The Sirens Gift

Chapter 8.

The next morning was overcast, only a slight breeze hit the coast line as I traversed down the beach back to the lighthouse. Something drew me there. Whatever pulled me to the lighthouse also filled the empty gap my heart seemed to have since the day I met the merman on the beach. Being in the presence of the lighthouse made me feel more whole than just being in the ocean near home.

For some reason, the bay which the lighthouse sat on felt closer to him than anywhere else. I’d sit beneath the alcoves where I had found the merman and replay the moment over and over in my head. Trying to remember if I’d actually dreamt the whole thing up while I dozed in the early morning sun that glistened down on the water that day.

Exactly a week from meeting Otis on the dock, I found myself once again at the Sirens lighthouse. It was overcast today, just like it had been the day I met the merman beneath the lighthouse. The wind whistled into the bay and the sound of seagulls calling overhead broke up the splashing of waves as they licked the shore.

I set my bag on the dock as I looked out onto the water, watching waves ripple in the distance and seagulls and pelicans dip down into the water to pick fish from the ocean.

I sat down at the end of the dock, letting my feet dangle into the water, kicking small ripples into the surface. I looked out over the bay and took in a deep breath of salty air before falling back onto the dock. I placed my wireless headphones in my ears, placed my hands behind my head, and stared up to the sky.

It was starting to get warmer outside. My favorite time to be in the ocean was fall and the very late parts of winter when the water was so cold that no other living soul was willing to even step foot into it. That part of the year was starting to come to an end. Soon vacationers would start flocking in, taking away the serenity that came with the lonely cold ocean.

As I dozed in the sun, the waves crashed against the shoreline beside me. I took in deep breaths, back to those breathing techniques I kept being told over and over by the therapist.

I felt something pelt me in the chest, it bounced off of me onto the dock, making a clicking noise as it bounced across.

Fucking seagulls…

But then another bounced across my chest and over my head. I twisted my neck to watch a wet sea pebble roll away from me as it settled on the dock. Then another hit me in quick succession, settling between my breasts as I watched it. I plucked it from my chest and pinched it between my fingers. It was a smooth, round, grey stone about the size of a pea. Then another hit me and bounced off again. I finally sat up and paused as I looked into the water.

Dark eyes met me, a face half submerged, only the bridge of his nose poking from the murky grey water.

“It’s you…” I started, pulling my headphones from my ears as I rose to sit at the end of the dock. He rose from the water, revealing his face, he had a curious look on his face, then, his cheeks dimpled with a bright smile as he watched me. His neck was missing the silver band. But his dark hair was plastered down to his head from the water. Strands sticking to his neck. “You’re okay…” I breathed a sigh of relief and hung my head. A lingering heaviness lifting from my chest “I… was worried about you…” he c****d his head to the side, his smile fading.

Then his face brightened again as his hands reached up to the dock. Thick, muscled arms pulled the upper half of his body from the water. Then he braced himself on one arm. His wrists were still covered in gold and silver bangles. But he had a long cord of wet jute strung over his chest down his side, tied neatly to a black pouch at his side. He reached his free hand into it and pulled something from the pouch. He pushed his hand at me and I grinned as he opened his hand.

“My knife…” I chuckled, seeing the small Swiss Army knife in his palm. He pressed his palm to me more and I finally took it from his hand. Water dripped from the knife and I wiped it on my pants before sticking it in my sweater pocket. “Thank you for bringing it back.”

His smile brightened even more. The dimples in his cheeks glistened as water dripped from his face.

“Are… you okay?” I asked. He placed his hand flat and shook it back and forth. I smiled and nodded. “I wish you could actually tell me.”

He rolled his eyes, his lips pulling into a quirky side smile, then used his hand to point to his other arm, then led it over his shoulder and onto his chest where he had been littered with cuts and scrapes. There was marred skin scarring over. Looking closer, it looked like the deeper ones had been stitched together with thin opaque twine.

“What about your tail?“ I asked. “It was sliced clean through…”

He nodded his head, then his back began to arch. The emerald green and sapphire blue tail slowly rose from the water behind him. The dark blue tail fin flipped over and he adjusted his body so his tail came closer to me.

I found myself reaching carefully forward before I paused and looked back down at his dark eyes. “May I?” he nodded, his smile never fading. He adjusted his tail more, practically placing his fin in my hand. My eyes searched for the spot on his fin which had been split at least 6 inches down. It was carefully stitched with thin, clear string that looked like fishing wire. The feeling of his fin was smooth. It felt like a soft silk sheet. The iridescent blue shimmered even under the overcast sky.

“Is that… fishing wire?” I asked, turning my eyes back to him. His grin was mischievous and cocky. I laughed. “Of course it is.”

He tilted his head, a low churring noise came over him as his eyes softened on me. He let his tail fall into the water, splashing as it hit.

“I’m really glad you’re okay…” I said softly, “I’ve been worried about you..”

He nodded his head. Then he held up one finger before reaching down to the little bag at his side. He dug for only a moment then pulled his hand back up. In his hand was a small length of braided cord. Tan jute strands mixed with one strand of white braided through it a small shell was beaded into the cord and each end was finished off with small knots.

“What’s… this?” I asked.

He held up his free hand and shook his wrist around, making the bangles on his wrist shake, making a clattering noise. Then he brought his hand down in a flat hand, put his fingertips to his mouth and pushed his hand forward and down.

“Oh… you’re welcome…” I smiled. “This is a bracelet? Right?”

He nodded and I smiled as I laid the cord over my leg, placed my right hand over it and pulled the cords up, carefully looping the end strands. Then to pull it tight, I nipped the end of one string with my teeth and pulled the cord with my other hand.

His smile widened as I shook my hand in a similar motion to him. “Thank you. I love it.”

He then signed “you’re welcome” to me.

“You’re lucky I work in a diner and have had deaf customers. Otherwise I wouldn’t know what you were saying.” His shoulders shook and a grunting noise came out as if he was laughing.

“My name is Adalaie by the way… everyone calls me Addy.”

He smiled and then his hand slowly started moving.

“Caspi… Caspia?” I asked. He shook his hand and started again.

“C-a-s-p-i-a-n.”

“Caspian… your name is Caspian?” He gave a relieved smile and nodded. Then he paused, his head swiveled quickly to a noise.

The undeniable sound of a trolling motor running through the water in the distance. He looked back up to me and quickly signed “goodbye”.

“Oh…” I said softly with a nod as he lowered his arm from the dock. “Will… Can I see you again…?”

His face was surprised, but then he smiled and nodded, signing “Yes”.

“I’ll be here at the same time tomorrow…”

He nodded and then signed “goodbye” to me again. I followed, making the same gesture as he sank into the water. I could only see a small hint of the iridescent tail before he moved deeper into the bay and disappeared beneath the murky water.

Within a few seconds, a familiar looking skiff emerged from the other side of the cape.