Serenade Me

5. Vibrato

Vibrato
"It is natural to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes to that siren until she allures us to our death."

- Gertrude Stein

Elijah Davis

A woke up to the sound of a woman singing hauntingly, but beautifully, in my bathroom and the shower running. Aurelia. I quickly realized I was only clad in my boxer briefs and jumped out of my bed. I made it to my closet as soon as the shower turned off. Before I could even finish throwing on some clothes, my bedroom door was slammed closed.

Hopping out of my closet while trying to get on some loose shorts, I quickly tried to follow her. When I get into the hallway, she's walking back to her room wrapped in a towel, with water dripping from her body.

"Your room has a bathroom with a shower. Why didn't you use it?" She ignored me. "Hello?"

She walked into her room and tried slamming the door in my face, but I caught it. "Stop slamming my doors, in my house."

She scoffed. "Then don't disrespect what I believe in or who I am!"

"That's all you've done to me since we've met! 'You're so stupid, Elijah'," I mocked. "'You're an idiot, Elijah.' 'You're a joke, Elijah.' I don't know what you expect from me. It's my first time meeting a siren and hearing about witches, so I'm sorry if I don't know everything or get it right on the first go."

She just stared at me for a second. "There's no soap in my bathroom."

"What?"

"There was no soap in my bathroom, and I wanted to be petty and take a loud shower. That's why I used your bathroom." She closed the door, but gently this time.

I ran my hands down my face before going downstairs to cook some breakfast. By the time Aurelia had gotten downstairs, I was plating the food.

"Guy underwear is really comfortable." She plopped down on the highchair in front of the island with a grunt. She only wore a t-shirt and a pair of my boxer briefs.

"Why are you wearing my clothes?"

"You didn't expect me to wear the same clothes I wore all day yesterday? Don't worry I'll wash them for you. Or, if you prefer, I could just be naked." She began lifting her shirt.

"Just leave it." She shrugged and I set a plate in front of her. "You're not allergic to anything right?"

"Not that I know of." She examined the food for a while before poking it with her fork.

I let out a hard breath, "What's wrong with it?"

"What- what is it?"

"You've never seen pancakes, eggs, and bacon before?" She shook her head, and I furrowed my eyebrows. "You're kidding right?"

"Wait!" Pointing to the pancake she said, "I think I've seen this one before on a show. I can't remember which one though. I haven't watched tv in a few years."

"These are basic breakfast foods."

She shrugged, "I only eat seafood. I did try sushi once though and it was nice."

"Have you ever had dessert before." She shook her head once again. "Well, the pancakes are fluffy and taste sweet. The eggs and bacon are salty." She skeptically cut a piece of the pancake with her fork. "Wait!" Before she could put it in her mouth, I drizzled maple syrup on it. "Now you can try it."

She looked up at me and back down to the piece of food on her fork and placed it in her mouth. After a couple of chews, she melted in her seat. "This is really good!"

A smile slowly spread on my face as I saw she enjoyed the sweet breakfast dessert. "If you like that, you'll love waffles."

"Waffles?"

I nodded, "Now try the bacon." She picked up one of the strips and held it out for me. "What?"

"Aren't you gonna put some put some of that stuff on it?" She pointed the bacon at the maple syrup.

I laughed. "That typically doesn't go on bacon." Her mouth formed an "O", and she took a bite of the crisp. Immediately, she spit it out.

"That's disgusting."

"What's wrong with it?"

"Too salty!" She perked up like a child getting a new toy before saying, "Put some of the stuff on it."

"The syrup?" I held up the bottle and she nodded giddily. I poured some on and she tried it again.

"Mmm. That stuff's good. What's it called again."

"Maple syrup."

"More!" Her eyes lit up and turned a light blue color. I made a mental note of it. I poured syrup over the rest of her pancakes and bacon.

"Try the eggs." She had the same reaction as she did with the bacon but did not like the maple syrup combination this time.

"When you're done, we can stop to your hotel to pick up your stuff and meet your..." I dragged.

"Mami Wata."

"Right. Mami Wata." There was an awkward silence that filled the room before I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry for what I said last night," I muttered.

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm sorry for disrespecting your goddess," I said louder.

"And I'm sorry for being a bitch. Can't promise it won't happen again though."

"I'm counting on it."
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We finally stopped by Lia's hotel where she changed into straight-leg jeans and a white graphic t-shirt. She checked out and we loaded her stuff into the trunk and backseat. By how heavy her bags were, and how many of them there were, I would've thought she was carrying dismembered body parts. But they smelled too much like her perfume to be decaying people.

The drive to meet her Mami Wata was comfortably quiet unless Lia was giving me directions. I will admit that I genuinely did feel bad for insulting her last night. She seemed to be more serene and bubbly this morning. It sort of reminded me that she may actually have genuine emotions other than annoyance. I had so many more questions circling my head but was afraid that I would ruin her mood if I asked them. So, I sat in silence and focused on the road.

"We're almost there. Make a left up here."

I followed her instructions to spot a small cottage behind a gate in the short distance. In front of the gate was a 6-foot-tall gray statue of a woman with a snake wrapped around her body.

Aurelia opened the door and turned to me. "Stay here for a second." She stepped out and immediately touched the snake. I couldn't hear what she was saying but I knew she was... talking to it.

The snake's eyes glowed green and it came to life. Slithering onto her arm, then neck, then wrapping itself around her waist. It looked like it was going to suffocate her. Worried, I stepped out of the car.

"Lia!" She didn't respond.

In the span of a few seconds, she was encapsulated by water before it ran down her body and turned into a puddle at her feet. The outfit she once wore was replaced by a boho, cream bodycon dress. It had puffy sleeves, was ruffled around her stomach, and flared out at the bottom. She looked good in anything she wore, but this looked more her vibe. Maybe it was because it looked beachy. Her hair, though not actually wet, was now elongated and shined like it was laced with honey. The chartreuse serpent moved back to its original position on the sculpture and went back to its stone form.

I hadn't realized that my jaw dropped until Aurelia turned to face me. I quickly snapped my mouth shut. She didn't look at me for long before turning towards the cottage. Or where the cottage was supposed to be. Before my eyes appeared, a mansion building itself from the ground up.

I thought a siren trying to kill me or turning into a mermaid was the craziest thing I would see this week. Boy was I wrong.