Preparations for ritual

You hear a familiar strut, footsteps coming closer towards you. It's that girl that woke you up on the beach. You didn't quite catch her name.

She takes off the bag off your head.

Even though you're now tied to a pole, it's nice to see someone as pretty as her.

"Here, drink. You've got a ritual ahead." She brings a halved coconut close to your lips. The sweet and a little nutty liquid pours to your mouth.

While you drink, she introduces herself, "I'm Shani, by the way. And you must be John, I've heard the conversation."

You take a sip of the coconut water.

"Nice to meet you." You respond. You feel oddly comforted by her presence, despite the fact that she was among the ones that tied you up.

"What ritual?" You finally ask.

"Well, it's... It's complicated. Many of us have been through it as well and we're fine." She smiles and touches your face.

"Yeah, but that doesn't really answer my question." You demand an answer.

"The ritual... simply put, turns you into a girl..."

You sweat a little, this is something very unexpected, but your mind quickly connects the dots. '...many of us have been through it as well...', '...we're on this island for a couple years...'

"...It does some other things, like changes your personality a little and modifies some of your memories. Buut, overall it's harmless and barely hurts" she says with a smile. "Or so I'm told."

You hear footsteps of a rather large group approaching...