"I stood on the deck with the cap'n
When I first heard the fell voice
Ululatin' and swellin'
As it sang us an alien verse
The captain took hold of the railin'
With sparks o' alarm in his eyes
Yelling, 'Crew, the lot o' ya see to the ship
Lest we lose 'er beneath the black tides!'"
At the base of a lonely lighthouse nestled by stones and cresting ocean waves, the soft sound of a young child singing twines through the chilly autumn air, the words lilting happily as they fought with the sound of the biting wind.
Playing at the edge of the bay by the icy water was a young boy with a shock of dark hair strolling alone on the surface of the rocks, arms outstretched as he hopped from rock to rock, strangely barefoot despite the cold air. He was singing an old song he's heard hundreds of times from his town, the bright sound of the lyrics clashing with its macabre warning of the dangerous creatures by their ocean-side home:
Sirens, the "devils of the sea", who exist solely to feast on the flesh of the unfortunate listener.
Everyone knew of the danger they posed, for these heartless creatures lure you in with their lovely song, intent in using their charms to draw you in and drown you. They were demons, so the people claimed, but little Amane Yuuichirou- barely seven now- didn't understand what was so evil about such pretty creatures; he liked fish- especially the shiny ones that only came in massive waves in the winter.
Now, he wandered aimlessly along the rocky shore, singing absently to the sea as the bright sun began to set and dark clouds started to roll in, hoping to play for a little longer before he was called back home to the small shack just behind his family's lighthouse before the storm hit.
"A shivery tingle crept up my spine
For the voice so strange and enthrallin'
Was joined by dozens o' others it seemed
All reachin' and burstin' and callin-"
His naive reverie was cut off when a sharp noise like a shriek shattered the air, the sound impossibly clear and sharper than the finest glass. Lowering his arms, he spun around curiously to find the source of the sound, tracking it when it split the air again.
Down by the sandy cove at the edge of the rocky path, another cry rattled the air as Yuuichirou made his way down to the lip of the tidepools, where one wrong step could lead him to his watery death if the tide was low enough. He cautiously approached the sound, wincing when icy sea spray from the water splashed him, and held an arm over his face as he stepped closer.
The wind started to pick up loudly as a fine rain started to prick his cheeks, and he heard the sound again- clearer this time- and stopped, for what he heard broke his heart: it sounded like someone crying, heart-wrenching sobs torn from the throat that made Yuuichirou want to cry too.
He hated when people cried because it made him sad too, but for some reason the sound was the most beautiful he ever heard, silvery and sweet as it curled into pitiful hiccups and tears.
Is someone hurt? He thought worriedly, pushing forward until he saw a dark figure stranded just on the lip of the rocks, their lower half obscured beneath the pounding water that the high tide harshly smashed into the sharp edges of the rocks.. "Hello?" he yelled over the wind, "Hello, can you hear me?"
