I heard her singing; I couldn’t make out the words. My
feet seemed to move towards the voice without consulting the rest of my body.
Had I not smelt the salty air and felt the sand under
my bare feet, I wouldn’t have thought I was near the sea. The waves were
awfully quiet.
There was a tinge of cold in the air but the melody
kept me warm, drawing me a path, pulling me forward.
I reached the edge of the water and placed my lantern
on the ground. There was something off about my reflection, like it wasn’t my
own. I bent down for closer look. A woman arose from beneath; an angel of
beauty from the deadly darkness below.
Her song played in my head as I watched her lips move,
forming words I’d never heard before.
She touched my face, captivating me even more. It was
strange but I yearned for her lips and yet there was something odd, she seemed
sad but her lips kept singing.
***
A new night,
a new victim; that’s the curse of a mermaid, especially a young one. Our voices
ring and echo stronger than the older ones. I hated this, but I could not
escape.
I had to
hunt or I would become the hunted.
The night
was dark, almost starless. I wished no one would come. But alas, my prayers
were unanswered, as someone did come, a boy of no more than seventeen.
My song
seemed to have woken him up; he was barefoot, his hair dishevelled.
He was in a
daze, I could see it in his eyes, and yet he seemed to see my sadness.
Would he
forgive me when I pecked his lips and pulled him to his death beneath? Would he
forgive me when my sisters’ fangs devoured his flesh, leaving nothing but bones
and torn clothes? Would he forgive me, when my mother adds his skull to my
so-called trophy wall?
I don’t
think so. I know I wouldn’t if it were the other way around.
But that is
my curse, till I’m old enough to swim away and strong enough to suffer the
consequences.
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