A Series of Short Stories

Prayer to the Sea

A/N: listened to this song and felt inspired to write a short story based on it. I may or may not continue it into a longer story.

            The rhythmic lullaby of the crashing waves did little to soothe her nerves as Eula stared into the horizon. It was the second week that had passed since he was supposed to have returned to port. No news had come, and her anxiety grew with each day that passed, and with each day her stomach swelled more.

Eula had found out shortly after he left that she was pregnant with their first child. The village oracle had told her it would be a girl that was loved by the sea. She had decided to name her Haliantha, meaning sea blooming. She wanted her sea flower to know her father. She wanted her family all here together.

She stepped forward slowly, her bare feet being tickled by the sea foam as they entered the water. Her cream, muslin dress fluttered around her legs in the salty breeze coming off the waves. With a deep breath, she began to sing to the sea.

"Dear seas of old. I come with a prayer. Send your waves 'till dawn, and I'll meet you there."

Her voice rang out in the silent night, the full moon's light illuminating her figure like she was Aphrodite rising from the waves.

"You carry a man, who's lost and alone. I'll give you my life if you'll bring him home." Her hand gently cradled her swollen stomach. She stepped further into the ocean, the water coming to her shins now.

"A thousand nights, I'll sing to you. Till dawn I'll, stand on your shore. Sea wind carry my song to him and blow till he's lost no more."

The sounds of sand crunching underfoot pulled Eula's attention away from the waves for a moment. A couple was walking along in the sand a ways behind her, holding hands and laughing. Tears came to her eyes and flooded out from them. The salty droplets found a new home within the waves.

"Send him the sun, for again, she'll rise. Send him a cool wind. Wide-open your skies."

Her soft voice was carried over the waves by the strengthening shore winds. The couple had passed into the sunset, the jubilance of their love mocking her.

"Dear seas of old, carry safe, my love. But if death do befall him, guide him safely above." Her cheeks were painted black by the kohl running down her face, and her eyes were shot through with crimson veins.

"A thousand nights, I'll sing to you. 'Till dawn, I'll stand on your shore. Sea wind carry my song to him and blow till he's lost no more. Waves crash, and winds blow, I will wait. Sea, my love upon him, bestow. I will wait."

Her hymn to the sea carried out over the ocean and silenced the waves and gulls. All had fallen quiet as she finished her prayer.

With a heavy sigh, she turned her back and pulled her feet from the sand that trapped them. Slowly she began walking out from the water, her footsteps washed away with the rolling tide.

"Do you mean that?"

Startled, Eula stopped sharply, a hand going to cradle her stomach and one to cradle her now racing heart. The voice that had spoken was smooth like sea glass but held the strength of the sea beneath a storm.

"Yes. I do. I would wait forever for him. Even if he is gone, I will never abandon my love," Eula's voice trembled as her tears started once more.

"Then we will see it done," The voice spoke. "But you must uphold your promise. One thousand nights you will come to the shore and stand in the waves until the moon had reached it's highest point."

Eula turned around at this, her tired eyes widening upon the sight before her. The woman, who's head, and shoulders could be seen coming from the gently rolling waves, was beautiful yet strange.

Her hair was the color of freshly spilled blood and was entwined with shells, golden baubles, beads, and what looked like bones. Her pale skin was tinged in blues around her lips and hairline as if the skin there was constantly reflecting the ocean from below. What was most startling, however, was the being's eyes.

Large, almond-shaped eyes that were rimmed with kohl. The vibrant blue resembled sky at dawn and the pupils were wide yet rather slit like a cat's would be. The look that Eula saw in them was haunting and raised the hairs on her body. The effect was similar to how the air became electrified before a storm.

"Wha- Who are you?" Against the voice in her mind screaming at her to run, Eula stepped towards the mysterious creature. That was all it could be. This being was certainly not human.

"You may call me Nerice," the being very gently bowed its head. "I am a daughter of the sea and you carry within you the heart of the ocean."

"You are a nereid then?"

"Of sorts," Nerice held an amused smile upon her navy lips. "If you agree to come each night for the next thousand nights and sing to my sister's and I, we will see your wish done."

Eula felt hope swell in her heart, and as if to agree with her mother's feelings her little Haliantha kicked gently.

"Then I agree. I will come down each night and sing until the moon reaches its peak until my debt of one thousand nights is filled." Eula knew she had to do this. She needed her love here not only for herself but for their child. She would not be able to support them if he didn't come home and she couldn't bear the thought of marrying another.

"Should you not be able to finish your end, then the deal falls unto your child," Nerice said. "Bleed unto the ocean to seal our agreement."

Eula nodded and quickly searched the sand for a shell fragment sharp enough to cut skin. Eventually, she was able to find one. A fragment of an opalescent oyster shell that had a sharp edge and a natural hole at the joint.

She quickly sliced her palm and held it out over the, now oddly still, water. Three drops fell and turned the seafoam red. The deal was sealed.

"Look for him on the third sunrise after the new moon. He shall be home." With those final words, Nerice vanished into the once again rolling waves.

"Thank you," Eula's tears rolled down her cheeks. With both hands on her stomach, she fell to her knees in the sand and sobbed in joy.