▪Chapter One▪
“Come on Nel, how can you live in Miami your whole life and never been in the water! Please!” Ben says in his pleading tone.
I frown and cross my hands over my chest. “No, we’ve been over this.”
He hesitates for a moment, and apologetically speaks up. “I know I’m sorry I just wanted you to come tonight, I hate going to parties without you.”
I untangle my hands from my chest. “Its fine, you’ll have fun.” I say as sincere as I could manage.
Ben lets out a sigh and doesn’t say anything.
“You can stop by after the party, if you want to.” I Say in a lighter voice.
A smile glides across his full lips starting at the left side of his mouth. “Yeah, I will be there.”
“Okay good.” I say as I lean towards him, resting my hands on his biceps. He bends down slightly with intentions of meeting his lips to mine, but instead his phone started going off. A frown settles in on his mouth. He compromises with kissing me lightly on the forehead instead before he reaches for his phone. He opens the message he received and the frown stayed put as he soon glances up at me.
“Nel I’m sorry, Reed wants me at the party now to help set up.” he says wearing a worried expression.
“Its fine, go, I will see you soon.” I say in a relaxed tone.
Slight relief lingers on his face. “Thank you, I love you.” He says as he quickly brushes his lips against mine, sending a warm feeling down my spine.
“Implied.” I respond to him as we exchange smiles and he heads off in the opposite direction to the parking lot.
Leaving me alone, but surrounded by over tanned sunbathers and surfers I let out a sigh I didn’t know I was holding. A small headache drummed in the back of my head, alone with the flakiness on my visible skin, with that I headed down the beach, towards the small inlet where my house laid. The walk was long but enjoyable, the late august breeze pushed through my plain brown hair causing a few strands caressing my lips. Once out of site to most of beachers, my house became visible. The small low porch extended out far, complimented my two large glass windows, which my mother had decorated with mini palm trees. In the middle was the glass door that was covered with a light almost see through sand colored curtain. My house was a good sized for two people considering my dad had passed away before I was born.
I head onto the porch then through the door. “Hi mom.” I shout as the smell of blueberry muffins bombarded my nose.
“Hey Sweetie, I’m in the kitchen.” My mom shouts back.
I move through the living room and into the kitchen to see my mom perched on one of the stools leaning her arms on the countertop while she gazed down at some magazine. She looks up at the sound of my footsteps and smiled. Her dark hair matched mine, minus the length, hers was short and bob styled, mine that waved down to my waist. Our eyes were different though, hers were pale blue, resembling crystals, in contrast mine were an ugly dead gray.
“I made muffins.” She says with a loose smile as she tilts her head slightly to the other end of the counter where a few muffins laid bundled on one of my mom’s antique plates.
“Maybe later.”
“Suit yourself; they are better when there fresh. Let me see your skin.” She says as she holds out her hand.
I hesitate for a moment, and then roll my quarter sleeve shirt up as far as it would go and lay my arm in her hand.
She immediately frowns, exposing a few wrinkle lines above her eye brows.
“Nellieana, when is the last time you’ve been in the water?” she asks in a stern unfriendly tone.
I knew she would be angry, she hates when I lack the only responsibility I really have.
“Umm maybe sometime last week.” I say in a low timid voice.
She lets out an annoyed sigh. “Get in the water, and don’t let anyone see you.”
That response was highly expected so I nodded with slight hesitation.
“Im taking the night shift, and I’m supposed to leave in ten, so if you’re not out of that water by then, I won’t see you till the morning.” She says as she shuts her magazine and moves off the stool.
I nod again “okay, I will go change then head to the water.”
“Good.”
Regret gnaws on my stomach; I should have gone in the water when I was supposed to. I make my way out of the kitchen and up stairs to my bedroom. I quickly find one of my bikinis. I strip down and slip it on. The Black two piece emphasized everything I didn’t have. I moved to the mirror to examine myself, I was beyond average. My small frame my too long legs and my bony arms. I let out a sigh and grab a towel and head back down stairs. Soon enough I get onto the beach, the sun was low in the sky and then sand was warm in between my toes. I glanced around, my eyes lingering on the few surfers who bobbed in the water. I knew for a fact that they wouldn’t notice me. I get closer to the water and the wind pushed off the waves, sending a cool breeze around my body. A smile tugs on the corner of my mouth. I could hear the water calling me. My heart beat increased as I felt more and more restless. Till finally I dropped my towel and broke into a sprint towards the rough ocean. My feet sunk themselves in the soaked sand and eventually I got close enough to the water and I leaped, putting my hands over my head in a perfect dive position and before I knew it I had disappeared into the waves. The water was deep, sending my body down till I drifted to the bottom. I hesitated for a moment, the opened my mouth slightly inhaling the salt water. My lungs felt hot, a refreshing hot, like drinking hot chocolate in the winter. The steamy liquid slipping down my throat and warming my whole body. I open my eyes and immediately start to feel them dilate. My vision became clearer rather than the blurriness my human eyes presented. I tilted back till by back touched the bottom; I rested, laying on the ocean floor as I admired the surface of the water. I felt my skin becoming silky and my headache vanished. I pick up my hand and dwindle it in front of me as I studied how my once bitten and tattered fingertips restored themselves, and soon enough a dark color of navy blue spilled down each of my fingers creating fragile patterns that weaved down to my wrist. The navy blue represented my family color. My mom and I and once my dad, turn like this once we get into the water, but only if we allow the ocean water into our mouths. Each family has their own color. I was taught that the most feared color was that of the blood red that was worn by the highest family, addressed as the royals. The royals ruled the sea, they believed in murder, of innocent humans, luring then to the sea with their tempting songs. I have never seen a royal, or for that matter any other siren besides my mom. Before I was born, my mom was a human. A human who loved the sea. Sometimes she would even sleep by the shore, just to hear the symphony of the calm night waves. My mom had met my dad on one of the nights she stayed up by the water. He wasn’t like the royals though; he despised their outlook on how the sirens should act. My dad had no intentions of falling in love with my mom, but he did. She used to tell me stories of how she would wait on the pier for him, he would take her into the water, and they would swim together for hours at a time. A year later from the day they first met she found out she was pregnant with me. She feared what my dad would think or do, considering he had told her how their relationship was strictly forbidden and if the royals or any other family found out, they wouldn’t have a chance my dad would be killed and maybe even my mom. Eventually my mom found enough courage to tell her she was pregnant. He told her that he still loved her and their baby even though it was half human. They continued to see each other every night, but then the visit from my dad stopped, he didn’t come to see her for over a week, she worried that a siren had found out what he had done. She told me how she cried for days mourning over him. Then one day as she sat helplessly on the pier, with wet cheeks and broken hands he appeared in the water. They rejoiced. My dad wasn’t the same though, he was different, and he was filled with hurt and worry. He told her that were rumors going around that he was seeing a human. He knew that he couldn’t go to see her for awhile because all eyes were on him. He told her that he wasn’t going to be able to return. He was putting my mom and me in danger. My mom wouldn’t accept it though, she begged him to stay, and she knew that she couldn’t just let him leave. My dad had a secret, and secret that could keep them together. He told her that the only other way that they would be able to be together is if he changed her into a siren. Of course for my mom it wasn’t even a question she longed to be like him, to be able to be together all the time and have a real family together., but my dad told her that he has never done it before, and rarely do sirens have enough power to turn a human, if he failed he would be taking her and my life. My mom’s decision was still the same, she told me how she knew that he would be able to do change her, and he did. Now they were safe, or as they thought. For no longer than a month of their time together my dad had come to my mom with bad news that someone knows. That someone was watching them; he said how he believed it was someone of the second family. Which were the family who best represent the royal way, he knew that it was no longer safe. He put my mom into hiding, he told her that he would come to her every night, but the visits stop then she must leave, she must go to land and raise their child as a human.