The Birth of a Siren

Birth of a Siren

Tears fell down my face, my toes curling around the edge of the wooden rail. I listened to the waves below me, praying for someone, anyone, to give me air when I fell, to let me live. A shrill whistle cried through the air, and the men cheered, as they moved towards me, ready to push me to my death; as if my death could bring them back there luck. I leapt in that moment. I leapt towards the waves, taking in a breath, screaming into the air the names of those I loved, the names of those I wished to take down. It seemed I would go before them. The water approached faster now, reaching for me, begging to take me. My feet hit the waves and the chain around my ankle pulled me, deeper and deeper, towards the unknown. Darkness engulfed me, air no longer reaching for me, I wasn't her problem anymore. I belonged to the water, she would be the death of me, she would take me. I found some peace in that, water had always been my safe haven, it felt right for her, who had given me so much, to take it all away. I closed my eyes, blew out whatever bubbles I had left and began to breath in. That's what surprised me, that I could breath in, that it wasn't water, that my lungs filled, that my eyes opened. I began to claw my way to the surface, if I wasn't going to go down they would. The water stung my eyes, and the chain around my ankle cut into my skin. I shrieked into the water, the pain enough to make me want to give up, to give in. Fight, I told myself. Fight. I looked at my ankle, the blood and the chain, my mind working, thinking, always thinking. I watched as the skin turned purple and melted into scales. I watched as my one beautiful hair turned into seaweed. I watched as my life as a human faded away and I became something from stories. I had become a siren. I swam upward. Fast. The chain that had once held me down, now felt like nothing, and any fear I had ever had, now felt like nothing. The cool sea air brushed my face, as I passed the surface, the waves seeming small unlike they once had. I began to sing, my voice beautiful, I was a goddess, a queen of the sea. The men flung themselves into the water, just as I had, searching for a voice that they would never find. A voice that belonged to someone who had found new light. A voice that meant freedom to it's owner, but capture to those who heard it. A voice of power. I was remade.