Her Alluring Voice

The Ocean.

The pounding waves on the sun-gilded shores, the lullaby that puts children to sleep every night.

The crimson sun over the sparkling water, a halo that lights the sky every morning.

The never-ending sea-foam that tickles and teases the shore, reaching for what it can never have.

The moonlit tide, ever-changing beneath the starry sky it so faithfully reflects.

But the best part, what lies beneath.

Humans have traveled the surface of our waters for centuries, from the Vikings to modern-day tourists. They go out in their tall, white boats and they admire what it's like at the top. They can't survive what's underneath, so they content themselves with what's up above.

But, if they could come down, they would see all that lies beneath the shore. 

They would see us. 

And we don’t want that.

Soal was being pesky again. That little water sprite, I thought. She’s going to get into trouble.

But that was where the problem was, Soal never got in trouble. No one could ever catch her.

She and her little water sprite friends found it funny to nestle into my hair and tickle my neck. It failed to amuse me every time.

I swam away from them, but they stayed on me, grabbing onto my long hair for the ride. I could hear them squealing as I went, all excitement, no fear. 

I suddenly stopped and they went careening in front of me as my hair flew in front of my face.

“Ha!” I said to them, “that’ll teach you not to do that again.”

My attempt at intimidating them was not going well. First of all, I could hardly see them, they were so small. Second, they were giggling so much that they probably couldn’t hear me over each other.

I sighed. They’re impossible.

Suddenly, I heard the horn. “Oh no! I’ve got to get back.”

I turned around, whacking the sprites with my tail, and swam back to the cave as fast as I could.

The scattered anemones and clumps of seaweed were all a blur as I passed over them. I swam right through a school of bright yellow fish; they were hardly startled, they just moved to let me pass. They were probably used to people flying past them.

A whale waved at me with its wide, blubbery fins. I waved back, despite my hurry.

Eight small seahorses were dancing by a small, red octopus that was trying to push its way past them. I smiled at its failed attempts.

I finally reached the caves. They were set in a huge cliff that became an island where it broke the surface. The cliff face loomed when far away. But when you got close, you could see the sea-vines that clung to it. Purple flowers sprouted from them, spiky and majestic in their dark, magenta hue.

A tall merman was waiting for me at the entrance of one of the caves. “Kears, you’re on!” He pushed me into one of the caves that lined the cliff wall. I sighed. Merpeople never understood a siren’s need for personal space.

I fixed my hair as I went, braiding it down my back with my webbed hands. I dodged a school of fish as they crossed the hall right in front of me. I just barely missed running into a Krepari, one of her long and sharp tentacles nicking me in the arm. I grimaced, but it was nothing. The red blood that billowed in the water next to me wasn’t even enough to fill a seashell. I skimmed by two mermaids who argued over which one of them was the prettier one. I rolled my eyes. Mermaids. Ugh.

Finally, I made it. Deka was still on stage and I watched her from behind the closed curtains. Her back was to me, but I could hear her clearly, thanks to the echo of the cavern walls. The bubbles came out of her mouth as she sang, but they came in bursts of several small ones. I envied her ability to do that.

When she finished, it was clear that her mesmerizing song was over. The audience clapped and Deka bowed. She exited stage right.

I took a deep breath. My turn. I had been doing this for years, but that was no excuse for the jitters that infected me every time. I giggled, mostly to try to forget about the nervous swirling in my stomach.

Then, the voice of Orizdo. He presented me as he always does, “Please welcome to the stage, the beautiful Siren, Kearsika!”

I smiled as the seaweed curtains shuddered to life, then moved apart, revealing me to the crowd. I waved, the golden bangles on my arm jingling and reflecting the light of the underwater anemones that lit the cavern.

The crowd hushed and I began to sing. 

I wasn’t loud at first, just quiet enough that everyone would strain to listen. They hushed each other as my voice grew louder, the cavern walls echoing my sound back to me. The echo of my voice harmonizing with my song created a discordant melody that was sweet, but eerie at the same time. It was like a round, but with a one note difference instead of a one verse difference. 

The song was wordless, just one vowel being carried, but it was enough to entrance anyone.

I swam forward as the curtains closed behind me, and still, my voice carried. Then, it began. I was so used to it, I didn’t even realize it was happening until the crowd started murmuring.

I looked down. Yep. My pale blue skin was glowing faintly.

I flicked my purple tail, sending a hailstorm of colors over the audience. They crooned in delight.

Smiling, I sang louder, my voice echoing even more as the sound bounced back and forth more than once between the walls. It was as though I could see it. My voice was like a shimmer in the water above the heads of the audience.

My skin grew brighter.

All at once, I shut my mouth, stopping the melody coming from within me. The echo finished the song after me, and the audience seemed startled, as though they had just woken up from a quiet nap. My singing truly had the power to entrance its listeners. The audience didn’t have time to recover before I picked up my song again. I sang the last notes quietly, so that they wouldn’t echo, but I gave my voice a hint of sadness that I knew the audience would hear. I kept my eyes downcast, acting the role that I played so often.

It took a moment for the crowd to come to themselves, but when they realized I was done, they began to clap. I bowed low, my arm swept out in front of me dramatically. Orizdo had taught me that.

My skin was still glowing when I stepped off stage, just less shimmery. I had been the last act, so the audience would be getting ready to leave now.

I turned when I heard a slow clapping. “Very well done, my Starfish.” Orizdo stood there, his smug smile showing a hint of pride. It didn’t matter if I couldn’t really see it in his smile, it was there in his eyes.

“Hey, Orizdo.” I swam up to him and he kissed me. He exhaled bubbles into my mouth and I squealed, pulling away. “Orizdo!”

He grinned mischievously, the pride in his eyes still evident. “Oh, Starfish. You don’t like my kisses?”

I shook my head at him. “Orizdo, you’re impossible, you know that?”

“Yes, I did know that.” He grinned and put his arm around my shoulder. We swam out of the cavern, following one of the many tunnels that made up this concert hall.

Orizdo was unlike most merpeople. He was a half-breed, the child of a merman and a siren. He didn’t have the self-obsession of a mermaid or the alluring voice of a siren, but he was the best of both. He was a fast swimmer, like most merpeople, and his looks matched no other merman’s. He got that from his siren mother.

“So, where are we going today?”

Before I could answer him, a shadow passed overhead. I looked up and saw the unmistakable outline of a boat. 

“Ugh, they’re in our territory again.” I started swimming upward. Looking down at Orizdo, I asked, “Didn’t Edoa place the human-repelling hex on the island?”

Orizdo seemed pensive, then his expression quickly changed and the fear in his voice was clear as freshwater. “Kearsika! Watch out!”

I turned around . . . and swam straight into a net.

James looked at his companion. “I told you that we wouldn’t catch anything so near the island.”

Manny looked unconcerned as he rummaged through the cooler. “Just pop the net into the water.”

James sighed but complied. Eight time’s the charm! He turned to the net and pulled the lever that released it. Watching the net go, he tried to determine how long to let it sink. He pushed the lever and the rope halted, vibrating as it stopped.

He turned to find Manny sitting down with his feet propped up on the cooler, a beer in his hand. James stomped over to him and swiped the beer from out of his hands. Manny’s protest was interrupted by the trembling of the whole boat.

The two stumbled and the beer flew out of James’s hands. Manny faltered in his attempt to catch it.

James rushed to the side of the boat and looked down into the sea below. He couldn’t see much, but he could see the net moving! He grinned and began to crank the lever that pulled the net back up. Surprisingly, he was met with resistance. Grunting, he put more weight on the lever. He was strong enough to beat whatever was inside that net.

It took a long time and a lot of effort--with no help from Manny--but soon the net breached the surface. He pulled it up and turned the crank next to the lever, which spun the arm that held the net.

He dumped the haul on board and pulled the net open. Lying in the middle was something blue. Did we catch a small whale? He got closer to inspect it. It seemed to . . . shimmer.

James’s eyes went wide and he rubbed them to make sure he was seeing what he was really seeing. In the middle of the pile of still-squirming fish and floppy seaweed, was a blue woman.

No, not a woman. She had a purple tail . . . a mermaid?

Manny suddenly came up and kicked the non-moving figure. She grunted. She was alive!

James stopped Manny from kicking her again. She opened her eyes, fear evident in every inch of her body. 

James was oddly drawn to her deep green eyes. He came closer and closer until they overwhelmed him, and her salty smell was all he knew. Her eyes were no longer fearful. They were full of curiosity and longing.

Suddenly, her eyes disappeared and all James saw was the boat deck. He looked to his right to see her lying sprawled on the deck.

He looked at Manny, who had a large stick in hand. He held his beer in the other. “She was a-singin’ James. You di’na hear me ‘cause you on’y heard her song.”

James shook his head to clear the fogginess and the mermaid hissed. He stood up, realizing that he had come to his knees.

“What is she?” asked Manny. “A mermaid, ya reckon?”

At this, the woman-thing hissed again, showing her sharp teeth and baring her nails. Her blue hands were webbed.

“I don’t think that’s what she is,” ventured James. He approached her slowly. “I’m not going to hurt you. Please.” Her vicious look didn’t disappear.

She turned her green eyes onto Manny and a humming sound escaped from her throat. Mesmerized, James watched as Manny was drawn to her. He came so near, their noses were almost touching. James was unable to move, so entranced he was by her song.

Softly, the not-mermaid pressed her lips onto Manny’s. James was jolted from his trance by the grossness of the beautiful sea creature kissing greasy-haired and always half-drunk Manny. Manny didn’t seem to act as though there was anything amiss, happily obliging the creature in her kiss.

Suddenly, Manny started trying to pull away. His face was turning blue and water began to burble from his nose. He was choking, James realized. He was so shocked that all he could do was stand there. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware of the fact that she was still singing.

The not-mermaid pulled away and left Manny to struggle there. She glanced at James and cocked her head. The two stared at each other, one aghast and the other merely stoic. 

Abruptly, her song ended and she jumped back into the water, leaving only a brief flash of colors behind her.

James stared after her for a minute before turning back to Manny. His face was gray-blue and he was staring at nothing. James felt for his pulse, but he couldn’t find it. He was so dazed, he didn’t know how to react.

He rushed to the side of the boat and vomited into the water. There was that reaction.

What were people going to say? What was he going to do? They would think him crazy!

He wiped the bile from his mouth. Oh sh-

I swam back down to Orizdo and hugged him, nestling my head under his chin, right where I belong.

“Oh, my Starfish. I was so scared.” He hugged me tight.

I pulled away from him to look him in the eyes. “I can take care of myself, you know.”

Orizdo kissed me firmly on the mouth before pulling away to look me in the eyes. He pushed my hair from my eyes. “That doesn’t mean it won’t scare me when you get in trouble.” He sighed before his eyes went back to their normal state. 

I searched his eyes for a remnant of the concern. It was still there, but well hidden.

He kissed me again. “So, how many men were there?”

I smiled and brushed his hair off his forehead. His greenish hue contrasted nicely with his black hair. I smiled, thinking of something like that at this moment.

“There were only two.”

“How many did you drown?”

I sighed and looked down at Orizdo’s seashell necklace. I had given it to him not long ago. Fingering it, I said to him, “I only drowned one of them. He was so disgusting that I had to force myself to hold a lip-lock. But, no matter. He began to struggle soon enough.” I smiled a little.

“I’m proud of you, Starfish. And the other one?” Orizdo put his hand around mine. The necklace disappeared in both our hands.

“Well, I tried him first, but he broke free because the other one hit me with a stick.”

Suddenly, Orizdo was checking me all over for injuries. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m fine, Orizdo!”

He grimaced. “I just want to make sure, Kearsika.” He only called me that when it was serious.

I smiled warmly at him and placed my hand on his chest. “I’m fine, Orizdo. Seriously.” I blew a bubble at him and he smiled, but there was a shadow beneath it.

“Anyways. The other one looked like he would be much more pleasant to kiss, but I settled for one of them. I couldn’t drag him under, but it was still fun.”

Orizdo pulled on my arm. “Come on, that’s enough siren business for a day.”

I gave one last look at the ship above us before following him.

Copyright @ The Daily Fax

Fisherman Mysteriously Drowned On Boat Deck

Just last week, a seemingly abandoned boat was found in the middle of Keeper's Bay. Local fishermen found two men on the boat, one dead and the other half-crazed. The police were called in to assess the situation. They identified the dead body as Manny Stoone. James Wornan, the only other person on the boat, was brought into custody and interrogated by the police.

When he was being pushed into the back of the police car, he told the reporters at the scene: “I--I--I saw it! It was a--a mermaid! But no. It--it wasn’t. She--she killed him! Manny!” We got nothing more from him.

Policewoman Jessica Hayes said to the reporters: “I don’t know what to tell ya. It looks to be a homicide, I just don’t understand why he would bring the body back onto the boat. We’ll figure this out, we always do.”

A bystander said to the Daily Fax reporter: “I’ve no idea what’s happening, but it’s more than usually happens in Pennick Falls.”

One of the detectives found a purple scale caught in a part of the net and some blood that had dripped onto the deck. Both samples are going to be tested.

An inside source at the police station has confirmed that James Wornan will be sent to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, CO. We can only hope that his stay there will bring him clarity.

Written by Jenny Poddes