Siren's Birth (Short Story)

Siren's Birth

The boat sailed towards the deep sea, there was myself laying on the rock, my body in plain sight with my tail glistening.

 I smiled at the closest and youngest sailor making him fall head over heels in love with me, he climbed onto the railing of his ship before jumping into the deep ocean, I could read his thoughts, he was yelling for me to help them, just like all those fish used to, but I just laughed.

Luring each sailor to their death, just like they did to me 339 years ago...

I was just a mermaid at the time ... sirens didn't exist, but I had been onto land multiple times, for there I have a secret love, one who knows my true self.  But London around that time wasn't as accepting. They didn't understand my world. I thought I could trust him not to tell, I told him all  my secrets...

Maybe I should tell you what happened in a little more detail.

"Siren, come out of the sea, I need to see you my love" he said, I had fallen utterly in love with him since I saw him gutting the annoying fish that kept cluttering my home.

I smiled under the water and listened to his beautiful voice call out for me into the River Thames once more.

I lifted my head out of the water and swam towards him, my dark green tail floating behind me, in plain sight,  I had a little bit of seaweed covering my upper body to making me more decent, it was still unacceptable to leave the house like this normally on human's land, but the sea is different.

I lifted myself out of the water where he dressed me in a long dress that covered my whole tail and then picked me up carrying me through the busy streets of London when we arrived to his shop I was place on a rock outside the tanks filled with sea water and fish. The fish were kept alive in these tiny tanks till they were bought, gutted and cooked.

They kept calling helplessly out to me to help them; instead I just laughed and turned my back at the insignificant lives. These fish don't deserve my time, all they did was annoy me.

My love went inside his shop checking that no one was there before he lifted me inside and helped me dry off until I turned into a human.

My waist length golden hair got shorter and darker as to not let me stand out, my love helped twist it into a traditional hairstyle making me blend in with the other woman, the only difference being that I was beautiful compared to those brainless blob fish.

I smiled at my soon to be husband before embracing him and smelling all the strange smells that comes with humans.

He finally helped me slip on a pair of boots before leading outside passing the helpless fish that were soon to be off the boat*.

We wondered through London hand in hand as Men and women passed us glaring at our public display of affection, quickly letting go of my love's hand I walked slightly behind him. As we weren't married it was seen as a blasphemy to hold hands.

Soon we shall be married though, and I will live on land with him until he dies.

I frowned slightly remembering something, he will age and grow old and ugly whilst I stay young and beautiful, I shook my head ignoring the future, all that mattered was that my Love stayed loving me until his inevitable painful death.

We walked until we eventually came back to the Thames, he helped my onto his parked fishing boat before getting on himself, he sat me down beside the wheel that steers the boat and hugged me to his side as he maneuvered the boat along the Thames, passing woman teaching their little girls how to behave in public.

One  by one men started to follow the boat as if they were in a trance, they all abandoned their wives and children before following the boat, some jumping in the water and swimming behind us.

My love looked mad, he was overcome by the jealousy that came about from another man looking at me, he eventually got madder and madder,

In the end he looked at me and shouted

"Stop leading them towards you!" I stared straight into his eyes and tried to explain that I couldn't stop it.

Before the last word escaped my mouth I felt a shove on my chest and I was falling off the boat and into the water.

Seconds later my tail appeared and my hair got lighter and longer falling out of its hairstyle.

I popped my head out of the water looking at my love, he was still mad, he didn't care that I was now close to being exposed.

All I did was sit there and now I'm being punished

Now I was mad.

Then men started jumping into the water one by one.

The ones who could swim surrounded me, but Most couldn't swim and they started calling for help, I couldn't do anything.
The men were blocking my path

I watched as their life slipped away before my eyes.

I broke down, he was my life, he betrayed me and didn't trust me, I screamed and a woman came rushing out on hearing it, she then looked nervous running back into the house before running out again.

Flames concealed the house and started spreading to the house next to it.

Soon the town of my love was burning down.

I felt the sadness of everyone around as they watched their homes burn... and I loved it!

I will always hate man for leading my love into hating me, they will pay with their life, and i will not soften for any man. Ever again

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*'Off the boat' means to die, it is a Viking expression.

First chapter of the new version of 'Siren's birth'

~Lia