Mercy & Fire

26. Knocking on Death's Door

Adelia

The sound of my teeth chattering came in waves just like the water all around me, barely escaping the constraint of my locked muscles. Every now and then, I'd feel a deep chill shake my body with shivers. It reminded me of my first winter in Bermillia. I was naive of the cold winters that froze the ground every year, and I learned of them the hard way.

I was among the few children who still wore summer clothing fit for a warm summer, which was my saving grace in its own way. My clothing, or lack thereof, caught Mrs. Lucienda's attention one freezing evening.

She bent her knees and smiled at me warmly — almost enough to warm my frost bitten fingers. When she took me into the shop, the first thing I saw was Roselena sitting under the light of a candelabra across from her father. Her chin sat in her palm and a book was positioned in front of her.

She was a skinny child. Bony as if she hadn't been fed a proper diet, which I found to be quite the opposite as I lived with them.

"This is Roselena, my daughter, and my husband." She gestured to me after their introduction. "This is a new friend who will be staying with us."

The man lowered his eyeglasses and looked at my silent figure.

"You picked up a stray?" He asked as he pushed his eye glasses back up the bridge of his nose and looked up at Mrs. Lucienda.

Roselena had turned to look at me with these big, curious eyes of hers that looked almost otherworldly given how thin her face was. Now, I missed those big eyes she never seemed to grow into.

Having been on the water for an hour now, I was busy trying to distract myself with anything, especially since the majestic blue bird was mute. At times, I'd wonder whether I was in an odd dream and question if this was real.

But sure enough, he stood at the front of the boat, still as a stone.

Every now and then I could hear the melodious high notes floating in the air. Anytime they sounded close, my toes would curl, making my nails bite into the flattened cushion of my shoes.

Without a doubt, these creatures were sirens. I didn't know much about them other than their high likelihood of being vicious creatures.

From what I remembered of the lore so many travelers recounted, sirens were among the worst dark creatures to exist. But there was never anything conclusive about them in terms of why they were considered the worst. Perhaps, no one lived to tell the tale.

Personally, I didn't want to be given the opportunity to survive that scenario. I wanted to avoid it all together.

The temperature dropped from one moment to the next, increasing the chattering in my teeth. I hugged my arms closer to my body, shrinking into a vibrating ball of exhaustion, and wished this was all just a bad dream.

A thud on the bottom of the boat was followed by a rocking motion, and I felt a wave of hot and cold run from the center of my body to the very tips of my head, fingers, and toes. The pumping of my heart knocked against my chest as if it were a hand knocking on a door rapidly. Meanwhile, the blue creature ahead of me continued staring out at the dark abyss stoically.

"Do not be afraid, child. Keep your eyes ahead."

His voice surprised me. His beak never opened as if he were speaking physically, but his voice was clear and pronounced in my head.

"How can I not be afraid? I don't even know who you are." I could feel my ears begin to go numb with white noise as fear began to push me over the edge. "Oh God, this is a dream right? This has to be a dream. A bad, horrible, awful dream… Roselena and Jonas are going to call me crazy when I wake up."