The water reflected off of her soft, pale skin as her tail restlessly swished against the gentle movement of the waves. Dancing in the calm tide, the coral pink scales glistened under the California sun. Delicate brunette waves flowed down to her waist as she swam deeper into the depths of the sea.
~~~

“Marina,” Dad whispers into curtain of chestnut hair, “wake up, sunshine.”
Her eyes fluttered open as she squinted through her heavy lids at her dad. Sunlight dripped onto her carpet as a warm salty breeze waltzed in.

“The sea life is calling, princess,” He quickly kissed her mess of hair; “I have to go to a meeting. Maybe today will be my lucky day.”

As soon as the front door closed, Marina rummaged through her drawers to find her new bandeau that she bought yesterday. The sun was beckoning her and the waves were calling her name. A few minutes later, she was ready to head out.
Each step on the white sand gave Marina a burning sensation. The cerulean waves cast themselves near the shore, shimmering like glitter. Surprisingly, it was nearly empty at the beach. Stepping onto the boardwalk, waves rolled under the creaks of the wooden planks. Coming to the end of the promenade, Marina settled herself on the end of it. The smell of seaweed and salt rushed into her nose and the sun was so bright. It almost made her dizzy, but she loved it. Considering, she has lived here all her life; Marina loved the ocean as much as her dad did. Ever since her mom died, her dad made a promise that he would find a mermaid. Her mother believed in them and used to tell these enchanting stories of the beautiful creatures. Marina still remembers the stories as she clutched a shell her mom gave her a week before she died, in her hand. The smooth curved surface spiraled to its middle. Fine beige lines striped the dull tiny gift. It was an ordinary shell to anyone but to Marina it was a little piece of the sea that came from her mother’s heart. Leaning back and propping her weight onto both fists, she dangled her feet and gazed into the sky. Her eyes that were as blue and deep as the ocean, according to her dad, sparkled underneath the sunlight. Sea gulls cried overhead, searching for food. Raising her head back, a happy sigh escaped Marina’s lips.

An hour seemed to pass by and Marina was still where she was. She could be here for the whole day if she wanted to. Peering down below her, the rippling ocean lapped at the rocks nearby. The waves shimmered and the sight was beautiful, but something was different. Staring deeper into the sea, the curious teen realized that there was a very shiny object, considering the strong gleam it gave off, underneath tranquil tides. Dropping the shell in her pocket and with a cautious hand, she extended her slender arm, reaching towards the waves. She tried to reach further without losing her grip, but failed. Before she knew it, the tides grabbed her.

The water pushed down on her from all sides. She struggled but the more she did, the more it dragged her deeper into the sea. Her lungs burned for air and even though there was no use of trying, Marina opened her mouth to scream. Cold, salty water found its way into her lungs. Marina’s body went limp; she had nothing left in her to fight anymore. She gave in to the darkness and let the water swallow her.
~~~

“She’s waking up,” squealed a hushed young female voice.
Was she dead? She didn’t think so if she could hear the high-pitched voice. Marina inhaled deep then stopped halfway. ‘Aren’t I in the ocean?’ Marina remembered, ‘I can’t breathe under water!’ She flicked her eyes open and held her breath.

“Come on,” beckoned the same voice, “Exhale, you can do it.” Followed by a playful giggle, Marina obeyed and nearly burst with joy. Turning her head slightly, she caught a glimpse of another girl around her age, which was fifteen years old. The ocean ran its fingers through the other girl’s hair as the sun brushed against the golden ribbons. Her tail gave off a brilliant shine like sea glass.

“The name is Nerissa,” she hinted, “You’re Marina, am I right?” Marina nodded her head slowly, speechless. She wasn’t sure if she remembered anything at all, as if she had amnesia. For some reason, she felt almost bare and uncovered. Glancing down, she was relieved her bandeau was still on and she noticed that Nerissa had a lilac one. Reaching against her collarbone, she felt a chain surround her neck. A shell hung from the chain. The smooth curved surface spiraled to its middle. Fine beige lines striped the dull tiny shell. Poking the delicate shell, it looked somewhat familiar. Marina peered further down and inhaled greatly, almost choking. Coral pink fins waved at her as she flipped it up and down. She tried to swim around and it wasn’t as hard as she thought. Effortlessly, Marina swam towards her new friend.

“Oh, I saved you with that shell.” Nerissa beamed a toothy smile. “It isn’t magic or anything but I don’t think it matters; you’re alive and that’s what matters the most! Now you’re one of us! ”

“Th-thank you,” Stammering, Marina gave a feeble smile, “if you don’t mind me asking, are you a mermaid..?

Nerissa’s silver eyes became intense and mysterious. “You’ll find out soon. For now, I want you to meet one of my other friends and we have a surprise for you.” Marina was curious to what the surprise was as the two glided through the waters.
~~~


“Well, here we are,” Nerissa cheerfully stated. It was awfully far from the beach and the area did not look so welcoming. Tunnels of rock surrounded this part of the ocean like a gateway. Cliffs and large rocks ran against the shore. The sky seemed to appear grey and dim but the water was the same dazzling indigo. Perched on top of one of the rocks was an older looking mermaid, or sea creature Marina wasn’t positive due to Nerissa’s odd response. Her tail was a pearly color, sunlight reflected off of her scales, an aurora of pinks and blues covered her bottom half. Waves of black hair flowed against the breeze, gently whipping at her ivory skin. As the two mermaids swam closer to the beauty, she grinned.

“Hello,” Her voice was sweet and alluring, “a pleasure to meet you.” Her golden eyes soften and glowed at the sight of Marina and Nerissa. “You must be Marina,” she continued, “I’m Arista.” By then, both girls were sitting next to Arista, looking graceful and poised.

Suddenly, a small sailboat came floating along the tides. It slowly entered through the rock like tunnels that towered over the sailboat. All the girls watched, but Nerissa and Arista seemed to be eyeing it as if it were their prey.

“So, uhh,” Marina still didn’t know what she or the other two girls were, “Why are we here?”

Arista cleared her throat. “Watch and learn.” As the sailboat came closer, Marina could see a young man, older than her, around his mid-twenties standing on the boat. He was fairly handsome with his dark amber hair neatly swept across his sun kissed forehead. She didn’t know him at all. Nerissa and Arista began to quietly sing. She couldn’t make out the lyrics but it seemed to be loud enough for the man to hear for he was looking around. Louder and louder, the two girls sang and Marina stared in awe.

I will take you away, into the maelstrom of admiration; the lust in your eyes reflects adoration.

Follow me, follow me, I will steal you away. You will obey gladly, longing to stay. ~
The small sailboat drew closer and closer as the girls weaved their tempting song. Nerissa continued to sing as Arista dived off the rock, swimming towards the man who was now standing at the edge of his boat. Her shadow slithered towards him like a snake. They were only a few feet away from the boat; it was easy to see what Arista was doing. Nerissa stopped and watched. Marina squinted her eyes to see that Arista was singing into his ear, cupping his defined jaw in her delicate hands. The man was nearly at the very edge of the sailboat, at the verge of falling into the water. His eyes were glazed over as if hypnotized as Arista let go and lingered in the water below. Just like that, the young man took a step towards her and fell into the sea. Marina didn’t understand. He wasn’t flailing his arms, calling for help. He just sunk to the bottom with a simple splash!

The soul was the price to pay...
Nerissa finished the song. Her voice was a lovely but Arista’s was like a river, flowing through each word elegantly. As Arista swam back, perching herself next to Nerissa, they both smiled at Marina. Speechless, Marina knew what they were and what she was. They were the opposite of what she thought. She was a heartless, evil siren!
~~~

The water reflected off of her soft, pale skin as her tail restlessly swished against the gentle movement of the waves. Dancing in the calm tide, the coral pink scales glistened under the California sun. Delicate brunette waves flowed down to her waist as she swam deeper into the depths of the sea, towards the shore of the beach. Marina swam away from the other two sirens. She felt like a criminal, even though she didn’t sing the irresistible melody, all she did was with horrific amazement. She cut through the water as anger surged through her. Marina could see her house from where she was; she seemed to be remembering what she forgot a while ago.
“The meeting!” With a jerk of her tail, she swam faster and wondered if her dad was home from it by now. Abruptly, the waves became more aggressive as Marina fought against the crashing tides. The dark sky above casted an eerie shadow over the ocean. Her breath became heavy as she reached out towards the shore, squeezing her eyes shut. Without warning, fishing net dropped over Marina, trapping her in its grasp. A fishing boat hovered above her, a bell alerting the men on board that there was a catch. Struggling, Marina flipped her tail left and right frantically but the more she tried to escape, the more the net tangled together like chains. Slowly, she was brought up towards the surface of the sea. Tossing her head and squirming to get out, she knew there was no use. All she could do now was clutch onto her shell and hope that it was all a dream.
~~~

Darkness surrounded every side of her. Marina swam forward but collided with glass. Panicking, she rammed harder and harder in to the tank’s side. No use. Sinking to the bottom of the tank, Marina cried. It felt weird to cry underwater. Twirling the shell between her fingers, she kissed it and quietly sobbed herself into a comforting coma of sleep.

A silver of light slithered from the bottom of the tank, startling Marina. It grew bigger and bigger until the curtain that covered the tank rose up and away. She looked around and noticed a small group of people staring at her in admiration. A camera flashed and then another, before she knew it there were bright flashes everywhere and the room began to buzz with excitement and curiosity. It was all too much for her to sink in. Banging on the glass, she tried to get someone’s attention but none of the men or women seemed to care, except one man. His emerald eyes, clouded with pain and of loss, stared into her blue darkened eyes. Lingering in the cold water, Marina opened her mouth and screamed. It was a deafening, melodic trill. Everyone stopped talking and a few raised their eyebrows.

‘How dare they think I have no feelings,’ fumed Marina, ‘How dare them!’ Without thinking, she ripped the shell necklace off of her neck and threw it out of the tank. It landed by the thirty year old male; he reached down and picked it up.

Just as the crowd’s chatter died down and silently left the room, the man walked towards the tank. He placed a hand on the glass and gazed at Marina. It seemed as if he was looking right through her. Carefully, she matched her hand on the other side of the glass.

“Daddy…?” Marina placed her other hand against the tank. Cocking her head to the side, she rested her head alongside the glass as her father did the same. Then, he balled his hands into fists and pounded the glass once furiously, scaring Marina. She backed away, her back up against the far side of the tank. She watched as her father slid down to the floor and sobbed.

“I’m so sorry...”