Sand glittered, the sky so vibrantly blue above and the waters quietly lapped at the boardwalks in sight.

The island felt like it should belong to a whole other planet.

The gentle sea breeze around us got stronger, more potent. Bottled up, it would knock even the most tolerant drunk flat on their ass.

The 'black' atoll lagoon was due to some of the reef borders' special discolouration and supposed mystical origin. Its iron grey waters and the darker sand beneath teeming in some areas with little fish were more rare than the deep blue ocean holes that Miles would watch documentaries on. The coral reef border had protected this place for so long, a border of rainbow against black. The water (as salty as the waves lapping at the reef border) looked still and gorgeous.

Long flat boats drifted up to the border of the lagoon, all manned by a rower and a motor expertly hidden behind a cane cover.

“Please stay in single file, everyone,” The only crewmember with a shiny cord of silver around his long hair called. He had the ‘locals’ classic broad features and wide smile. His English was better than most back home too, a slight British drawl to some of the inflections. “We will be three people on a boat for the last leg of the journey.”

Morgan and Miles stuck to either side of me, Miles’ fingers curling around mine. He swayed with the boat’s motions, kept steady when I shuffled up behind a young couple marvelling over the delicious alcohol served back on the main ship.

Stepping over the boardwalk onto our boat, I eased Morgan and then Miles onto the offered bench set into the side. Let them find their sea legs, I wanted to lean so far I’d maybe fall into the lagoon waters.

The others took a little extra help to shuffle into the boats. It had been a quieter trip than I expected here but that might have to do with the lack of children or elderly. Maybe one or two little ankle biters and a couple of people older than 50 but otherwise, the young adults seemed to dominate the numbers.

As one of the biggest hypes since the early 1930's, seeing the lagoon trip almost barren of elderly surprised me.

At the stern of the small shallow water boats, people in the Black Lagoon uniform used paddles to propel us along. Miles sidled up to my side, letting me grab onto one of his hands to squeeze. He chuffed when I bounced on my toes, one ‘accidental’ jump from diving into the water and swimming the rest of the way.

The dock glided into focus, a smooth bone white where the water shone gunmetal glassy grey. The sun bore down on our backs as the chatter around our little fleet reached a crescendo. Half of them didn't even stop to take in the view, so caught up in the ideas of partying and who knew what else with their phones out.

Miles almost dove for the other side of the boat, catching sight of some tropical fish he’d only read about before.

Josh’s boat, by some stroke of bad luck, had come up close enough that if he reached out, he could almost touch the railing I held onto. Miles, forgetting the fish with the closing gap, scrunched up his nose and stumbled back to the bench, as far from Josh as he could get on our small strip of a boat.

I pretended not to see the flash of tears in Josh’s eyes or the scrunched grimace when he tracked Miles back to the seat. It took him a good long second to shake himself off and force a smile. "This is pretty nice, huh?"

I ignored the man leaning closer to me and kept my eyes on the fast-approaching shoreline. The speckled bone-white sand decorated with welcome banners and people to wait on the new arrivals couldn’t come fast enough.

"Y'know, you can't ignore me forever. I made a mistake, and I'm so sorry for that. I just want my Neev back," Josh murmured, fidgeting with his hands on the thin wooden railing along the side of his own flat boat.

My lips pulled back from my clenched teeth at the thought of ever being stupid enough to ignore my commonsense those months ago.

Josh ran a hand through his hair, letting out a long gust of a sigh. "Jane is only here because she's lonely. We're not together," He said. I snorted, side eyeing the woman fixing a curl that had come loose from her updo. When she caught my gaze, she bit down on her painted lip and turned her entire head away. I didn’t need to do anything to put her on edge and it brought unholy satisfaction when she tucked her tail and ran most of the time.

I shifted from side to side when the boat drew in close to the dock and grinned at the water lapping at the hull of the boat. While people lined up to file off and the boats glided back with expert paddling to keep the momentum, my nerves buzzed with restless energy. The line of employees, the ease of the luggage being processed and taken to different buggies that would be transported further onto the mainland.

Courteous nods, some bows, us incoming guests were treated with a deference better suited to those fancy hotels that cost an arm and a leg to stay in for one night.

This was too perfect.

"My lady?" A gloved hand reached out and I swung my head around to the new person. His voice...

'Boss'.

Why was he down here tending to the little people?

“Allow me to assist you.”

Did he not see that Morgan and Miles were gripping the railing with white knuckles? I swayed with the boat as it came up to bump against the secured steps onto the dock. "I'd rather dive into the water to be honest," I smiled and sniffed the air.

Gloved Boss Man chuckled, the rough sound of more amusement wreaking havoc on my blistering nerves.

"You could do that, but I'd recommend not damaging your clothes. It is lovely, isn't it?"

"More than I ever hoped it to be," I murmured, breathing in again and itching at my neck. "Sorry. I get side-tracked easy."

Glove Man grinned, a flash of straight white teeth. Morgan would’ve fallen into the waters if she swooned from that bright smile. I glanced back at her, checking on her unsteady legs. Miles held her straighter than before and they almost bumped into my back to line up.

A quiet shuffle on the dock drew me back to the stranger. "No need to apologise. This place is an escape from life outside the coral barriers. I hope you grow to love this place as much as I do," The man bowed his head. "Atlas."

"Niamh," I shook the hand he offered and hopped up onto the wide step, then onto the dock.

I pulled my hand back as soon as I stood on broader wood. The faint squeeze before he let go set off alarm bells in my head. Miles and Morgan got the same treatment but he dropped their hands as soon as civility allowed. Morgan swayed into my side, nudging me with her elbows.

“I hope this Isle has a few more gentlemens, hey?” She winked at me, not as quiet as she should be. He was right there?

“Keep it in your pants,” Miles murmured, a lot quieter than his excitable sister. “I swear, you can’t wait a day?”

She mimed wiping away a trail of spit from the corner of her lips. “At least one of us needs to get some.”

Bloody horndog… Miles groaned, shaking his head and turning to watch the next boat come up to bump into the dock.

A helper got Joshua up and onto the dock, a bland smile on their darker face. Jane got the same treatment, winking at the man. I bit back the sneaky growl when she swept her fluttering eyes over to us. She pretended I didn’t give her a death glare and turned to chatter at Josh. Her bed buddy shook off her hand twice before giving up on his own personal barnacle.

“Shall we?” Atlas offered an arm but I nodded and started for the direction he gestured. The beach getting closer with each step had signs warning against taking ‘souvenirs’ and bothering the wildlife, which Miles appreciated verbally when we stepped down onto tightly packed sand. Warnings about littering (instant termination of their invitation and being shipped back to the mainland) were nicely worded but firm, another lovely feature I could get behind.

Atlas, with his unfaltering smile, stepped close enough that I could scent the ocean breeze and something fruity. I held in a sneeze. “As per your welcome pack that was sent to each of you, your accommodation will be among our VIP guests. If you have any issues, please do not hesitate to reach out and let us know. We pride ourselves on being attentive to our guests.”

Morgan twirled a piece of her hair with her finger, grinning at the man. “We thought it was a prank first when we got the invitation. Neenee here almost screamed the house down when the Australia Post confirmed that this was legit.”

“I didn’t scream that loud,” I grumbled but Miles’ side eye was telling. “Only three mirrors broke.”

“And four windows. You’re lucky Dad is used to your quirks by now that he has extra sheets and replaces them himself,” Miles cracked a smile, tapping my nose with his index finger. “Are we bunking with Josh?”

Atlas nodded, nodding to where the last two were approaching. Jane eyed us three like we were predators waiting to take a bite, then tossed her hair over her shoulder and settled into a weird smirk. She oozed slimy confidence and coquettish amazement. “This place is like a dream, sir,” She said to Atlas and I snorted. “Don’t you think so, Nee?”

I cut a glance her way, then shrugged. “For the most part. My dreams don’t usually feature parasitic growths that speak.”

Her face coloured deep red, brows hunching low with her glare. I grinned back, flashing my dimples for effect.

“Mr Atlas, will we be having the ceremony tonight? I read about it in the brochure,” I quickly snuffed whatever Jane might say. Rather than make me more annoyed by her general existence, it was better to ignore her. “It says optional but i couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to pass that up?”

He nodded to a passing employee and led us to a blue dune buggy with an extended back and trailer full of luggage. By the vibrant tags and colour, they were ours. Stacked in neat rows, they didn’t sway when the driver started it up and pulled around closer.

“Nice buggy,” Josh said with a frosty glance to Atlas. “What’s it run on?”

Atlas dropped a hand on the side of the vehicle. “Magic,” He joked. “We take pride in our custom vehicles and while it is much smoother, we do not let anyone else use these. Much better for our beaches.”

The wheels didn’t look like the normal tread when I crouched down to peek. The motor was a little glowy along the sand, like RGB on gaming keyboards that Josh went crazy for. Electric, most likely.

“All aboard, and we will have you at your new residence in no time,” Atlas announced and opened the door for us. I urged Miles in first, happy to snuggle in between the siblings and leave the back row for Josh and Jane to take. Atlas sat up front with the driver, not bothering with a seat belt. Since he wasn’t worried about safety, neither would I. It gave car rides an extra fun kick when I didn’t need to strap myself in and be stuck to the seat.

“Don’t even think about standing up,” Miles reminded when he caught my little wriggle on the seat.

“Bully,” I pouted but let him tuck my cardigan tighter around me.

Jane took her time settling in her seat, quietly whining to Josh about the sand on the cover. He told her to be quiet, he wanted to listen.

All doors shut tight and the engine bubbling (did they usually do that with alternative fuel sources?) away, Atlas turned in his seat. “While there is plenty of time for you to take in the sights better, I hope you like the short tour to your accommodation. You will notice that a majority of our Isles are wild in more ways than one.”

It couldn’t have sounded better. Wilderness and the sea surround us? It sounded like heaven.

The buggy set off at a slow pace, barely 30 km/hr as it turned onto a sturdier track. Atlas pointed out a few walk track markers, then a few people coming from the trails with baskets over their back and shoulders. “Many of the aunties like to collect leaves from around here for their meals. They make for amazing plates,” He said with a wink. A few of the ladies nodded as we passed, sun-kissed skin and pretty shawls glimmering with bits of frosted glass and carved ornaments.

A rainbow of feathers darted through the trees and under heavy leaves that drooped from the bigger ferns. Miles caught every little movement too, breathless when a few squealing pigs darted by, chasing a laughing child and a bag of greens.

“We’re never going to get him back, huh?” Morgan joked beside me when her brother leaned over the seat, a precarious wobble there. Josh surprised us both when he nudged Miles’ side. He flinched, ticklish there and sent a loaded glare to Josh but, to our relief, didn’t lean over again.

“Along this stretch of the reef, we have more bungalows. Those are not yours,” Atlas cut in, breaking the odd tension between our group. “And this is where we stop. Thank you, Tio.”

The driver said something in their native tongue.

Atlas, once again, beat us to the door and opened it. Morgan got treated to a gallant offer to step down, then me. Up ahead, the water looked more shadowed. Clumps of reef further out and a warm sun beating down on the crystalline water made for a post that Morgan couldn’t resist.

She snapped a few pictures, then two selfies before she put her phone away.

The resort we were to be staying in could be considered a collection of closely linked bungalows.  Each had four bedrooms as well as ensuites and a kitchenette. The little information packets had been clear on that spacious aspect.

Under half of them stood on sturdy stilts over the lagoon, linked by the boardwalk and picturesque braided rope bridges. Paler wood, bright colours and the swirls of native shaping in their art drew the eye like nothing else.

It made sense that the other four were in awe of the view but my gaze strayed back to the water.

"Everyone who chooses to join in the first evening activities wades into the black lagoon come evening," Atlas said while we took in the view. "This is not the lagoon that gives our establishment its name. You will find out why soon enough.”