My first encounter with a Sirena

"No hurting, do you hear me?" Mother's voice was full of command; it nesonated all over the playground in the backyard now filled with salty, murky water. Our house is as big as my parents' hearts, so that all 6 siblings, and a dozen more cousins, plus countless more kids from the neighborhood meet in the backyard to wait for the sea level to rise and cover the playground with water; now an instant swimming pool. We dove under and got a handful of muddy soil and shaped it into a ball. This is our weapon, our ammunition to hit our opponent. The main thought was to never get hit or else... "You're it!" Junior, my older brother ( who was born with mischief ), does not know how to play fair. He sets the rules and breaks them too. "My game, my rule!" he continued shouting, leaving our neighbors to abide so they could join the game. Well, not me. "I'm out!", I responded. At the age of six, my grandpa's teachings stuck to my head' "be fair; play fair and live in peace". Instead of joining in the fun, I hopped onto the moving giant bamboo sticks we call "dakit" made as a water transport which my grandpa proudly made for us kids to use. Already on the "dakit" were two of my female cousins, a male neighbor, and a teenage boy helper we have in the house. I hopped on to the middle part of the transport because of fear that the "dakit" might capsize and I was never comfortable with my swimming. "Hi, Manang! Hello Tata!" I waved and shouted to my elder sister and our youngest sibling who were on board a small "banka", another mode of transport for the sea, more like a canoe which my grandpa also proudly made. "Sshshhh, be quiet!" my elder sister responded. Sea creatures might devour you alive if you get noisy. Stay put and enjoy the ride!", she added. "Devour me alive?" now my mind is running wild; my heart leaped out of my chest; I was grasping for air. My siblings knew that I could not stay underwater for long because my imagination always got the better of me. I am fascinated by the tides, the smell of the ocean , the tiny creatures we normally see on the shore, but never was I fascinated underwater. To me, it is a curse! One time I imagined swimming yet struggling because my legs were pulled down by a cold-handed creature. I could not reach the surface of the water. I fought so hard to grasp for air, tried desperately to reach the surface, and shouted for help but nobody heard me. The water was so dark, you could only feel the ripples of cool water against your skin. Then I became helpless; decided to close my eyes and let the underwater element do what it needed to do, scare me and t*****e me... in my sleep! I was dreamimg! Thank God, I was only dreaming!