While the tide slowly climbed back to its customary level, Kellan kept himself busy. He brought out the worn-down rock he had been using against the rusty grate beside him, and worked until the metal finally separated. Now all he would have to do is slip out of the ropes and he could swim away without the siren knowing. "And when I get free," he promised himself, "I will never sail again." If this was the way of the water, then he would not risk being drowned a second time.
Once his temper cooled a bit, Kellan began to wonder if he hadn't been a little unfair, himself, in his outburst. Perhaps not all the sirens were cruel and vindictive; after all, Melody had elected to save his life, when the rest of her kind would elect to kill him on sight. Even if she had once been human, perhaps the transformation into a siren had caused her memories of being human to fade. He recalled her conflicted reaction when he had pointed out the locket hanging around her neck; maybe all she needed was to be reminded what it was like to be human, and he could perhaps convince her to see reason from the human point of view.
With renewed purpose, Kellan awaited Melody's return. She came, bringing him a barrel full of food and another one full of trinkets. He recognized a child's toy yo-yo, a pair of spectacles, some boots, a book, a comb, and a pocket watch. Melody watched him with intense fascination as he inspected the items--most of which Kellan didn't find remarkable in the least. When he moved to push the barrel aside, Melody accepted it, and began trying the items, tucking the spectacles in her hair, tossing the yo-yo up in the air and watching it strike the water and float there. The book flapped open when she grabbed it, and her eyes shot up guiltily, as if she had broken it somehow.
Kellan couldn't restrain a chuckle. "No, it's not ruined; it's supposed to do that. Haven't you seen a book before?" The question left his mouth before he thought twice about it. Melody offered him the book, twisting in inquisitive circles when her hands were free. Kellan opened and began to read.
"Since she first heard of it, the little mermaid desired nothing better than to swim to the surface and watch the humans in the great, tall ships. She wondered what it would be like to walk about on two feet--"
He stopped; obviously it was a collection of fairy tales--but far different than the one he was living now. An idea began to take shape in his mind.
"If you were once human," he said to Melody, "then why don't you speak as I do?"
Melody opened her mouth as she did when she sang, but this time, she tried to move her thin, fish-like lips in a "talking" motion. No sound came out. Melody shook her head and lowered her gaze to the water.
Kellan chuckled. "Oh, come now," he chided her. "That wasn't hardly trying; I bet you could re-learn how to speak, if you wanted to. Just think about it like your singing."
The gaze came up quickly at the mention of the song, and Melody seemed taken aback. But she straightened her head and dipped her face below the water. Kellan could see her mouth moving, but the surface muffled the sound.
"Come on," he encouraged, "Try it above the water this time."
Slowly, Melody lifted her head. Opening her mouth, she took two quick breaths--and a series of frog-like croaks issued from her mouth. She looked mortified, but Kellan gave a supportive grin.
"There! I think that's the first non-singing sound you've made!" He applauded her performance. "More than likely you do have the capacity to speak, it's only that breathing the water as you do has affected your throat. With practice, you just might get your voice back."
A slow, blushing smile spread its way across Melody's face, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished, and she turned her back on him.
"Melody?" Kellan asked, "What is it?" Melody dove without an answer.
The next time she visited, Kellan encouraged her to try speaking more, and also the next. He tried on the boots when the tide receded, and found them just right for his size. Those and the watch would be useful when he made his escape--which he would do, he reminded himself, very soon. For now, he distracted himself with the challenge of getting a siren to speak like a woman. The more she tried, the softer her voice became. She would not converse with him--such things were still beyond her--but she would repeat whole sentences he read from the book of fairy tales.
ČTEŠ
Heartsong
Fantasy"It would have been better if she had never been born..." Every earnest sailor knows the lore: a woman aboard a ship brings ill luck to the whole voyage. But one woman's peril begins a miraculous journey; rather than drowning, she is reborn anew, ta...
