There was something about the situation that made John nervous, though he detected no threat from any of the animals. Even the bear seemed friendly. Still, he backed his way out of the clearing and then walked quickly back to the rolling field. There was noise from the woods as his audience appeared to follow at a distance. Maybe it was unusual for people to be wandering this part of the island. Or they may be trained to be friendly to humans - that made sense, given what Circe had said.
It was such a beautiful day that he almost forgot about the distant entourage as he continued. The fields continued up to rough hills that rose quickly to become some tree-covered mountains. Although this was an island, it appeared to have a surprising range of terrains. There were also a lot of animals around. He spotted small herds of cattle and sheep grazing in clumps, and some miniature donkeys that were staying near the edge of the woods. Some movement on the rugged slopes ahead drew his attention to what were probably some mountain goats.
John blinked, suddenly aware that he was seeing a lot better than he had in a long time. He reached up automatically to check for the reading glasses that he sometimes forgot to take off, but they were not there. Anyway, it was his distance vision that was so sharp. Though.. he squatted down and plucked a blade of the lush grass. The fine ridges of the tiny leaf were clear, as were the whirls of his fingerprints. He grinned as he stood - whatever the cause, he liked this. Now that he was thinking about it, all of his senses seemed sharper - he could hear distant animals, the breeze through trees, buzzing insects. And his nose was detecting a lot of scents - earth, pine, flowers, animals, his own sweat. Even that was oddly sweet in his nostrils. He glanced down at himself, then stared with growing wonder.
While he had been fairly decent physically as a young man, age and office work had gradually given John a typical sag and paunch, along with body hair and various scars and blemishes. What he saw now was the smooth, firm body of an athlete - not bulging with muscle - instead, it was like looking at a professional swimmer or runner. Spotting a pond, he ran over and examined his reflection. The young man gaping back had a familiar face - the one from college yearbook photos - though even that was somehow better defined, eyes brighter blue and teeth straighter and whiter. More obviously, there was also a full head of hair with none of the stubble that usually covered his cheeks by late in the day. He stripped quickly, running his hands over his skin in order to find some evidence that this was some kind of hallucination or illusion.
Everything felt real, including a miraculously regrown foreskin over a much more substantial penis. He was still John, just a vastly improved version. Maybe early twenties, perfectly toned and with no visible flaws. He could be a model or an actor, or the most popular boy on campus at any university in the world. Movement off to the side caught his attention, and he saw some of the animals had come closer. As he looked around, and then recalled the ones he had seen before, John realized that all of them were equivalents to his human form. Bear, deer, donkey, sheep - whatever animal it might be, each was a perfect version.
He laughed, feeling giddy. Energy flowed through his muscles, and he spun and ran suddenly just for the joy of running. Some of the animals ran with him, fueling the carefree, dreamlike sense. When he finally returned to the pond for another look, more changes had taken place. His hair had grown out, wild and tangled, and he looked unwashed, skin tanned evenly under old stains of dirt. Yet the changes only made him more perfect - a natural, untamed human still bright and beautiful to behold. Even the dirt somehow looked right. The fact that he was naked did not even register.
John grinned at himself, then looked around. There had been other guests here, obviously. Why were there no other perfect humans around?