A Villager's Catch. (A short story)

🌹First Mark.🌹

Tang Shen didn't make it another day alive. Her organs and lungs couldn't take the illness, and neither could her heart. So, she passed on. How were the boys supposed to tell their father that his wife died while he was out on a voyage?  Leo was the one mostly terrified, was it the siren's curse that made his mother die? 

Of course it was the illness, but when Leo encountered that siren, did he add a curse onto his family?  They were all saddened and depressed, but this stuff happens. Death is a beautiful yet sad thing, at least their mother isn't suffering anymore. She's in a better place. But as Leo wouldn't dare leave his mother's room, his eyes staring intently down at the items his mother used to own before passing.

They lay on the bed, her flower hair piece her husband made for her. It was dead for far too long, but she still kept it. A pink flowing dress, with wrist ruffles. And her knife she kept with her at all times. When Leo was just a young boy, Tang Shen told him that the knife would one day be his. Who knew the day would come so soon?

His eyes were dull, no emotions on his face. Leo's mind wandered back to young memories of him and his mother along with his brothers, just being young boys who liked to mess around and get dirty. But his mind also wandered back to the siren, why was he so intriguing? Why did that one male siren he encountered spike his adrenaline?

Was it the rush of seeing a siren for the first time? Was it the way his eyes seemed to glow under the water? Leo couldn't even explain to himself why. For some reason, this siren made his heart thump and beat faster than any other person. Wait, was he gay? For some reason, this has only happened once with a girl.

A crush. Was Leo falling in love with this beast? Even thinking about the siren, made his cheeks a slight hue of pink. He was so confused, why was he like this? Leo wasn't supposed to be happy or blushing at a moment right now, his mother was dead for Ruler's sake! He sighed heavily, lying down and covering himself up with the covers.

They smelt of his mother, a sweet caramel and pine wood smoke smell. The calming kind of smell. The one smell that you'll always remember and know for the rest of your life. It's strange really, to have his mother dead and having his lungs filled with the fresh scent, but she wasn't even there.

On the other hand, the smell of the siren is another smell he could never release. A scent of muck, yet somehow, fresh due to the grass. He smelt like rain, another calming smell to Leo. The smell of rain before it even rains, is mostly what the creature smelt like. Why was Leo like this? Was he going nuts? Why was he so endeared by this monster?

You know, to him he wouldn't see this beast as a monster. For some terrible reason, he couldn't believe that this 'monster' was actually to him..Something beautiful and fascinating. His thoughts spiraled as he sat up in the bed. 'Don't do it, you don't need to go back there. He's just a siren, nothing special. You don't need to go back there.'

Leo thought to himself, sighing. He didn't listen to his thoughts, scrambling out of the bed and out the door. His brothers were probably down at Old Lady Chartreuse's cabin. She was one of the eldest people in the village, and like a grandmother to everybody. So, when the boys were younger, they used to help her out in the gardens.

And in return, she would take care of them whenever they needed. Back to Leo, he was rushing into the path, his feet already hurting from running in his boots. His lungs aching, heart beating fast. He finally made it to the lake. 'This damn fish is gonna be the death of me.' Leo admitted to himself, sitting down on the rock.

He then started to unlace his boots, tossing them with a thud onto the rocky ground. His socks were next, placing them with his boots. The boy wasn't even prepared, but he needed to see this siren to see if it all was true. But before he could even step into the water, a screech came from the depths of the trench.