Mahraeel Tadros (12) STAFF REPORTER
Fairies are not meant to be in the water. The frigid wetness wrapped itself around Gem’s face like an icy snake. She was floating face up at the bottom of a well. She could feel nothing but the snake’s painful grip.
A small shiver slithered across her ruddy cheeks, pinching her deep blue eyes. Faint light trickled in from the opening miles above her. Even if she could fill her lungs with enough air to scream, no one would hear.
In fact, fairies are not meant to do many things – including freeing captives that took the pod days to track down and catch. But that is exactly what she had done. And her pod left her at the mercy of the depths of this man-made water hole. Just thinking about humans set her teeth on edge.
Drawing on her last reserves of will, she sucked in a deep breath and attempted to spread her wings against the weight of her drenched clothes. The effort proved too much and she blacked out – faint gurgling filling her pointy ears.
—
Tam sat on a rock in the middle of the open sea, turquoise tail dangling over the edge. Seagulls cried unceremoniously overhead as the waves rolled gently on the water’s surface. It had been too long since he had last seen his own face.
Straw brown eyes glittering in the embrace of gray leathery skin, nearly hidden behind a mop of seaweed green hair glared back at him from the water’s reflective surface.
A dark red scar traced a thick, jagged line from his left ear all the way down to the right of his collar bone. The memory of that night was long gone – but it’s effects were ever present.
A cruel thing fate is, to leave him the ability to speak, but not to sing.
He wished it was the other way around – or better yet, that he had died. Then he would have been saved from the endless jeers and the shame he brought on his family – after all, what is the use of a siren that cannot sing?
With just two days to prepare for his hatch-day celebration, the highlight of which is his performance, Tam was at a loss. His performance consists of drowning a living creature by reeling it in through the power of his song. While other sirens his age were practicing their songs, he was wandering the open water in search of an answer.
Suddenly, a familiar scent hung heavy in the air. Tam recognized it in a heartbeat, and shot into the water as fast as a fish flopping on a fishing ship’s deck.
It was the rotting stench of despair.
—
“Why did you give up?” A flat voice warbled into Gem’s consciousness, dripping with disappointment and disapproval.
Gem opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought she could hear her conscience- images of the young fairies in the pod floated in and out of sight. She couldn’t help the wave of disappointment and despair that washed over her.
“Stop.” The flat voice commanded, devoid of any unique inflections.
Gem blinked her eyes and truly saw in front of her for the first time since she had gained consciousness- clear blue sky. She sat up and scratched the back of her head with the tip of her left wing – it was half-dry.
Open water stretched as far as she could see in all directions. A young man floated in the water beneath the rock on which she lay. Her normally glittering wings were dull and heavy with water.
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“Hello, there – I’m Gem” she gave the young man a friendly wave, “Thanks for saving me.”
“I did no such thing” He retorted coldly, looking down.
Following his gaze, Gem’s eyes widened – a tail was gently treading water underneath him. She gasped.
“You’re a siren!” she quickly clapped her hands over her ears – she had heard about the sirens’ irresistible song. Too many wanderers have been lost to these merciless creatures.
The young man threw his head back and laughed mirthlessly – it was a dead sound. In the instant his throat was exposed, she saw a harsh red line cutting across the bulge of his voice box and disappearing underneath his nearly-dry white shirt. Both hands flew to her mouth.
“If only you knew.” he muttered ruefully.
Seeing Gem’s reaction, the siren quickly dived under the rock, and reappeared on the other side. Gem turned around to find water freely streaming down his face.
“I would like to make a wish.” he said soberly, face as still as stone.
Fairies are well-known to grant wishes – that is, for the right price. Her wings were nearly dry, but not dry enough to fly – not yet.
Gem sighed. “What is your wish, siren?” she asked wearily. There was little else to do.
“I need to borrow your voice.” he said, staring intently at her wings. Looking to stall, Gem frowned as she remembered the siren’s first words to her.
“Two conditions” the siren’s eyes locked on her own.
“First, you cannot use my voice to harm a fairy.” Gem paused, he nodded slowly.
“Second, you must tell me what you meant.”
“By what?” he inquired, brows bunching up in confusion.
“How did you know I had given up?” she leaned in, curious to know the answer.
The siren shifted uncomfortably.
“You smelled.” He tilted his head. “No winged creature should ever have reason to give up.”
With a satisfied nod, Gem felt the emptiness of inner silence. She spread her wings as the last of the water evaporated. She heard a powerful splash and the sound of her own voice, singing in opera.
“Thanks, Gem! I hope you don’t feel too attached to humans!” it wailed happily.
With a small chuckle and a final flutter, Gem soared upwards into the sunset, high above the still surface of the water.
