Fantasy Shorts

~Mermaids~

"Here's the mermaid grove, folks. Keep your seatbelts tight, it's about to get bumpy!" Said the captain as Chirish stood and walked over to the edge.
"Shouldn't we cover our ears or get support to hold us onto the boat?" He said as the large boat rolled under a dark arch of stone and overgrown moss. The crew looked at him before bursting in laughter.
"My boy, for being a pro journalist about the merlife, you don't know?" The captain said, Chirish looking at him as the Captain shook his head.
"Sirens are the ones we fear, the ones all the way out here are much more...civilized. These are true merfolk. Sirens are just humans with fish tails." Said a man swiping a mop over the deck.
"Sirens often stay closer to the shores. Make sure they can catch you and all your kids. They'll eat anybody with any sense of love or desperation in their hearts." Said another crewman, holding a barrel of fried fish before throwing it over board to the abyss.
"Long story short, boy, the myth of the sirens who lurk men into the waters to drown are not the kind merfolk we know. They are desperate broken souls who were wronged by those who went to seas. Past lovers of pirates, sailors, or fishermen." The captain said as he turned to the light of the end of the grove, another barrel of fried fish being thrown overboard.
"They say, deep in the deep shores of Conalis, is a sea witch. Not a mermaid. Not a siren. A witch. This witch finds these desperate needy souls and grants them a wish. A single wish."
"That's how they get them." The captain continued as he shook his head. "For the wish will turn their broken needs to greed. She grants them 3 days to find their abroad lovers. 3 days with a tail that will ride them over shores. 3 days to find their lover and for their lover to find them." The captain shook his head. "But she needed something that would make them come back. Something more valuable than a trinket. Than a limb. Something you can't replace." He continued, Chirish staring at him in awe as sunlight rolls over them, the Captain staring into the sun. "The witch takes their voice. For 3 days. And if they don't find their lover and have their lover give them a true loves act, they will remain as sirens forever. With no voice. With no purpose."
The captain sighs, looking back to the boy.
"Sirens are Monsters. But those who are abroad are their Frankenstein. Sirens are lone, desperate loving souls, with an appetite for a heart. Merfolk ain't like that. You'll never see one on shore. At least, not for long." Captain said, his tone finishing the touch as Chirish looked back to the smaller and smaller grove.
"I've never...knew." He whispered, a man slapping his back with a laugh.
"It's merely a myth boy. Don't get too choked up on it." He said, Chirish looking at him before nodding.
"Alright."
"Plus, you have that wicked gift to understand them merfolk. So I'm sure you won't have to worry about the sirens after you." He smiled as Chirish sighed.
"Right. Well, where's the trouble you guys had?" Chirish asked, looking back to the captain as the Captains eyes glazed over.
"You'll know it, when you see it."