The girls had to swim out from the island to another smaller island to save a boat. We expertly grabbed the floating rope and somehow maneuvered it, coaxing the boat to miss the shoals beneath. We secured it and swam back to the main island.

We were praised for our good job and then awarded appetizers by the women to pass around to the men.

More cottagers arrived, and the men ate, while the new girls joined us in passing out the food. As we did this, we considered wardrobe changes that would attract the hungry men.

Soon, there were more boats adrift, and we had to juggle our duties as servers on the rocks while making our way down to the water to dive in. We all swam effortlessly, like mermaids on top of one another, above and below the water, making our way to rescue the boats as the men observed us, gorging themselves on our labour.

We looked forward to impressing them and being praised by them – attracting them.

But one day, we would come alive.