Do not go lightly to the sirens of the sea, they will hold you tightly for an eternity and when you long to live again, you'll find you're bones worn paper thin.
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When i was a young girl, my mother would sit with me by the seaside and tell me stories. I would listen intently, trying to cling onto every word, so that not a single one would be lost in the volume of ocean's roar. I still remember feeling the cold spray against my feet and my mother's soft scent as she spoke of strange creatures that lurked beneath the murky waves. "My darling, never stray to near to the jagged rocks, for if you do, you might fall victim to their bewitching song." i swung my feet back and forth, watching the ripples from with my movements. "Jasper are you listening?" she asked me, pulled lightly on my small face so she could look into my golden eyes. "Yes mommy, don't go near the rocks." i whispered, leaning into the palm of her hand.
"That's my sweet girl. How about we go home sweetheart? It's getting late and sea monsters will be about soon." she said with a smile. She stood and began walking back towards our home. I cast one final glance to the sea, horrified when my gaze fell upon a female figure peaking out of the water. I gasped and stumble off of the fallen tree i had been sitting on. "Momma! Momma!" i called frantically. My bare feet slapped onto the sand as a ran to catch up with her. She looked at me with soft eyes, her white dress making her seem no more than misleading mist.
I ran up and grabbed her hand pulling her towards the waves and pointing. "Momma i saw one! I saw a siren!" i said jumping up and down. I looked back to the ocean, my face falling when i found that the strange figure was gone. My mother picked me up and held me closely, pulled my sand colored hair away from one side of my face. "Let's go home, jasper. Don't think about it too much, you'll forget about her in time." she whispered to me, her voice barely audible above the ocean's movements.
But i never did forget. Not once. Even when i grew to the tender age of fifteen, i still looked out of my seaside window to try my eyes against the violent waters. Sirens, i whispered. Beautiful but dangerous creatures that lured the sailors with their beautiful voices to their doom. As i got older my once crystal clear memory of the strange being turned ashen, so much so that i could scarcely recall her strange eyes, that once used to haunt my dreams. I found myself at the mature age of 18 a sailor, a fate my mother warned me to rebel against when i was a young child. Most of my crew fancied me to be a better than average crew mate, while others stuck with the ways of old, and believed it bad luck to have a female on board.
I grew familiar with the water that i so confidently sailed on, but i never forgot the warnings my mother had given me, or the stories she told about sirens and the fate of my father. Pulled beneath the waves by the bewitching melody that called to him and his crew members when i was baby. Their ship sailed straight into a cliffside and killed everyone aboard, save a young deck hand that had washed up on the shore 3 days after. When he came too, all he could speak of was the haunting voices that called to him from beneath the waves.
I found myself stuck in the ways of the past more than the current 21st century. My mother raised me on her own, urging me to embrace the sea, and more importantly, to fear it. She died when i was fifteen, leaving me to my own devices. I walked the deck, checking the riggs occasionally for complications. That's when i heard it. The ship jumped on the choppy waves and the moon broke free of the cloud line and spilled out onto the water. I rushed to the edge of the boat to get a better look. The song was of no kind i had ever heard before, send chills down my spine and settling them to pool in my stomach and solidify until it was as solid as a rock. I stared towards the rocks, expecting to see them wading at the bottom.
What i saw instead was a girl who stood on human legs, staring at the moon. Her skin held the completion of the sea within it, and seemed to glow under the moonlight. She moved a damp strand of solid blue colored hair away from her face and tucked it away behind her ear. I stared in amazement as her voice emptied out into the open air and bounced off the sea. Her voice was filled with such longing and sadness i could almost feel her pain. "Riens, are you seeing this?" i called, not taking my eyes off of the girl. When no reply came i glance behind and walked to the rutter. "Riens?" i shouted. I found him lying on the deck floor, unconscious, his face was pale and his lips were blue. I checked for a pulse, sighing in relief when i found it beating strongly in his wrist.
I returned my gaze to the rocks and was filled with excitement when i saw the girl was still there. Suddenly a new voice overshadowed hers, this one filled with an almost threatening shadow. I searched wildly on the horizon for the source, breaking into a cold sweat. My mind was filled with fuzz and i couldn't focus. Before i knew if i was flailing overboard, to the delighted hiss of the invisible creature. The girl on the rocks gasped and she heard my body hit the water with a loud splash. The water was so cold it made me teeth ache as i struggled to the surface for breath. Water filled my lungs and made me choke as i fought to break free.
The sound of sirens voice filled my water logged ears and begged me give not protest. I slowly gave up my fight and let my body stop thrashing so violently. Sharp nails and teeth dug into my ankles and legs and dragged me further below the waves. It was only then that i heard the song for what it truly was. The hypnotic melody gave way to the horrid sound of screeching and made my head want to explode from the assault. 'Mother, please forgive me,' i whispered internally. 'I didn't listen after you warned me time and time again. I should have stayed away from the sea.' my vision was slowly darkening as i gave up my fight fully. 'I'm going to die here.' i lamented to no one but myself.
Suddenly the weight on my feet was gone and i could feel my body being pulled upwards. I opened my eyes to the face of the girl on the rocks. Her sad blue eyes met mine as we broke the water's surface. My burning lungs greedily sucked in oxygen as soon as my face was above the waves. She dragged me slowly towards the beach, near the jagged rocks. When we were safely on shore the girl pounded frantically on my back, trying with all her might to expel the water from my lungs.
I vomited time and time again and my spine aches as she continued her pounding. Eventually i could not even force my pained lungs to take in air. She worked feverishly on my unresponsive body, pumping my chest and forcing air into my lungs until i started coughing. She sighed in relief and sat me upright so that i could breath properly.
"Don't worry," she whispered, pulling my hair away from my eyes. "I've got you, it's alright." i could not muster the strength to thank her, before i blacked out and found myself unable to return to my world of light, and more importantly my sea.