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I search the ocean’s depths: no sirens in sight, though their singing has become even louder now that I’m underwater.
I swim with Riden up to the ocean’s surface. A rope is thrown down. He gives me a parting glance as he grabs it and mouths two words.
Be safe.
I watch him until he disappears back over the ship’s edge. I won’t be able to go on until I know he’s safe. Then I dive back down.
The water has never been more beautiful. So clear and clean, untouched by humans. The light filters through the water, spots dancing on the sandy bottom. A school of fish with bright blue and red stripes swims by. A turtle sets its fins on a large rock resting on the ocean’s bottom. A young shark barely bigger than my arm meanders around.
I swim farther out to sea, then follow the shoreline around the island, following the singing. More and more critters surface. Crabs skitter sideways across the sand. A jellyfish flows with the waves moving toward the shore. Shells, both broken and whole, turn over the sand as they’re pushed toward the island.
But no sirens, not yet.
At first I’m perplexed by the lack of sentries, of people on lookout. Wouldn’t they wish to be alerted to any threats?
But then I realize, there is no threat to them when they’re under the water’s surface. Nothing can harm them. No man can survive under the water. What need have sirens to watch for approaching ships?
But my thoughts fall away as I focus on the singing.
Voices intertwine in melodies so complex, no mortal could write them down on paper. They pull me in as the tide does the water. Like calling to like. I have sung alone all my life. And always with a purpose. Singing was never something I did forenjoyment alone, especially when those around me feared I was enchanting them. Not my crew, of course, but my father’s men.
I follow the sound, savoring every note. But there is a chord missing. A place in the melody that needs to be filled. Before I consciously make the decision, my voice is filling the gap, throwing out a line of notes that fit perfectly with the voices of the others.
My muscles hum at the synchronization. The music grows louder as I approach, rounding a coral reef.
And there they are. Hundreds of them, but I can hardly process it until my throat lets out the last note, holding it, letting it fill the space around me.
Like a flame doused in water, the music cuts off. Heads turn in my direction, long, luscious hair swirling at the movement. Creamy brown. Sun-darted yellow. Inky black.
And then, in the center, one rises above the rest with hair the color of flame.
At last, you’ve come home,Mother says.
***
Were I above the water, I might find it strange that they wear no clothing. But it makes perfect sense down here. The water does not chill us. There is no harsh weather or extreme temperatures to be shielded from. There is no one to hide their nakedness from.
The older sirens, my mother included, have shells strung through their hair like beads. My mother, I notice, has the most. The mature sirens don’t have lines near their eyes or anyother indications of age, but there is something about them that marks them as older. Something that I can sense rather than see.
Siren children—I’d never even considered their existence before—stay near the ocean’s bottom. They skip through the sand, roll in it, reminding me of human children playing in mud puddles. One sees me and immediately swims for the siren I assume is her mother. They both have the same golden locks.
My mother is so different from when I beheld her on land. Where before she was sunken, weak, barely able to stand, now her muscles are toned, her skin smooth and unblemished. She is a creature of power and beauty that is unlike the rest. Their queen.
When she sees my eyes return to hers, she says,There was always a piece missing. We are complete now that you’re here to fill it.
She swims past the others, using both arms and legs to propel herself toward me. When she’s there, right in front of me, she extends her arms out to me.What took you so long? I missed you terribly.
I want to be wary of her. Of all of them. Sirens are beasts. They’re mindless monsters that care for nothing and no one but themselves.
But I can’t.
Not after what I felt while singing. There was always a place for me here. My mother left an opening in the song just for me, hoping—no, desperate—for me to come and fill it.
I don’t understand,I tell her.You left me. You abandoned me after I freed you. Why?
Her brows lift in a perfect arch.I had to get back to my sisters. I am their queen. They needed me. You were told to follow. Why did you not listen?
Because I couldn’t. I become something else when I am in the water. I’m not myself. I’ve only recently found a way to control it.
