Daughter of the Tide

A Beginning to the End

"Bound to your mind,

sirend by your voice.

You look at me,

like I'd have a choice. 

But I'm a sailor and

you are the sea,

give me your storms,

don't stop singing to me."

~~~

It was another cloudy day in Bernig. The sky had been painted grey and the waves were moody and choppy, tossing sea foam onto the banks of the small island. A crew of sailors readied themselves to go out onto the water once more, their true place in this world. One young man in particular, Francis Monroe, was preparing for his first fishing escapade. Even though the boat was rickety and old, he couldn't think of a better place to spend his weekend. His own father captained the boat, which would soon belong to him. 

"Alrighty, boys," his father announced, "let's get moving! We only have so much daylight." The boat lurched forward and they were off, cutting through those unforgiving waves and spraying salt water onto the deck. The chilled air blew through Francis's hair and nipped at his skin, whispering plans of a storm. The five men on that boat didn't yield to the ocean's warning and continued on. They still had a few hours left. 

"You ready to catch some big ones, kid?" his father's longstanding friend, Jospeh Alabaster asked, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Francis replied with a smile. He truly was. His father had always spoken so highly about the family fishing business and his mother was finally willing to let him come out with the guys. He could honestly say that he already liked it better than sitting in the shop all day long. 

They traveled a few miles out to sea before they stopped and threw the nets out into the water. Francis was told to sit and observe this time around and next time he'd be allowed to officially help. He busied himself with tossing small pebbles into the water on the opposite side from the net while his father and the men talked about what they hoped to catch. The water, dark and merciless, lapped against the side of the boat and rocked them gently. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted movement in the water and he froze, halting in his pebble throwing and gripping the edge of the boat. 

A large fin stuck up out of the water and sank back down almost as quickly as it'd shown itself. Francis narrowed his eyes and watched the surface, waiting for another sign of the creature. He stared at those ever-moving waves for long minutes before he blinked a few times and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He prepared to chuck another pebble when something stuck back up in the water. 

This time, is was the head of a young woman. Her eyes were a striking, unearthly blue color and he stumbled back a few steps. She held a finger to her lips and swam up to the side of the boat. Francis looked over his shoulder at the other men, finding them busy with untangling a strand of nets. He turned back to the woman in time to see her grip the edge of the boat and hoist herself upwards toward him. He couldn't pull his gaze away from her's and she reached up a dripping, cold hand to caress his cheek. She started to sink back down and he moved with her, bending over the side of the boat as she went down. 

"Son!" his father's voice ran out. He blinked and turned quickly to face his father. When he looked back, the woman was gone. "What're you doin', hanging over the boat like that? With waves like this, you'll get knocked in."