The Unbelievable Life of Patrick Uilliam Carter

Chapter eight

   The dawn brought with it a fresh perspective. The questions that seemed to endlessly loop in Patrick's thoughts seemed to have been answered as he awoke this morning.

   The brisk morning air chilled him and he vigorously rubbed his arms with his hands to warm himself up. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. Casting its bright orange glow across the surface of the water. Banishing the darkness behind him for another day.

   The wind picked up, swirling around him as he looked over the ledge. The waves crashed against the side of the rocky cavern. He thought about the story she told him. If what she said was true, a lot of things would make sense. The only way to know for sure though would be to go to the island and speak with his mother.

  "Hey."

   Startled, Patrick turned to see the siren standing nervously behind him. "Hey."

   "So... I'm Calliope by the way." She searched his eyes; for what he didn't know.

   "Oh." He glanced to the side and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.  "Um... I'm Patrick." He stole a glimpse of her profile. He held out his other hand to shake hers, but she only looked at it. He felt stupid for offering to shake her hand. What was he thinking? He wasn't. That was obvious. She made him nervous and uncertain about his feelings. Everything was a jumbled mess since meeting her. Calliope. He really didn't know anything about her.

   "So, Calliope. What were you arguing with your mother about? It must have been pretty serious for you to leave. Where were you planning to go? I don't exactly know how the whole siren thing works. Do you all live together in a permanent place or do you migrate?"

   She looked seriously offended by his questions.

   Scrambling to recover the ground that was quickly crumbling, he decided to change his wording.  "I don't mean to offend you. It's just that I don't know anything about you, sirens, um..."

  "I get it." Even though he could tell that she was obviously mad.

   He breathed a sigh of relief. "Um... so uh... I'm not really good at this kinda stuff..."

   "How about this... I ask you one question and then you can ask me one question. Okay?"

   "Sounds good." He was grateful she chose to keep the conversation alive.

   "Alright how old are you, Patrick?" Her anger subsiding.

   He smiled. "That's easy. Nineteen. And you?"

   She was suddenly nervous.  "Well...We don't exactly age the same as humans. Our lifespan is a lot longer."

   Curious to know what she meant, he pressed for answers. "So how old are you? You couldn't be that much older than me."

    She tapped her finger to her lips as she thought.  "I suppose I would be a little older than you if I were a human. Maybe early twenties."

   Not satisfied with her answer, he decided to clarify his question. "So, how old are you in siren years?"

   She huffed and finally gave in. "Well, I'm actually pretty young. For a siren that is...I guess you could say I'm about one hundred seventeen?"

   Silence.

   "Say something!" She shouted. Clenching her fists.

   Patrick didn't know how to respond. He couldn't even think of one person he knew who was even remotely close to her age. She has literally been around longer than anyone he knew. And she said that she was young?!