THE SIREN SINGS TONIGHT

WHEN MYTHS BECOME NIGHTMARES

"But first, Athena, let me introduce myself. I am Adriana, your guardian and mentor. You must have heard about Sirens in mythology and wondered how on Earth could creatures like them exist. But yes, we do exist and now you are one of us. The Gods chose you and sent you to us so you could replace one among us, Agafya , who had to be boiled to death because she helped one of our prisoners escape."

" What about my parents? My young brother?"

"They were destined to die to pave way for you to take up the glorious position of the Watcher. You will have the honors of sacrificing our prisoners to the Gods. You will be looked upon with respect and fear by all mortals and gain the favor of the deities we worship, and may even get to be put among the stars."

"What? You want me to kill the unfortunate people who fall prey to your bloody hands? I refuse to do that! Please...send me home...I will not reveal my experiences here...I swear!"

"Ah, my pretty girl...you have lots to learn. You see, we were not this cruel always. We were nymphs, celestial maidens who served Demeter, Goddess of fertility...Let me tell you the story of how we became these ferocious creatures...maybe that will help you feel that being a Siren is not that bad."

She took my hand and helped me get out of bed. I realized then that my dress resembled hers, just that it was pure white while hers was pink.What have they done to me while I was unconscious? I knew better than to ask. She led me to one of the mural painted walls.

"The little girl you see here is Persephone, daughter of Demeter, Goddess of Fertility and Nature.We played with her and took great care of her. We sang songs so she could sleep amidst the green blades of grass, gathered most exotic flowers of spring to make garlands she could wear on her soft neck. But then, everyone makes mistakes. We did too. We left her sleeping and retired to have a bath in the refreshing waters of a pond nearby. When we returned, Persephone was gone. We searched all over the gardens, our heads spinning in panic. Demeter asked us for her child and...well...what could we do? Demeter was furious and cursed us, turning our beautiful bodies into large feathered birds with all kinds of colors splashed on our fair skin. Tell me, Athena, was our mistake that grave that she had to ruin us for eternity?"

I couldn't believe this. Sirens were some kind of evil mermaids that haunted sailors. I remember reading about heroes tying themselves to their seats and wearing wax ear plugs to prevent the unfortunate event of hearing the Sirens sing, lest they swim to them, and meet their gruesome ends. And...Persephone, I knew what happened to her too, she was kidnapped by the lonely Hades and taken to the underworld.

 "Athena? Are you listening?" Her voice was grave, like that of a teacher in a serious lecture on history.  

"ER...well...yes...But you are not a bird..." I rolled my eyes.

"No we are not...we are half fish, and you will be too..."

I shuddered at the last phrase...