Mezmerising

Prolouge

My mother told me not to be ashamed of who I was, or what I did. She used to make what we were doing seem noble. It's funny, really, to think that something so awful could seem so true, so pure because of who was doing it. I know now that she was wrong. What we do isn't noble, or just. It makes us the epitome of evil in the human world, and that is absolutely correct.

The memory of her comforts me. Even though I know she was evil, I also realize that she was naive just like the rest of us. I still love her deeply. Because none of her deeds make her not my mother, and every child, deep down, loves their mother. It's impossible not to love someone who cared for you no matter what. But then she passed.Left me to handle this darkest part of me on my own. I know what we do is terrible. If it hadn't been for my mother, I wouldn't even know what happens. I wouldn't know the severity of our deeds.

I can just see her now, her perfect head of hair, a purple so dark that it was almost black, swaying gently above the waves, her fuschia and silver tail waving gracefully to keep her afloat. We would go close enough to see the shore, but not the people. Because I was a curious, and unaware little girl of only four, I swam closer to the shore. I can hear her voice shouting, "Mesmera, wait!" She hesitated, wishing not to near the shore for fear of what would happen. But she'd follow anyway, knowing that if I got too close, the evil that lie dormant in my veins would awaken. She pulled me farther from shore, but by that time she could see the humans. She froze. "Mama.." I whispered, terrified. I watched as her eyes turned darker than the depths of the sea. Her mouth opened, and the most wonderful melody would flow out. It was unlike any lullaby I'd ever heard. No human hears the seemingly innocent song and lives to tell the tale. Her "target," a young female, waded into the water, in some type of trance. She kept walking deeper until her feet couldn't reach the bottom yet didn't come up for air. My mother then swam towards her, faster than I'd thought possible. I started to follow, but stopped, fearful of my mother in this state.She then swam back to me, the limp human in tow.

"Mama?" I repeated. She slowly turned her head towards me, her dark eyes clouded by confusion, and something like regret. They closed, and my mother's head snapped back as if someone was stealing her breath. When she looked down at me, her eyes had gone back to their perfect, ocean blue, with golden flecks reflecting the sunlight.

"Mommy, what did you do?" I whimpered. Silver tears streamed down my face and into the water. My mother looked down at the body below her. "Not again," She whispered, so softly it was barely audible.

"Mesmera, I need you to go home. Wait for me there, and whatever you do, don't go near the shore." I had never heard my mother use that grave of a tone. Normally it would have frightened me, but I think that after what I had just witnessed her become, I couldn't feel anything but numb. In some way, I also had a new understanding of who I was doomed to become.

I raced back to our underwater cavern. I swam so fast that I felt like my tail was going to fall off by the time I laid down in my sea sponge bed. I called for my baby dolphin, Luna, to keep my company until mother came back. Our kind is taught to speak dolphin at a very young age. Luna's mother had been caught in a net and taken away not long after she was born. Mother and I found Luna swimming solemnly along the shore, calling endlessly for her mother. I don't know where Luna's mother was taken. She could have been returned to sea, but I doubt it. Maybe she was. But even if so, she never came looking for her child. After that, Luna came home with us, and has been my best friend ever since. Actually, she is my only friend. As I lay on my sponge bed, my little silver tail, a color unusual to our kind, was being knocked around by Luna. I usually wouldn't have let her do that so she knew something was wrong when I didn't protest. Without even asking what was the matter, Luna came on to my bed to distract me from my confused thoughts.

That evening, I was still waiting for my mother to return. I began to worry, and left the cave to look, despite what my mother had told me. I was looking for her when I stumbled upon a small but deep trench. In the bottom was the pale body of the female my mother had taken earlier, among so many others. I could tell that they weren't at all recent, that they had accumulated over a long time. I didn't even cry when I saw all those bodies. I don't know why, because it definitely brought me enough pain to see the damage my mother had done. Maybe I had already used up all of my tears. I saw a torn piece of net draping over the edge of the trench. I swim over to pick it up, and notice it was stained blood red.

I called luna over from where she was hesitating to come over. Eager to help, she swam up to me. I let out a couple of clicks and squeaks, asking her to smell it. Luna, as a dolphin, has a naturally sharp sense of smell, so I knew she would know if the blood on the net was my mother's. Luna clicked sadly.

"No! Mommy, you have to come home! You have to!" I cried out in desperation to the empty sea. The sun was down, but by the light of the pure white moon, I could see my silver tears swirling in the water around me.