A Mermaid's Tale

I’m sitting on the rocks, braiding pearls into my black hair. The waves are getting rougher, with storm clouds darkening the sky. Closing my eyes, I focus on the birds chirping, making their way back to their nests to take cover on the small island hidden by the treacherous rocks. I listen to the waves and marine life under the water. There’s a ship headed straight for the storm, which will push it onto our rocks.

I’m not the only who has picked up on this. My sisters appear on the rocks, staring at the ship in the far distance. Some of them have such eager expressions, licking their lips in anticipation of man’s flesh.

I know man are our preferred food source, but I wasn’t a fan of how we killed the sailors by toying with them. Luring them with our song into the water, almost drowning them, only to let them escape to the surface, before dragging them to the bottom of the ocean, ripping their throats out with our sharp teeth.

I always try to make my prey’s death as quick, painless as possible. When the ships would sink, I would grab the sailors that are already dead or dying. If there were none, only then would I grab a sailor out of a boat. My sisters frowned at my tactics, and my lack of blood lust.

Humans and mermaids have been at war since humans learned to sail the seven seas. We were almost hunted to extinction. Sailors would capture us, sell us, use our scales as lockets for their women believing it had magical healing abilities, our silver tears to create an eternal life for when the fountain of youth might be discovered–no such fountain existed–nonetheless we are still hunted, used in freak shows, exploited, treated like pets. Some humans would experiment on us to see how long we could go without being in water or what fresh water would do to us. Hence the revenge and blood lust when a ship crashes onto our rocks. I believed that if we lived off of fish and let the sailors be, we would soon become a myth, a tall tale and left alone to live in peace.

“Can’t we let this ship go?” I asked Sienna, our clan leader.

“Not this again Wren.” She snared, baring her sharp teeth at me. “We haven’t had man flesh in months and you cost us the last three ships.”

I cowered in fear, knowing full well of what she can do when irritated. The scars on my body from her tail are enough to make me hold my tongue. I rubbed my fresh wound, remembering the sting of Sienna’s tail. I had started singing ahead of time, causing the ship to deviate, narrowly missing the rocks. The Capitan had heard stories of sirens and Deadman’s peak–our home. He somehow had woken his crew up in time, and they sailed away. So far, I have scared away three ships, but the weather had been good. Unfortunately, with this one, I could not scare it away. The clan was hungry and I would end up being the replacement meal.

I can always leave, which Sienna has reminded me, but to be a lone mermaid in the ocean is dangerous, from predators to other clans. At least with a clan I am safe, numbers are safe.

Wind, lightning and thunder crack, rumble blowing over the dark cold water, lighting up the sky. And there it is! In the distance, the ship’s sails illuminated by the lightning. Soon they’ll shipwreck and we will lure them in with our song. With each lightning strike, I can see the ship struggling against the enormous waves and gale force winds. Sailors are crying and screaming at each other, only for the wind to drown out their orders and pleas.

“Get ready!” Sienna shouted.

Sea-Lily lit a torch, making us all hiss at the brightness of the fire. We could hear the sailors call out “Land”. They hurriedly tried to get the sails to turn to catch the wind to the land. Fog rolls in as the cool and warm air mixed.

“This is going to be so exciting.” Star announced, rubbing her hands together.

For some sick reason, the fog made their blood lust higher because everything became scarier for the sailors. My sisters always stated the higher the adrenaline in man’s flesh, the sweeter the taste. I shuddered at that thought. The ship neared with the sailors shouting in confusion as Sea-Lily kept making the torch disappear and reappear. Sienna motioned for us to get in the water so that our onslaught could start taking place.

We would swim around the ship so that the sailor can see us and give chase, forgetting the rough waters and rocks until they hit them. Sighing, I dive off my rock into the dark water and swim up to the ship. The lightning above illuminated the belly of the ship. It wasn’t far off from the sharp rocks, ready to rip it open. Sienna started the song and everyone else chimed in. The sailors started calling out as my sisters surfaced, jumping around. Sienna came past me with a speed, flicking me with her tail. I quickly joined in singing and surfacing for fear of another swipe of her sharp finned tail.

The captain’s voice boomed over the wind and crashing of the waves trying to get his crew to listen, but our song proved too strong and the ship sailed into the rocks. The bow smashed with a thunderous cracking noise.

There was shouting to get to the lifeboats, to take supplies and start shooting at us. Sienna hissed. We disappeared and watched from the depths until the crew had loaded up into their boats. The storm was passing, but the fog grew thicker. Sea-Lily raced to the rocks again to light the torch. It would give the sailors hope, but then that hope would turn into fear and despair when we started attacking.

The captain again called out to his men to block their ears with anything that they could find and keep their eyes open for anything that moved in the water and kill it.

Their captain is too wise. Even though his words were harsh, I couldn’t help but be drawn to his deep voice. If he was a merman, we would consider him that of a royal. The royal clan lived in Atlantis. You had to be born an Atlantean in order to live there. Atlantean had the best life, the best food, the best of everything, not like the rest of us. They even looked different, pretty mermaids, if you please. No sharp teeth, no sharp fins, instead, they had smooth skin, smooth colorful tails. Basically, humans with a beautiful fish tails.

The splashing ores broke my trance. I focused again on the lifeboats paddling to the shore. Sienna signaled for us to start our onslaught. Biting down on my sharp teeth, I pushed myself forward, speeding through the water. I leapt over a boat, baring my teeth at the startled sailors.

They screamed in fear, grabbing their muskets and started shooting into the water. The rest of my sisters followed suit. Some of them swam underneath the boats, banging against making a sailor or two fall into the water.

When they surfaced, trying to climb back into the boats, crying out “Monsters!” My sisters yanked them down to the depths, making the other sailors cry out in fear. I again leapt out of the water when a tall man aimed his gun at me.

He had deep blue eyes that looked like the oceans on a sunny day. He paused for a second, mesmerized, just like I was. Shaking his head, he pulled the trigger. I hissed, swatting my tail, knocking a sailor into the water, and dove in after a bullet narrowly missed me.

Ellyn snatched the sailor that I had knocked off, ripping his throat out, sending his bloody body up to the surface. She preferred eating their wind pipes. I cringed at the bones crunching noise as she chewed on his windpipe. The men continued to shout and shoot at us. Soon, they would run out of gunpowder and bullets, then we can attack without getting shot.

The Captain continued to shout out orders, and Sienna soon took notice of his voice, just like I had. She licked her lips, eyes locking onto him. Sienna and Ellyn rammed the boat, flipping it over. The sailors fell into the water. The rest of my sisters rush to grab the sailors before they can reach the surface. Sienna charged for the Captain. I could not let her have him. I felt a need to protect him. He’s meant for something great. I can feel it in the waters. They speak to me to save him.

I raced past the stalking Sienna, grab the captain and swam away from the sea of blood and bodies. Sienna screams at me in rage, trying to race after me, but I am a faster swimmer and she gives up, letting me know that I will be hunted and killed for taking her royal meal away. I gasp but continue to swim with the captain in my arms, who is struggling against my iron clad grip.

Feeling him struggling less, I surface. He coughs spitting up water. Within a second, he pulls a knife out of his boot. I bare my teeth at him. He freezes. I glance back, hearing fewer sailors wailing and splashing as they are being slaughtered.

I have to get him to the other side of the island and onto the shore. I point to where I want to take him, then back to where his men are dying, showing him the slicing motion of the throat with my hand. As if understanding what I’m trying to say, he nods.

Knowing that he can’t stay under water like me and I will rip his arm off pulling him through the water, I place arms around my neck and take off, keeping his head above the water.

I take him to a cove. For now, he will have to stay here because Sienna will search for him and if she sees him on the shore, she’ll find a way to kill him. She doesn’t know about this cove. It’s my sanctuary where I come to hide from her and be alone.

He lets go of my shoulders, and I help him out of the water. He looks around, but begins shivering. Humans cannot survive these icy waters; he will catch his death if he does not get warm and dry.

I dive back into the water and race out of the cave-mouth to scavenge the waters for any supplies floating from the shipwreck. There is a fishing net caught on some planks. I hiss at the net, but I can use it to gather supplies for the captain. I fill the net up with a barrel of fresh water, a torn sail, some fruit, all the while keeping my eyes and ears open for any sign of danger.

Finally, when the net is heavy enough with supplies, I race back to the human. When I get back to the cove. He has taken his clothes off. I marvel at his naked chest and arms. My entrance startles him. He grabs for his pants to cover up his naked body. I haul the net up and he helps to pull it up onto the ledge.

He stares at in awe, unsure what to make of it. I pull myself up onto the ledge, making him move away quickly. I hiss but open the net, showing him what I have bought. He comes closer and slowly examines the barrel with fresh water. It’s unharmed. He opens it, using both his hands to drink. After his full, he looks at me with mixed emotions.

“Thank you.” He expressed in his deep voice.

I nodded, unsure what my true voice would sound like to human ears. Our song is different to our true voices, which are believed to be screeching noises to human ears. I have never spoken to a human before, but I can’t risk Sienna hearing my voice in the water and tracking me. So, I show him to put his finger in his ears. He does as I show. Taking a deep breath, I open my mouth.

“My name is Wren.”

I clamp my hand over my mouth as my voice echoes through the cave. It’s not a screech as per se, but it’s not that pleasant either. The captain gasps in dismay.

“You can speak?” he whispers in awe.

I shrug, unsure if I should try to speak again or not. I’m also unsure if Sienna will hear me speak while out water. He nods and yawns. All the adrenaline has left both of us feeling exhausted. I pull my seashell studded dagger out from my seaweed belt, putting it on the ledge, a sign of good faith that I will not harm him. He, too, does the same and I let out a sigh of relief. He takes the sail and shakes off the water and wraps it around himself. It’s not completely dry, but it’s better than his soaking wet clothes. I stay on the ledge, laying my head on my arms. He lays down too.

“Goodnight Wren.” He mumbles, closing his eyes.

The next few days, I hunt fish for us to eat, staying close to the cove, listening to the waters for any signs of Sienna and my clan. Just as I suspected, she searches the shore for any sign of life when she finds none; she moves onto the next island not too far off. Finally, she gave up stating that I had left these waters.

My voice became a little gentler the more I speak. I learned that the captain’s name was John Smith, and that he loves the ocean. He is a trader, a merchant of some sort. He pirated those that were pirates and poachers. We argued whether he was as bad as the pirates that he raided, capitalizing on their fortune or not. He stated he wasn’t wrong, that he didn’t poach or raid lands, that the stuff was going to be sold, regardless. After endless arguments on the topic, we just agreed to disagree.

I found myself becoming fond and captivated by John and all his tales of adventures, sailing the oceans, the lands he has set foot on. And those of all the strange people he has met on the lands. He was a true sailor; an adventure and I was falling in love with him by the minute.

Weeks passed with still no sign of Sienna. I would take John to shore by day for him to gather supplies while I hunted for fish and we would spend our nights in the cave. I was now used to the firelight and even tried cooked fish. John thought it was funny that I liked it. We shared our first kiss that night.

Often, we lazed about in the sun. I would lie on the beach in the water with John in the tree above me. We would talk for hours and kiss a lot. John never asked me to take him to a land with people. We were happy just like this.

But that dream came crashing down one day when we went back to the cove. Sienna and my clan ambushed us. They threw a net over us, trapping us.

“Please Sienna.” I plead, trying to keep John from sinking.

Sienna hissed, baring her teeth at me. My sisters hiss as well in disgust at the change in my voice. It sounded human now.

“Traitor!” Sienna screeched, John cringe covering his ears.

I pulled John closer to me. My sisters wailed at our interaction. Sienna jerked her head; They dragged us under water. John didn’t have time to take a breath. I push my lips to his to breathe air into his lungs.

Sienna screeched in rage, whipping me with her tail. I cried out in pain as blood spooled out around us as my silver tears mixed with the sea. Sienna’s fury rose as she started whipping John. Lifting my tail, I try shielding him as much as possible.

Thereupon my sisters seeing me defend my human, they begin feeling quilt and try to stop Sienna. She pushes them aside, threatening that they will meet the same fate as us. I feel myself getting weaker. John is suffering as we are being dragged deeper and deeper. His body won’t be able to handle the cold and pressure from these depths. He’ll die.

There is a horrid screech, we are dragged back to the surface with such speed that John cries out in pain. The net has been cut, freeing us. They dragged us to shore. Weak from the beatings and blood loss, I try calling out to John, but he does not answer me. My sisters say that he is dead, that I need to leave these waters. Crying out, I try reaching for John. I grasp his hand in mine. His body is pale, he’s barely breathing.

“I can make you like me.” I say in a hoarse voice.

“No sister! It’s forbidden. It will take your life.” Ellyn hisses.

“But he will live.” I protest, pulling myself closer to him, leaving a trail of blood.

“No, we live one life. I lived my best life with you.” He gargles.

“Then we shall leave together.” I croak.

Ellyn nods. My sisters lay their treasured items around us. Bidding farewell. The sun rises hot in the sky, holding hands, staring into each other’s eyes. We take our last breath. Our souls bound together on land and sea forever.