The Aftermath II

The festival had been a blast. After Sophie joined them, they danced and twirled till their eyes saw double, and they lost control of their bodies. Then they joined the rest of the villagers and continued the celebration till dawn.

Rhys was the first to wake up from where they had crashed into the rock. He could not remember what time they had come back here. Memories of the night were foggy and broken, but he remembered the shouting as their bodies rocked each other, the eating, and the clapping.

He stumbled to the sea and retched, discharging half of the food he had eaten yesterday into the water. If food would intoxicate someone, then that was what must have happened. Or perhaps it was the drinks. His head throbbed painfully, and he held it in his hands as though that would help him get rid of the headache.

He looked around; Raul and Sophie were still asleep; she placed her head on his shoulder; and the clearing in which the festival had taken place was strewn with half-fini