Chapter 6
1479 Words
10 years later
"How are you feeling this morning?" Xander asked Aiosha.
"Steady. Not sure if that is a good answer but I don't feel sick like before." Aiosha replied while making breakfast.
Over the course of the years after Serender was born, Aiosha felt her essence leaving her. Her and Xander started reading more books regarding sirens and their offspring and found that the offspring starts absorbing the elder songs from their parents at around the age of 1.
It was like the knowledge was being transferred on waves of energy. Xander had hypothesized that because she inherited his genes, Serender was also endothermic. It didn't affect Xander much but Aiosha couldn't be in the same room with Serender for more than 30 minutes at a time without feeling faint.
On top of that, her body was not recovering the energy that Serender was absorbing.
"At the rate you are going, you may only have 9, maybe 10 years left." Xander said then looked down at his cup of coffee.
"That's enough time. I have been here longer than I would have liked to be. As long as I can spend that time with the ones I love then I'm okay with that." Aiosha turned and looked at Xander for reassurance.
He wasn't happy with her answer. He wanted to save her or die with her. "You are asking me to live without you? I can't say that I am okay with that. But I also know we can't leave Serender alone in this world."
"She is a super smart child but she doesn't seem to like or understand the actions of humans."
Serender's brain was developing fast. Faster than most sirens and exponentially faster than any human’s. She started walking in 3 months. She said her first words in 6 months. She started questioning why things existed by the time she was 3. Because of her, Xander had become a walking encyclopedia. Everything Serender touched, she required an explanation. They could see in Serender's eyes that she was storing and processing every detail.
By the time she turned 8, Xander was no longer able to provide clear answers to her inquiries. Aiosha spent the weekends purchasing books, Serender requested. Aiosha and Xander never had to look for or chase after Serender. They knew where she was at all times. She was in the library, sitting on a stool.
She read everything from Shakespeare to encyclopedias. She was currently reading through world history which prompted questions Xander and Aiosha weren't sure how to answer.
"If a country has the means to stop another country from exterminating an ethnic group in that country, why wouldn't they jump at the chance?" Serender walked in the kitchen holding a book almost larger than she was.
"Honey, come have a seat." Xander requested then explained his theory. "You should research what was going on in the other country's economy at that time." Xander added.
"Humans aren't very nice, Daddy" Serender looked down at the bowl of cereal Aiosha put in front of her.
"Why do you say that?" Aiosha asked Serender.
"Because they are constantly trying to create 'order' under veils of religion, hatred, money, and laws. Then when you question their veils you are labeled as an heretic. Which is just a way for them to kill you without having the backlash of the majority."
Aiosha was at a loss for words. Serender's thoughts were beyond her capacity to comprehend.
"Woah..That was deep honey. uhmmm. What if we changed gears for a moment and studied languages OR go to the beach and swim? '' Xander looked back and forth between Serender and Aiosha for approval.
"Maybe you are right. This is making me feel sad. " Serender looked down at her tiny hands then picked up her spoon and started eating.
"Maybe you will get to see Zsu and his family. Wouldn't you like that?" Aiosha smiled and said to Serender.
"Yes I would. I love Zsu! I wish he could walk on land with me but I understand." With the excitement of seeing her best friend, Zsu, Serender hurried to finish her breakfast. This was one of the times she acted like a 10 year old and that made Aiosha smile harder. They had a beautiful daughter with a big beautiful brain.
After Serender finished eating she threw her spoon down and ran for the dock. Xander followed after her. He wasn't worried about losing her in the sea though. He had designed a waterproof tracker that not only monitored her location but her vital signs. It could withstand water pressure up to 15 miles below sea level.
Since she was half siren there were abilities she did not have. She could not choose the color of her skin. Her skin was sun kissed like her father’s. She was a child of Africa. She did not develop wings but her eel-like tail was a direct copy of her mothers.visually only.
Xander wanted to make sure Serender had her freedom as a siren but he needed to keep his peace of mind as a human. He planned on sitting on the dock just in case she needed him.
Serender loved the darkest parts of the ocean. The fish were strange and sometimes lacked form, in comparison to the sun fish. All of her closest friends were down in the deep, they were moon fish.
When she got to the lowest point of the sea near the dock, she laid in it's curve. Unlike her mom, she had perfect night vision. She could sense the aquatic life around her. She sensed Zsu and his colony approaching. Zsu was about 3 ft in length. His body gave off a blue and purple glow. Serender loved rolling through his tentacles.The electricity tickled her.
Zsu would then grab her and place her on the top of his mushroom shaped head. He was like a big brother to her. While Serender loved getting shocked, it frustrated Zsu. He would constantly tell her to stop before she got hurt.
When Zsu and his colony was in Serender's eyesight she quickly swam to them. They all greeted her with the exception of Llpo. She was an elder jellyfish, who thought Serender had too much energy for her.
"Slow down Serender. You are pushing the younglings out of the colony parameter." Zsu yelled.
He didn't have a human voice. His voice came from small electric pulses sent through the water. Sirens could naturally speak to fish, dolphins and other sun fish. Moon fish were on a different level though. They communicated differently depending on the depth they lived at and were enemies of the siren.
While Aiosha looked like an eel, she was only shaped that way. She was technically just a long fish. Serender was in fact, half electric eel. Aiosha hypothesized that this happened because she was entangled with the jellyfish that saved her that day. He changed her genetic makeup. Serender could generate electricity from her body which allowed her to communicate easily with jellyfish and other electrogenic sea life. This also made her a predator. Most sirens were not born half predator which is why they stayed on land as much as possible. They were prey just like any other small fish or human in the sea.
As Serender laid on Zsu’s cap, she thought about how beautiful the darkness of the sea was.
“Zsu do you ever wonder why we exist?”
“Of course not, I know my purpose. I live to serve it. That is all.”
Serender didn’t like Zsu’s answer but he was an aquatic creature. He didn’t need to worry about politics, racism, war, or clothes.
As they descended to the depths of the sea, Serender wished she had one purpose. Deep down inside she felt an enormous pressure. A pressure that made her feel like she carried the load of her ancestors. She needed to complete their work, sing their song and then create her own.
That thought was weird. “Mom says that my song already exists. It can not be created.”
“What’s that?” Zsu asked Serender.
“How can I feel like I can create my own song, if the song already exists? I mean...I guess... I wouldn’t know if I created the song or if it already existed. What a conundrum.”
“You are a confusing siren. My mom says that sirens normally avoid the darkest parts of the sea but here you are. They also said you aren’t supposed to be half predator. Your form is abnormal. “ Zsu floated in one spot silently. “Well I guess that’s my fault.”
Serender turned on her stomach and hugged Zsu’s cap. “You saved me. That is all that matters. Whether you changed me or not is irrelevant.”
- Writer
