. But, As Liz moved amongst the crowds and towards her, Clem started to feel a bit better.

Liz had long, wavy ginger hair. She wore a pink-striped shirt with blue jeans and cowgirl boots. The part of her outfit that stuck out the most was her silky hat, flopping out and about. Watching the hat move around as if it was dancing to the claps of the crowd made Clem's weebles disintegrate.

Liz stood adjacent to Clem. She looked at her easily and nodded to herself. She hadn't even said hello. The weebles started to return. 

"Thank you, thank you." Freya said, ending the cheers. "Now, please go back to your seats. It's time for the campfire desserts."

Campfire desserts? Clem's ears perked up. Dessert was her favorite meal of the day. Whether it counted as one didn't matter to her.

A few older girls got up and started placing a biscuit-like snack on plates. One by one, each of the girls got up from their seat to eat one. Liz and Clem got first pick, since they were already standing up.

"It's coconut." Liz whispered to her apprentice, not looking up from her cookie.

Clem nodded and took a bite. It tasted a lot like the coconut flesh she had eaten earlier. Pleasent. She approached her seat again, munching on her dessert. "Do they have this every night?" She asked Essie, who was drinking a milky liquid.

"Yep!" Essie nodded. "And you don't even need to eat dinner first."

Clem was ecstatic. "I think I'm gonna like it here." she cheered.

While the girls ate their desserts, Freya gave a few more announcements before officially adjourning the campfire. As Nor helped put out the fire, Clem said goodbye to Essie and started her way to Liz. They still hadn't formally met.

Clem tapped on Liz's shoulder. "Hello?" She asked.

Liz, who was talking to a few of her friends, turned around. Her eyes widened. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "Didn't expect to see you around already." She gave an uneasy chuckle and waved farewell to her mates.

Liz quickly took Clem's hand and tugged her over to a nearby bush clearing. "Where are we going?" asked Clem.

"I need to tell you something before you start as my apprentice." Liz looked left and right, making sure nobody was around them, then squat down to Clem's level, eyeing her seriously. "I need to tell you," She began. "That this isn't going to be a cakewalk like it seems."

"A cakewalk?" Clem cocked her head. She had never taken the word cake with a negative context before."

"Easy." Liz cleared her breath. "This isn't going to be easy, Clem. Gardening isn't all as it seems." She whispered in her ear. "And neither is this island."

"But everyone accepts me for who I am! Clem threw her hands up. "Nobody thinks I'm too annoying here- not even Freya."

"But the island isn't a wonderland." Liz sighed, adjusting her glasses. "I've seen too many little girls like you get sucked into that fantasy, Clem."

Clem didn't know what to say. On one hand, she could tell that Liz was in distress, but on the other hand, she truly wanted to believe that the island was a safe haven for her So many little girls like her had come and go, all seemingly fine in the end. She wanted that same fate. "Well, it sure seems like it." She managed to say after a long and awkward silence.

"Suit yourself," Liz got up and dusted herself off. Before she left, she turned back to Clem and gave her parting words: "There's a reason Freya didn't get me an apprentice until now." And with that, she was off. Clem watched her leave silently.

"So," Essie popped up behind her. "Do you want to stay in the medic hut with me and Annie tonight?" She grinned. "I'll let you sleep on my bed."

Clem only nodded. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to explain what happened to Essie- what if she didn't get it?

"Great!" Essie started running. "Last one there is a rotten coconut!"

Clem couldn't resist a good race, and she started to bolt through the crowd of other girls and to the hut she was first introduced to the island in.

Clem lay on her back on Essie's bed. She wasn't able to fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. All the twisted feelings in her gut about Liz, Freya, the island, and her abandonment lingered and she could not rid herself of them.

Slowly, she got up from her cot. She lay her blanket on Essie, who was sound asleep. Annie was next to her, stirring, but not awake. Clem tip-toed out of the hut and into the darkness of the island at night.

Crickets chirped, owls hooted, and there was a slight mist, but no rain. The sky was an ominous blue and there wasn't a cloud around. The starts twinkled and shined, but they disappeared and reappeared so fast that she couldn't make out any constellations. 

The sand was warm. Clem dug her feet into it. The sand was like a nice and cozy blanket, giving her comfort during this time of hardship.

She didn't realize how long she had been standing there until the crack of dawn arose and the sun started to peek out of its hiding place. Clem rubbed her eyes and realized she was more tired than she thought. She looked down at her toes one last time and started her way back into the hut. The night was coming to an end.