The Siren's Call

I

It was a lousy funeral.

Few people showed up, and the old church was too small for those that did. Her father, of course, was not there. He'd be off drinking at some club, wasting his life away while his ex wife lay in a casket. Karis pushed down that icy feeling in her chest. The hole where her heart had been before her mother died six days ago.
Karis shifted uncomfortable as she and a few of her mother's 'highschool' and 'childhood' friends (or so they claimed) sang along to a song that had been popular in the eighties. Her mother hated the eighties. She's more of a seventies girl, Karis thought. Was, she corrected herself.
But there had been no one better to choose which songs were played on the out-of-tune guitar, so she sang along as well.
Nearly an hour later, after a few people Karis barely recognized from her early years in Southern California gave speeches about how beautiful and talented her mother was, and how she was too young to die, the church was slowly emptied. As the last person exited the church to go to the burial site, giving Karis a gentle touch on the shoulder, the church doors closed, and she finally had a moment alone.
Then the tears came. She had only cried once since her mother's death. Once. It was coming home from the hospital, when the hope of her mother's survival had finally disappeared without a trace. She had come home from highschool to find her mother collapsed. An overdose on her medicine. Once she was holding the phone in her hand, she realized she had no one to call. So she dialed 911 and the ambulance came soon after. The men asked her questions as sirens blared and everything went fuzzy. Were they related? Did they live together? How long had she been sick? Any other relatives they could contact? She thought of her father with hate at that one, and strangely, with some regret. Regret that he hadn't been the one to go.
"I know we never had...the best relationship," Karis said, looking at the body inside the open casket. Her mother's skin was pale, a shade of almost blue. Paler then even Karis's was. She wanted to reach out, to rest her hand on her cheek, to feel that familiar warmth again, to do something. To feel something. She rested a hand on her mother's heart, and it felt like her tears were burning her cheeks. Her heart wasn't beating anymore, and frankly Karis felt like her's wasn't either.
"I wasn't the best daughter," she whispered, trying to see through her mother's closed eyes. To see those beautiful blue ones that the both of them had. Icy blue. "You told me and you told me and you did your best," she blew her nose and sucked in a deep breath, "and I never listened. You told me to stay away from those kids. To work hard in school and be passionate about the things I loved because you never had the chance." She sniffled. And you never will.
"Mom, why'd you leave me? Why'd you overdose? You and I both know it wasn't on accident. No mom..." her stomach ached with pain, and her loss physically hurt every inch of her being. "Please mom, please...don't do this to me."

But she already had.

The weather wasn't clear, but it wasn't raining like it usually was. When Karis first moved to Washington the rain was the worst part. Back then she missed the sun more than anything. The California sun. Now it wasn't just the sun missing from her life.
"Mrs. lance, please, I just need more time alone." The woman driving the car to the burial glanced in her direction with a concerned look.
"Please... I'm almost eighteen, please, just give me some time to process all of this." The woman started to murmur something about "after the burial..." but Karis interrupted,
"I can't see my mother buried Mrs. Lance! I saw her die, isn't that enough?" Karis felt horrible about what she was about to do. She was going to do to this woman what her mother had done to her, but she had no choice.
"Momma!" Mrs. Lance's daughter screamed from the backseat of the car. She had offered to drive Karis even though she had a car and would've been just fine by herself.
"Okay," she began. "But you're staying with me until your father is....present, so go to my house afterward." The mention of her father sent icy chills down Karis's spine. "Where would you like me to-"
"The beach. I'm going to take a walk on the beach. That was my mom's favorite place." The last part was true at least. "Just stop here–I'll walk."
Mrs. Lance pulled the car to a stop. The the cold waters of the North Pacific Ocean could be seen from where the car was parked.
"Thank you," she whispered.

Karis stood on a high ledge above the ocean. The sea foam sprayed her and the wind made the dampness worse. She shivered despite herself. The empty hole in her chest spread to the rest of her, her stomach aching. When was the last time she ate? Two days ago? Three? She took a step forward. Then another. She felt like she was going to throw up, for so many reasons. She felt horrible about the few people who did care about her family, as they would lose four people. If, that is, you counted her father. She did. He had always been considered a loss in their small family of two parents, a daughter, an aunt who had passed away, and a grandmother who never spoke to them anymore. Anything would be better than living with her grandmother, all the way in London. Anything. Anything but her father.... and that's who it would come down to. She took another step forward and was inches away from a thirty foot drop to the endless, cold, waters below her. It's crazy how life changes so fast, she thought, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

And then she jumped.

...

Henri had been quite surprised when he saw the human girl jump. Most humans seemed to prefer cliff diving in warmer weather. It wasn't the actions of the beautiful black haired girl that confused him though. She hadn't dived the way he'd seen other humans, with their special positions to brace impact. She just....fell, her arms flailing and her legs taking most of the impact. Then he waited for her to come for air. He waited. And then he got anxious. What if something happened? Henri thought. What if she doesn't know how to swim? What if-oh. Oh. Yeah. Okay. Not in his ocean. And he jumped in after the girl.

...

Air, Karis's mouth opened when she tried to breathe but only got water instead. Is this really what you want? The water around her was growing darker and she didn't know which way was up and which was down anymore. Her eyes squinted to try and see with the salt water stinging them. Yes, She thought, remembering her mother's death. But as she struggled to find some sense in the current she thought about it more. No, her lungs struggled to cough out water when there was nothing but water. I want my life back, she realized. The darkness became stronger and she tried to swim up–whichever way that was–but Karis couldn't swim. Please! She screamed in her head, hoping someone could hear her. I don't want to die, I- her mouth disobeyed her and gasped for air and more water filled her lungs. Some light crossed into her vision and a figure held her and—

and the world of water slipped into blackness.

...

Henri dragged the girl to the beach, the currents bending to his will. He laid her on the sand and started doing CPR. He was glad no one else was on the beach, as a 911 call would not be in his favor. He continued to push on her chest, waiting to see if her eyes would open.
"Come on," he whispered. "If you die girl it will be on my conscience."
So he started doing mouth to mouth. He tried to put air in her lungs but he wasn't sure if it would work. He had got all the water out, but she remained still...

Until her eyes fluttered open.