Short Story Collection

Siren of the Forest

Words: 2469

She  danced  around  me  as  she  sang,  her  limbs  falling  gracefully  into  a  rhythmic  movement,  steady  and  slow.

"Come, little children, I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment."

I didn't understand what she was saying, all I knew was I couldn't look away. Her shrill voice filled my ears with gentle words and song. I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

"Come, little children, the time's come to play," she spun around me like a ballerina, starting with her hands in the air behind me and ending with them resting on my shoulders, our faces close together. I could see the sparkles in her green eyes.

"Here in my garden of magic," she hummed, smiling at me. She let go of me as she began the next part of her song, hopping up onto the ledge of the town's central fountain and spinning in circles along its edge.

"Ooooooh, ooooooh~" her voice was angelic. It was incredibly entrancing.

She hopped off the fountain ledge and started spinning around me again. She swirled around like a fallen leaf, her skirt swayed with her body and her deep red hair fell gently against her shoulders. She began to sway in the opposite direction I was standing, and I could do nothing but follow in her path. Follow her amazing singing.

"Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way. Through all the pain and the sorrows."

They called her The Singing Sorrow in my village. My mother warned me about her: a creature with siren-like methods of murder, who roams the streets at night and lures naughty children into the woods. Legend says she killed her own mother and blamed it on her father. He was hanged in the woods, on the biggest tree in the forest. I was told that she was an ugly beast, not a beautiful young girl.

"Ooooooh, ooooooh~" she sang as she guided me to the edge of the wood.

As her magnificent voice filled my ears, I felt myself getting sleepy. My eyes became heavy and my walking slowed. My vision became fuzzy and my eyes began watering. It seemed that time was passing faster than it should, and we reached the edge of the village in no time. I looked around as we entered the woods. It was thicker than I remembered, and when I managed to turn my head I could barely see the village outside. It was like the forest was swallowing me up, closing behind me like a trap door.

The girl was a bit of a way ahead of me, and it was only then that I noticed the other children. They stood between the trees, an equal distance apart, facing the same direction I was. It was strange. Shouldn't they be asleep in their homes? Wait, shouldn't I be as well? I caught up with the girl and we kept going.

"Ooooooh," her song continued. She turned around and faced me. My breath hitched at the sight of her face, only now seeing the whole thing despite her being so close to me before. There was no way this could be the ugly monster I was warned about. It was impossible, with this girl's cheeks and nose being littered with freckles, and her green eyes sparkling more than diamonds. Her hair was put into an interesting half-up, half-down braid, which fell over her shoulders. As she turned, her dress spun around her again, the deep purple making a big contrast against the pale skin of her legs. She walked towards me again and my breath hitched.

"Weep not poor children, for life is this way," she continued, grabbing my hands in hers and walking backwards with me. I went absolutely willingly. At this point I was certain I'd go anywhere she wanted me to. I stumbled along with her, wondering how she was avoiding tripping on all the roots and rocks.