Ealandra the Siren

art by DollDivine.com

Ealandra the Siren

by Rebecca Fyfe

Captain Eric knew the dangers of the cove they were sailing near. Regardless, he had no choice but to set anchor in the cove. The ship had taken damage in the previous night's storm, and it was taking on water. They'd never make it to their destination if they didn't stop to make repairs.

It was a beautiful cove, lovely but deadly. The marine life in life the cove was plentiful, but he dared not allow any of his men to go out in the boats to fish, or even to explore the shore. If he let them leave the ship, they would die. They might die anyway.

The cove was deadly because she lived there, Ealandra. Ealandra had once been the most beautiful maiden in her village, or at least, that's what the stories told about her said. A young maiden of a mere sixteen years, she'd yet to marry. The story said that a young prince had seen her while his entourage had been passing through her village, and he'd immediately wanted her for his own.

Eleandra had refused him. Unable to accept the rejection, the prince had sought out a powerful sorcerer. He'd paid the sorcerer for a potion to make her fall want him. But all magic comes with a price, and the potion had done more than make want him. It had made her want all men, with a hunger that would never be sated.

The prince had snuck the potion into her drink, and she had instantly been transformed. Seeing the changes that had come across her, as she lay unconscious, her father had known that the only way to save her was to take her to the sea. He'd left her beside the shore, and never trusting the results of magic gone awry, he left her there. When the prince asked him where his daughter was, he told the prince where he would find her, but, suspecting who had been the cause of his daughter's curse, he told nothing else about her transformation.

Ealandra had awakened alone on the sands beside the sea and crawled into the water. Only in the water did she feel well again. It wasn't long after she awakened that the prince had arrived, searching for her, wanting to take advantage of the fair maiden's need for him which he knew would happen due to the potion he had given her.

When he saw Ealandra, he fell speechless. Her beauty had somehow grown even more profound with the effects of the potion; it was an alien loveliness though. Her eyes were large and black, slightly large for her face. Her fair hair had grown almost black but for the slight shades of violet threaded through it, and her skin was as pale as porcelain. Only after taking in her enchanting features did he notice the new tail she now sported instead of legs.

The tale was that of a giant fish or a beast of some sort, and it made him take a step back from her, feeling the first threads of fear. But then she started singing. Lightning shot through her and around her as she sang, and the song called to him.

The story was told that Ealandra's hunger for the prince was so intense that she feasted on his flesh and left nothing but his bones for the fishes.

And every time Captain Eric had to stop in this cove, Ealandra's chosen home, she sang one of his men, sometimes more, to his death. Captain Eric stuffed some cotton in his ears and started working on the repairs. His men knew the story too. If they were smart, they'd stuff their ears with cotton too. If they were fortunate, it would block out Eleandra's enchanting song.

Drowning Mermaids

art by Robert Fyfe

Drowning Mermaids
by Rebecca Fyfe

It was time for the children to come out of the pool. They'd been playing and splashing in the pool, wearing floating devices for their safety, with all of us parents watching them carefully. We made sure they were safe.

But now it was the parents' turn to swim. Everyone made sure their kids came out of the pool and went off to play. I pulled my daughter out of the pool too. She was only three years old and she didn't know how to swim. The whole time she played in the pool, I made sure that she kept the inflatable ring around her waist and remained in the shallow end, and I didn't take my eyes off of her even once. Now, I set her on her feet outside the pool.

Becca pleaded with me, using her big, sad eyes to soften me towards her cause. "P'ease," she asked, "let me 'tay in de wadder!

I stayed firm with her, but she continued to make her plea. She told me she would keep her ring on and she would just sit on the steps in the shallow end. She wouldn't go any further. She promised.

And I gave in. I never should have given in.

Her father was lying on a lounge chair near the pool, enjoying the sun. He assured me he would keep an eye on her. So I agreed.

I joined my friends at the other end of the pool. I missed swimming. Swimming had always been natural for me, although I preferred the salty ocean water to chlorinated pool water. I chatted with my friends and let myself get lost in the feeling of floating as I remained under water for long minutes at a time.

I still blame myself. I should have been the one to keep an eye on her. Or I should have told her "no." If I had, it never would have happened.

I had just finished swimming to the bottom of the deep end and back up again, my face just breaking the surface of the pool water when I heard my friend Janice scream. I immediately turned towards Becca's location, my heart beating so fast I felt as if it was going to burst from my chest.

She was no longer on the steps, but within seconds, my searching brought me to her location. The tips of her pudgy little fingers were just breaking the surface of the water. She wasn't tall enough to come up for air. She was just standing there, helpless.

"She's drowning!" Donald, Janice's husband, yelled and we all started swimming towards her as fast as we were able. I was much faster than any of the others. I'd always been a fast swimmer.

But I was too late.

After that day, I left my husband. His eyes accused me every time they were turned my way. This life had ended, and I had no choice but to leave everything behind.

Everything but her.

He hadn't known, before that day. No one did. No one knew what I was. No one had any idea where I really came from. I had settled into that life so easily. I loved my husband passionately. He's the reason I left my previous life. But I never confessed to him where I was from. He didn't know.

What happened to Becca changed everything. When she emerged from the water, moments before I reached her, with her beautiful scales reflecting multi-faceted colors from the sunlight, when she realized that she could swim with ease and even breathe under water, I knew we couldn't stay.

So she and I have returned to the sea now. She misses her dad, but he would never be able to survive in the ocean, and I can't risk us living above ground. If the human world found out about us, neither of us would be safe. None of merkind would be.

She loves her grandparents though, and that's the one good thing that has come from this. Well, that and the fact that I'm back in the ocean again. I hadn't realized, until I returned, how much I missed it. This might not be ideal, but we're happy.