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Pure black waters lapped violently at the ship’s haul, splashing ice cold drops at you. The night was cold, icy wind clawing at your face. Everything was quiet. You were the only one on the deck. You couldn’t sleep, nausea taking over every few seconds, visions of dark figures in the ocean haunting you. Every time you close your eyes, shadow figures seem to jump at you, jolting you awake instantly. The deck was the only place that brought you comfort, sharp breeze providing a noise that calmed your mind, the smell of the ocean bringing your mind away from that dark place.
You missed solid ground, the warmth that comes with meadows and grass. You missed the spring flowers that bloomed under your feet. All you had on this ship was frightful, violent waves and sea sickness. It was drowning, not because you were en route in the sea, but because everything felt overwhelming. You felt drawn to the sea, yet drowned by it.
In the distance, out in the dark waters, a voice drifted, ever so soft you thought you imagined it.
“Come… come closer… I see you, pretty sailor…
Your heart of gold knows no qualms, eyes never hardened from the hardships of life….
Follow your soul so, as you set sail for the fairytale land…”
The voice sounded beautiful, like sunshine in the midst of storms and rain. It was almost hypnotising . You strained your eyes past fog and clouds, yet saw nothing. It was almost like you were dreaming. You ignore it, thinking back to all the horror stories you’ve heard about the ocean, the concerns your mother listed about hallucinations and visions. The fog was getting thicker, clouds getting darker, the moonlight was the sole light source in the dark. You decided to head back, turning away from the sea.
“Don’t leave, dear friend…
I can show you many things, pain and sorrow, happiness and joy
I can show you the wonders of life, of death
Just come back, dear one…”
The voice was back, sounding like the tinkle of bells. It was clearer now, sounding like a woman’s voice. How could a hallucination be so clear? This voice couldn’t be a mere dream. You looked closer into the wild waters, barely able to see past the heavy fog now. You spoke, “who are you? What do you want?” Inwardly, you laughed. Anyone who woke up and saw you would think you were schizophrenic, absolutely insane and off your rocker.
The voice stops for a while. As you were about to head back in, shaking your head in disbelief, the voice returned, humming an eerie melody. It felt like dreary hallways of dust and cobwebs, figures watching you from every angle. The darkness of the night seemed to shrink in on you, as if grabbing you as protection from the hauntingly angelic singing. Your heart sinks for some reason, head getting lighter as you move closer to the side to investigate. The singing felt like it was coming from all sides, attacking your ears with harps and bells. The boat rocked violently, lurching you forward until you grabbed smooth wood for support. Cold waves shot up to meet you as you leaned over the guard rail. With a face full of salt and water, you staggered backwards into the mast.
“Come now, sailor
Come with a kiss, some love for this soul
Meet me at the parlor
Before the clock strikes four,”
The voice sang. It was strange, how drawn you were to the sweet voice, pulling you from the depths of your nightmares into this mysterious trance. ‘The clock strikes four.’ You check your pocket watch. Half past three. Sighing to yourself, you look around the ship one last time. Abandoning all things holy, you jump into the freezing waters. The cold jabbed at you like sharp spears of ice, sending full-body shivers down your spine. You surface to take one last breath of air before swimming down towards the voice which was still humming smoothly. As a trained sailor, you knew how to make one breath last virtually forever.
Seaweed and kelp threatened to strangle you as you dove deeper into uncharted waters. The voice was louder now, as if splitting into multiple different harmonies. A sparkle of bright light from the corner of your eyes caught your attention. You whip your head around as fast as you could underwater to catch it, but nothing was there. Then, another bright flash. This time, you caught something swimming by. A deepsea fish? An undiscovered species?
You finally see it, a girl, no older than you, staring you down several meters away. Iridescent sapphire scales lined her tail, fins fading into a soft pink. Her long brown hair seemed to defy physics, floating gently around her head like a halo. A mermaid?
“So stay for the night
It’ll bury the crime
Tell me a lie
It’ll buy us some time”
The girl sang with that hypnotising voice, winking at you. No, a siren .
The siren sang lyrics like speech, harping songs like Shakespeare. She eyes you up and down as she swam circles around you, gaze curious or hungry, you couldn’t tell.
Your breath began to run out, signalling you time to go. As you looked up to prepare your ascent, you felt three more sharp gazes on you.
Gold scales caught your eye as a girl with pure white hair swam by, looking at you with curiosity. She looked beautiful, piercing blue eyes blinking at you impishly, yet you were almost certain it was a facade. The white-haired siren swam over to another girl, this time with shorter sea-green hair and a deep red tail, fins fading into the same green as her hair. Sunset eyes studied you with the attention of a scholar, you were almost sure she was doing some mental calculations in her head. The first siren finally smiled before swimming to the last girl, sitting quietly by a rock. She had jet black hair and dark green scales, shimmering despite the dark.
You felt like you were being judged by a panel, evaluated by some kind of secret criteria. It was enough to make you want to leave. As you prepared yet again to swim upwards, clawed hands grabbed your ankle. Gold scales flashed in front of you again as the siren yanked you down. Her blue eyes were wild, some kind of manic smile on her face. “Who are you?” you desperately asked as best as possible underwater. Her eyes seemed to light up.
“Why you pretty thing, whom I shall befriend
I am Kaeli, let’s play pretend
If a witch falls sight on you, curses she sings
Will you run, if it means you sink?”
Kaeli sings the words, as if trying to make conversation with you. You stutter, before shrugging your shoulders, trying to convey your cluelessness as best as you could. The siren laughs, before signalling to the others to come closer. They all looked either bored (the green and red) or borderline insane (the blue). As if reading your mind, the blue one spoke up.
“Humans speak, sirens sing
But have you heard our names?
I am Seibelle, so they say
The one who lures yet never takes
If you befall curse
Will your death, you rehearse?
For in rhymes we speak
But it let’s us earn our keep”
You look on in confusion. Are they telling you a story? Or perhaps their past, of witches and curses. They seem to sense your uncertainty, for the red one finally spoke.
“Your look of confusion is of genuinity
So let me tell you of our grave mistake
Of noble land we came,
Yet to ocean and sea we shall wake
Do you understand? You took the bait,
You fell for Seibelle who will only take.”
Seibelle giggled like it was a normal thing to say.
“Freya, you flatter me
Of flowers and noble indeed
Do you wish to return?
For I am made of greed
Don’t leave me, okay?
Or I may bleed”
You start to piece the words together. It all falls together. Sirens. Everyone was right. Panic hits you full force like a train, as you start swimming desperately for air. Why, why, why, why did you dive down in the first place?? Dark, murky waters seem to swallow every bit of light that enters the water. You try to surface blindly, yet you never seem to break through the surface. A hand reached out and grabbed your shoulder, spinning you around underwater. Bright purple eyes meet your own desperate ones. The siren in green cupped your face gently as she smiled, serene and calm.
“I never introduced myself, I am Azealia
If you know our names, it’s not stranger danger
Come play, Kaeli’s been waiting
If I don’t bring you back, she’ll have me by a dagger
But she knows I love that, would you too?
Or did you piece the bits together,
And found a clue?
Come dear, breathe , come back down with me
The surface’s so boring
But then again, we’re starving ”
That basically confirms your suspicions. You let out a noise fuelled by pure desperation as you kick her off and try to swim upwards, your breath slowly running out. Black began to eat at your vision, edges blurring more with each kick. Your muscles burn from exertion, but you see wavering moonlight. At last, you can run from this nightmare.
Something jerks you back into the sea, murky depths swallowing the light again. Familiar sea-green hair fills your vision, tears pricking your eyes as you register the four sirens again. Kaeli swam threatening circles around you, unable to keep still as Freya grabbed your wrists in an iron grip.
“You don’t understand do you?
You can’t leave
Not when Seibelle wants you
And so does Kaeli
We don’t give, only take
Especially when the world has also treated us this way”
Seibelle appeared out of nowhere and grabbed your calf, sinking her sharp claws into it. You involuntarily let out a gasp, taking in the salty water. Every nerve in your leg screamed in agony on your behalf, salt amplifying the pain by tenfold. You suck in a breath on instinct, sending water down your windpipe too. Water filled your lungs, burning you inside out. Yet all you could see was Seibelle’s smile, filled with pure sadistic pleasure and mania. Azealia grabbed you by the hair from behind— when did she get there—- before smiling at the evident pain on your face.
Your nerves felt like they were being set on fire, pain shooting through every part of your body. Kaeli had finally swam over to grab your arm, inspecting it as if it was something truly fascinating. You try to flail, but Freya only tightens her grip, her own sharp claws sinking into your wrists. Red ribbons of blood trailed around you, as if showing you the slow process of your own downfall. Azealia flashed you a smile of her sharp teeth before grabbing your jaw in a bruising grip and leaning in to kiss you. She bit down, hard, on your lips, leaving open wounds that only hurt more and more in the salty water.
Why, why, why, why did you jump in— they start clawing at your limbs—
Why, why, why did you follow the voice— you feel burning pain in your ankles, then your shoulder—
Why, why, why why is this happening— searing pain tore through your joints, something felt like it was ripped off—-
Why, why, why, why did you fall for it—- you distantly register seeing chunks of raw red floating by—-
Why, why, WHY, WHY DID YOU LISTEN????
“Don’t you understand?” Seibelle sang, appearing in the thin slit of your remaining vision.
“You fell hard and fast, as expected
I was the catalyst, you were the reaction
All that’s happening now is the consequence
Do you get it?
I breathe the sea
While you breathe desperation, love and greed.”
-
“Breaking news, human body parts were found on the beach as volunteers were picking trash. They have been confirmed on site by forensic scientists to be human, rather than animal parts. All body parts have been confirmed to be found apart from the head and heart. ”