IT WAS A STORMY night.

The relentless sea continued to pursue the land in a moment of forbidden desire, claiming him for herself in her rage.  Cameron was tucked under the sheets, quivering like the trees outside our home. The storm had taken away the only source of light, leaving us in the darkness. Grandma had to rummage in the decks of the kitchen table to find herself a lonely candlestick. 

I sat beside Cameron with a sheet above my legs as I continued humming an unknown melody to him in an attempt to calm the child. It appeared to have worked- his breathing had eased down, and he was no longer trembling. 

“Are you feeling better?” I started. My voice seemed to get lost in the angry winds outside, crashing into and crushing everything in its path. The little hand clutching the sheets to his chest reached out to grab mine. I let him, and the warmth flowed from my hands to his own. 

Cameron nodded and smiled a little. “It is scary, but it is bearable when you two are with me.” The corners of my lips turned up gently, and a warm, subtle expression of joy graced my face. Suddenly, Grandma proclaimed, lighting up the match, “Aren’t you a sweet little thing? I hope you and your sister will remain this close even after I die!”

I sighed. “Grandma…” I warned.

The scent of burnt matches tip-toes around me until I inhale it all. It’s a startlingly addictive smell, but Cameron wrinkled his nose when it reached him. Grandma clicked her tongue when the matchstick burned out. She slid the box and grabbed another one to strike. This time, it burns with a flame bright enough to light up the space between us.

Grandma brought it near the candle and held it until it lit up properly. She threw away the burnt stick to a corner. 

“Grandma!” I sneer. 

 “Alright. Alright. I won’t do that again.”

Cameron giggled. He sprang up suddenly. With glowing eyes, he shouted, and I winced, shushing him on instinct, which he ignored. “Hey, grandma!”

“Yes, pumpkin?”

“Tell me a story! It’s starting to get boring without the TV,” he whined. 

“Why don’t you ask your sister for a story, my dear?”

“Clara only knows boring tales of the land. I want adventurous and enticitating tales of the sea!”

“I think you mean enticing. And what’s wrong with the stories of the land, huh?” He put a finger on his lip and squinted his eyes at me. I squinted back. “Now, now, don’t start a fight.” She sat down on the floor with her legs crossed and pulled Cameron to her lap. She fixed his blanket and pressed her lips against his hair. 

“Which tale does my boy want to hear this time?”

Cameron pretended to ponder about it for a while and then gave up. “I don't know,” he started, “anything is fine.”

“Hmm…” Grandma stared out the window from where one could see the majestic sea easily but was hidden behind the drapes. Her eyes glinted with some kind of emotion before it was replaced by her signature smile. “How about the tale of sirens?”

“Sirens?” Our voices echoed in the room.Grandma raised a brow at my words. “How come you haven’t heard about it, Clara?”

“Because she only knows boring-” 

“Shush!”

“Now, now, calm down, you two. Let’s see…”

“It happened a long, long time ago when the world was still young and full of magic. Goddess Warena, with her beauty and power, had many admirers, but her heart belonged to only one - the mortal Ignis. Ignis was a young man who grew up in a small coastal village, his heart and soul intertwined with the rhythm of the sea. His eyes were said to be bluer than the ocean under the sun, his hair like strands of pure gold, and his skin kissed by the warmth of the winds and sunlight. He was a vision of beauty that surpassed even the demigod lovers of Warena. For the same reason, he was coveted by her on a full moon night. His heart and soul already belonged to the sea, so he denied her love politely. Angered, Warena cast a spell upon him that caused him to be entranced by her love. He forgot about the sea and of his love towards it for a moment, and that was when Warena had him for herself. 

Years passed by, and Warena’s spell left the man not ageing at all. He continued chasing after her love, but something about it didn’t feel right to Warena. Guilt it was, raw and bitter guilt, and it only grew with time when she realised her love for him would never be reciprocated without the influence of the spell. 

And it was proven right with every longing glance Ignis threw at the sea, hinting that the spell was also wearing off. That day, Warena made sure to set a rule for Ignis- do not near the sea at all, not by your gaze, not by your body.

One day, when Warena was not around, Ignis took a stroll along the seashore, not heeding her warning. His heart and his soul longed for the voice of the sea, the rushing winds and the relief it gave him. He wondered in his sober state, ‘How will I break free from this prison?’ When no answer came to him, he broke down. 

Hearing the anguished cries of the young mortal, a sea goddess arrived before him. ‘Forgive me for not hearing your pleas before. Would you like to escape from the goddess and her love?’

‘Yes. Please.’ he begged. 

With no further warning, Sea pulled him into her embrace and gently brought him inside her world where she kept him hidden for days. Warena, who got to know of this betrayal, was angered. ‘How dare he?’ he thought. ‘How could he?’ 

Furious, Warena attacked the court of the Sea goddess. It was a long and brutal fight that lasted for weeks and left doom in its wake. The sea goddess was weakened by the powerful assaults of the goddess of love, who was determined to take her lover back. But the Sea, witty and cunning, who had already seen this occurring, cast a spell on the man and converted him into a half-fish and a half-human being, a creature. He could breathe inside the water and stay outside as he wished, and nothing could stop him. Nothing but Warena. 

The sight of the man desperately fleeing from her grasp shattered her heart, and there seemed to be a haunting, otherworldly radiance surrounding him that painfully tugged at her heart. Warena, consumed by bitterness, longed for the man to experience the same anguish she felt, so she cast a curse upon him.

"Though you may be intertwined with the sea, you shall never truly feel at home here. Your heart will forever remain hollow, and you will wander the depths, yearning to reclaim your human form. I curse you, Ignis, and nothing will be able to break this curse, except for an act of genuine love."

“Woah. Another act of true love bullshit.” Cameron muttered,

We gasped. At the same time, Grandma turned her head away. “Language, Cameron!”

“But here’s a twist. The curse began acting up like how Warena had foretold, leaving Ignis in panic. His heart should be full now that he was free and was there where he belonged, yet his heart felt hollow. Ignis begged and begged and begged for Warena to free him from the curse, but Warena didn’t hear his pleas at all. Warena’s husband and the god of life, Aedeus, who pitied the mortal, decided to end his misery by offering him an alternative- replace your curse by passing it on to someone else who is heartbroken by love. 

Ignis took on this offer, thus disappointing the Sea, but he had made up his mind.  He passed his curse onto a fair maiden, heartbroken by the passing of her partner. Ignis was thus broken out from his curse, but nothing could fill his empty heart even after becoming a human. The same happened to the others who were pulled into the sea by his desperation. The vicious cycle continued and continued until someone messed it up and brought more people into it until the sea had more of those creatures. They lured the sailors and the humans lurking by the shore alone at night with their graceful voices and alluring appearance. And the sailors, frightened by these creatures, started naming it. But the one name that represented them the most was Siren.’

 THE FEELING OF water. The soul-numbing coldness that surrounds me. I feel it all. 

I am floating in a space unknown, being held by something unknown. The creature continues to invade my senses with its surprisingly sweet mouth that brushes against mine, and like a fool, I succumb to its spell. 

Break out of it, Clara. Snap out of it. 

'You don’t have to'.  A voice whispers in my mind. It is masculine yet soft, lulling me into its trap by its entrancing tone.  'Let yourself be in my possession, and I will guide you gently through this. '

And that breaks the spell. I open my eyes and clench them shut immediately when the water invades my skin. I, with an alarm, realise that I am still underwater. The creature pulls me closer and puts its mouth on mine again. Soft lips brushed against mine again, seducing me, coaxing me to fall into its spell. Then I bite it hard enough to draw blood, but all that does is let the water in through my nose. I push the creature away from me with all the force that I can muster, and it lets me go. 

I gasp upon reaching the surface. I brush the hair falling on my eyes away from my face and glance up at the sky. The moon is still bright, and the stars are still blinking. Good, I didn’t go missing, I hope. I start swimming to the shore, and it surprisingly takes less time for my legs to push me forward. I gasp and cough as I fall back on the shore. The harsh winds caressing my drenched self make me shudder violently. 

I sit back up straight and look towards the sea, wondering what just happened. Before I could ponder about it a bit more, the sea started glowing again. My heart thumps in my throat soloudlyd that I can hear it over the crashing tides and raging winds. 

Oh no. No. 

This cannot be happening again. 

The glowing stops, and the sea remains still for a moment before moving again. And then a figure pops out from the surface. Its golden hair glows under the moonlight. Blue glowing eyes meet mine in the darkness, and I am shivering again, this time in fear. 

It slowly swims forward like an actual human being, and I am surprised when it nears the shore, stands up to its height, and I see legs. 

What the fuck?

I clearly remember seeing a tail- a bluish tail covered in blue fins that resemble gems. 

The creature approaches me, and under the moon’s beam, I see sparkling fins on his chest that trail up and down his arms.  Even his bare legs had traces of it. It stops when it reaches right before my extended leg and casts a glance down. Then it crouches down, and I try to back away only to be held down by a strong hand gripping my ankle. 

Gruff hands trail up my leg,, inching up to my thigh and travelling down back to my ankle. I shudder again and swat away its hand. “Get away from me.” I sneer at it. It stares at me for a while with a look in its eyes that could pass for innocence, but then it morphs into a dangerous glint. My gaze travels down to his upper lip. The place where I bit before is bleeding. It notices my actions and smirks.

Bringing a hand up to his lip, it smudges the blood across his face. “Or what?” it drawls, the voice seductive and playful.

I glare at it before my gaze travels downwards, and I immediately look away.  I take off my jacket and throw it at him. “Have some fucking decency, you creature,” I say through gritted teeth. It looks amused but says nothing except that it looks down at the garment lying down on his lap. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I don’t know, cover yourself maybe?”

It stands up with the garment in his hand and covers itself. “I don’t understand why you humans bother with all this stuff.” I glance down at its leg when the words ‘you are a human too’  enter my mind. Of course, it isn’t one Clara. I remind myself. “What on earth are you and what were you trying to do with me?”

It tilts its head. The moon hides behind the dark cloud that invaded its space. The creature’s blue eyes glow in the darkness, a sight bright and foreign that its fascinating and haunting at the same time. “Oh dear mortal, you don’t know what I am?” It walks towards me and crouches by my hand. It lifts my face using its fingers and purrs, “What an amusing thing to say. But it doesn’t seem that you’re joking around.” It smirks.

“Listen to me carefully when I speak mortal because I ain’t repeating my words.”