The Siren's Last Song

The Composer

After almost getting caught yesterday, I stayed underwater all throughout the daytime. After nightfall came and the others slept, I felt like singing, my heart was telling me to. I made my journey and began my song. I was singing for about an hour, when I suddenly heard the sounds of water slapping. I stopped my singing and turned to see a faint light on the water. It was a lantern, as they call it. I dipped into the water with only my face exposed, hiding behind the large rock. I then hear a man's voice say "Hello? Who's there?" I peaked around the rock to see a man by himself in a small boat. It was him. Why was he here? Did he follow me? So many questions ran through my mind, rendering me unable to make a sound or move. "Please, don't stop singing." he said, "Your voice, it's so beautiful." I could hear him getting closer to the rock. As I was preparing to dip underneath the water, his face met mine. Our eyes locked, all he got out was "Wow." before I submerged myself.

When I was back home, I couldn't stop thinking about his face. I didn't know a man could look so rugged and so soft at the same time. His eyes were gentle, a mixture of brown and green, they twinkled with wonder. Siren males had very sharp features, they were warriors who protected and guarded. There was no softness to their features. But this man, this human man, has me intrigued. I couldn't stop thinking about what he said to me. He wanted me to keep singing. He followed my song and did not become stricken without self-will. What did this mean? Did this mean something? How could I find out?

The next morning, there was a stir in the Sirens. The humans were fishing off the island. We were warned of the hooks and nets that could catch or harm us. Almost everyone decided to swim out for the day to the other side of the island's waters to avoid any chances of accidents. I went to the side of the island where no man or Siren was. The clouds filled the sky, which was fortunate for me to stay hidden better. As I sat on the beach on the waterline, to stay in siren form, I listened to the birds and faint voices of the men talking among each other. I must have fallen asleep. I woke up to rustling noises in the shrubs. I flipped onto my stomach and backed into the water. I pushed myself back behind a rock halfway in the water near the shore. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice say, "Please, don't be afraid, I just want to talk to you." He continued speaking in a calm tone, "I won't harm you, I just want to see you, please." There was something in his tone that made me want to trust him, I peeked around the rock and we locked eyes.

"Wow," he started, "You are gorgeous." I looked into his eyes and quietly asked "What do you want from me?" His eyes lit up hearing me speak back to him. "So you can speak English" he stated. "Yes." I replied. I asked him again what he wanted. He looked at me sweetly and said "I've been looking everywhere for you, my name is Ziggy, but everyone calls me Z." I gave him a confused look, to which he smiled. "Your song, I've been searching for it for a long time" he told me, "It's why we're here." I could not believe what I was hearing. No one has heard of a human not going mad after hearing a Siren's song. Even Halvor was rumored to act strangely during his relationship with Athenia. I always believed it was the song, as so did the others. The silence was broken when he called me over, "Can you please come closer? I want to see you." I went up to the side of the rock so he could see my face. He stared at me intensely, as if I were made of precious jewels. "Can I please know your name?" he asked. I looked at him for a moment before quietly saying "Aika." and before he could utter another sound, I submerged underwater.

I stayed away from the island for a few days after that. I was pushing my limits way too far. How could I be so foolish? Why would I let him know I speak his language? I was struggling with my morals. Cora kept trying to cheer me up and keep us entertained while the humans were lingering on our land. She noticed I had been distracted and suggested I should go rest. I couldn't rest. I felt like I had to go back, like I had to see him. 'Z' I thought to myself, not only was he unusual, but so was his name. I was captivated. Could I trust this human to know more? Or will history repeat itself again for the worse?

The night came, and I decided I needed to find out what this feeling was. No one in my colony would understand, I would be shunned for even speaking to a human. This was on me to find out, at my own risk, and the risk of my species. I made a promise to myself I would not divulge others' whereabouts, tell him I swam hundreds of miles from home to here. No one could find out about the others, and hopefully, no one but Z would know about my existence. I swam to the spot I last saw him at on the beach. He was already there, holding his leather book, playing an instrument with a string. I knew that tune. It was my song.

I approached quietly, listening to the song play. I broke the sound by asking, "How do you know this?" he turned to me surprised and said "I told you, I've been looking for you." "You don't know me" I said. He looks at me and says "I didn't know it was you I was looking for, but I've been following your song for months on end." I was taken aback, I was unsure what to think of this. "My song does not make you hurt inside? You don't want to hurt yourself? " I asked hesitantly. He scrunched in his face in question, "Why would it do that?" I turned my head and said "That is what it does to humans. You are different from them." After a bit of silence, he asked me, "Can I see what you look like?" I stood quiet, I'm already way past pushing limits, what if he saw me as a monster and killed me? "I have to go now," I said. All I heard him say was "Wait!" before I swam off.

How was it this human was playing my song on an instrument? He would have had to have heard it hundreds of times to know it so well. I let a few hours go by before I returned to the spot I left him at. I did not see him there, but decided to test a theory. I started singing my song. The night had the slightest warm summer breeze, the only sound coming from the night insects chirping away. The moonlight reflected off the water, making it appear as though the water was also the sky. Suddenly, the shrubbery shifted apart and out he came. He walked straight to the water's edge, but kept walking into the water towards me. He was shoulder deep in the water and about 12 feet away from me. When he stopped there, I stopped my song. We stared into each other's eyes, taking in each other's features.