The Golden Mermaid

𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆

At any other time, she would have hated the feeling of mud seeping between her toes. She would have cringed at the thought of having to clean herself afterwards, watching as it all flowed down the drain. But as she ran barefoot in the darkness, she didn't care. There was too much on her mind to think of such unimportant things. The moon had decided not to show itself that night, something she would have celebrated under different circumstances, but tonight she cursed it.

A quick flash of lightning lit the ground before her, and she took that flash of a second to examine the path ahead. The trees were slowly diminishing, revealing the rocky cliff and the glint of the light on the water below. She sighed, her mind reeling back to the night when she'd agreed to all this. She'd thought 48 faceless moons would be plenty of time when she'd accepted the deal, but now as she stared into the murky waters below, she realized that the time had gone by in what seemed like only minutes.

Come to me. It's time.

The familiar voice called out to her from the impatient waters below. Her lip quivered, but she didn't cry. Crying was a sign of weakness. She was not weak.

"Sirené! Please, no! At least say goodbye." The voice behind her startled her, making her stumble even closer to the edge.

"Thomas," it was barely a whisper. He couldn't hear her over the protest of the sea and sky. She turned, meeting the deep brown eyes of her lover. A smaller set of eyes peaked from behind one of his broad shoulders, but only one was identical to Thomas's chocolate brown. The other was lighter in color, almost a cat-like yellow. Sirené knew what this meant, she'd seen those same eyes in her younger sister just before the newborn was snatched away from her family, surely sent off to live a life of luxury while the rest of her family fought for scraps. Sirené wrapped one of her daughters flaming red curls around her finger, smiling slightly. "Sydney."

Her eyes glasses over. Do not cry. Do not cry. She told herself, You knew this day would come. Don't be a weakling.

Come. Now. The voice boomed in Sirené's head. It was getting angry. She shivered. Her lip began to quiver again.

Tears flowed down Thomas' cheeks. Sirené thought for a moment that he was being weak, but she knew that he was only being human. Humans were much more emotional than she. "Oh, René." He pulled her into a loving hug, his kiss tasting of tears. She was left facing her daughter, big doe eyes staring back at her.

"Ma," Sydney's small voice could barely be heard over the growing storm, but Sirené did as she released herself from the hug.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and she quickly held out her hand to catch it. She felt it hardening as it made its way to her chin. She looked down at it in her palm, watching as the tear's blue glow faded into a bright turquoise. A mermaid's tear...

She took Thomas' hand, dropping the crystallized tear into his palm. "Give this to Sydney when she's ready." He only nodded, grasping the jewel between his fingers. She had never told him of Sydney's eyes—what they meant. She was sure that he'd figure it out sooner than later.

"I-I love you, René." He choked on his words, wrapping her into another hug—the last hug. "I love you more than words can describe."

She fell into his embrace, letting him support her as she rested her head in his curls. "I love you, too, Thomas."

He looked her in the eyes, "I'll see you again one day. I'll find a way. I promise,"

"Don't make promises you can't keep." She turned her back to him, looking out to the restless sea. "Good bye, Thomas. Good bye, Sydney."

"Ma," the girl peeped, and Sirené was sure that her heart had shattered into a million tiny pieces right then and there.

Come to me. Now. The voice commanded.

"Good bye," Sirené said one last time, her voice quivering.

And then she jumped.