the siren's call | felix lee

epilogue.

You were surprised when you opened your eyes again, you were so sure you had died. The sky looked the same, a dark blue just beginning to overtake the gorgeous warm hues of the sunset, and you could feel the grainy sand underneath you. But as you sat up, you realized something was very wrong. The ocean was completely still, as were the clouds in the sky. It was silent as well, which unnerved you; even during the sea's quietest moments you could always hear gentle waves, the cawing of seagulls.

"It's about time," a disapproving, cold voice mumbled. You turned to your left to see your mother there, shoes off, cross-legged in the sand. She looked the same as she did when she had died.

"What's going on?" you asked wearily, turning your attention back to the sea.

"For starters, you're dead," your mother said bluntly.
Even though the news should have upset you, it didn't. You felt strangely calm. You even felt neutral towards your mother, whom you hated, especially in your last moments before dying.

"Then why are we still here?" you questioned, gathering up a handful of sand and letting it trickle through your fingers. It felt the same as it did when you were alive.

"Take a guess," she said, shrugging.

"What, do we have unfinished business here because we died unexpectedly? Are we to become vengeful spirits that haunt the shores?" you said sarcastically, crossing your arms.

She shot you a spiteful look. "Always with the dramatics," she muttered.

"Even after death, and for eternity afterwards," you responded snarkily. You both sat there in silence for a moment, and you thought you could almost see the waves starting to move again.

"We're here because we needed to have this talk," your mother said finally. "I needed to say a few things to you before we truly die."

"Are we not truly dead right now?"

"We are, I suppose. But we're here for a reason, correct?"

You merely grunted in response. Your mother licked her red lips before beginning. "I am not sorry for the way you were treated during your lifetime," she said bleakly, "I thought you deserved everything you got."

"So we aren't here to resolve our familial conflict, then," you mumbled under your breath.

She continued. "You didn't love that siren," she said.

"I did too!" you burst out, turning to look at her furiously. She put a cold finger to your lips, hushing you.

"You treated him like a science experiment and an escape," she said stubbornly. "You yourself know that you only wanted to weasel information out of him. But you became enamored with him and the idea of escaping. Your own grandmother lived that same story."

You scowled at the mention of your grandmother again. "So?"

"So," your mother said, enunciating that word, "you were right when you said that he only loved you because you reminded him of Jiyoung. He didn't love you, he was obsessed with getting her back."
You sighed and dragged your fingertip on the surface of the sand, drawing little swirls. "How do you know all of this anyways?"

She merely shrugged. "I don't know. It just feels like something I should say. Am I even really me? Are you really you?"

"Don't get all cryptic with me," you said weakly.

"Then I think we're done here." Your mother stood up and slipped her shoes back on, beginning to walk down the still shore.

"Wait." You stood up and grabbed her by the arm. "I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Where is he?"

"The siren?" your mother laughed bitterly. "He's gone. You remember he turned into sea foam. The afterlife for sirens is vastly different from humans'. They live for centuries. The punishment they endure after they die is unimaginable to you humans."

"To 'you' humans?" you asked, a chill running down your spine. "What do you mean by that?"

Your mother's eyes flashed an unnatural violet. "What do you think it means, darling?