Songs of the Sea

For the past few days, Zach had turned up at 10 in the morning.

He came with an excuse, a quick smile and a reason to persuade me to go out. Grandma would watch us with a mix of affection and worry, but it was clear that she stood on Zach’s side. She never said what it was that bothered her about his visits but I could guess.

Ever since she had told me about the curse, she had seemed better. But she continued watching the sea, frightened that something would happen if she were to leave.

I glanced at the windows, noticing the black clouds suddenly gathering. If it rained, we could stay indoors.

Outside, something shattered loudly.

I hurried out and found Grandma, staring in shock at the sea and her favourite teacup broken on the floor. I was going to have to clean that up. Sighing, I looked at the clock. It was already 10.30.

“It’s too soon… They’re cheating!”

I could barely hear Grandma’s words over the roar of the crashing waves and the wind that howled. I shivered uneasily. “What are you talking about?”

“You are only friends-”

I reddened at the memory of how he tasted yesterday. He had caught me by surprise.

“-you are more than that! The sirens will kill him.”

The clouds moved in, blocking the sun out like an eclipse. Even then, I tried to brush her words aside. “It’s only a myth, Grandma. You can’t really believe in what you’re saying.”

“That’s what I said to my mother. Then your Grandpa died and so did Paul…I won’t let this happen again... Have you read Homer’s Odyssey before?”

“Yeah… But this has nothing-”

“He is going to die if you don’t do anything.” She wore her calculating expression. “Who is Odysseus’ protector, the god that watches over him?”

“I think it’s…Athena.”

The waves shrank back slightly.

“Excellent. They are afraid of Athena, the glaukopis, which they should be.” Grandma was quiet for a moment, thinking.

I thought about the word glaukopis. I had not grown up in Greece so my knowledge of Greek was rudimentary. But the word sounded similar to glaux, Greek for owl, which was supposed to be a mascot for Athena.

Staring up at the stormy clouds, I half-expected an owl to swoop in but of course, none came.

“This should protect you from their grasp.” Without my noticing, Grandma had gone into the house and came out with a necklace, with a small owl pendant on it. She put it on for me. “I’m going to stay here and keep watch. Do you know how to get to Thornton’s Cavern?”

I opened my mouth to argue but she silenced me with a firm look. “They will want you to join them. It will be their ultimate revenge on Odysseus. Be brave, Cassandra.”
~~~
Thornton’s Cavern was eerily quiet but not completely silent. Ever since I had worn the owl, I started to hear a melody. A lovely song that made my hair stand because it was in Greek.

And it was loudest at the Cavern.

“I’m here now. What do you want me to do?”

Dive in.

I shuddered but did so.

The water was freezing and I struggled to keep my eyes open. I tried to relax as the currents pulled me under but I couldn’t help thrashing about, feeling as though I was drowning.

Stop struggling, dear. You want to save Zach, don’t you?

I stopped resisting. I fingered the owl, hearing a small hiss as I did so. The hiss satisfied me, telling me that there was something that they were afraid of.

A few moments later, I realised that my vision was clear and that there were three figures and one man, sitting in the middle of them. As I got closer, I could see more clearly.

Zach looked awake and was wearing a huge smile, turning my stomach. I looked at the other three and recoiled immediately. They looked like beautiful women from the top half –doe-like eyes, attractively plump lips. But from the lower half, they were bird-like, with claws and feathers. I didn’t dare to look too closely.

“What do you want from me?”

“Surely you know, dear. Grandma would’ve told you,” said the redhead.

Be brave, Cassandra. I dragged my gaze up, up from her claw-like feet, from the soft brown feathers on what were supposed to be her legs, to her face. It was fascinating, in a morbid way.

“Zach’s such a handsome boy. Unfortunately, he’s already been here for about an hour and there’s only so long we can keep you humans alive.” The blonde reached towards Zach and said, or maybe sang, something into his ear which made him close his eyes with pleasure.

I bit my lip to stop myself from vomiting.

“So what will it be, dear? Are you going to join us or allow us to lure your future lovers to their deaths?” The last one spoke, bemusedly.

I glanced at Zach and the blonde, who had wrapped herself around him. Touching the owl, which made the sirens hiss, I tried to keep calm.

“While it’s been very nice to see you tormented in indecision, Zach doesn’t have all day.”

“...I have something to ask you.”

They exchanged a look.

“I was wondering out of the three of you, who has the nicest voice?” I clutched the owl tightly but none of them noticed, all too engrossed in what I was saying.

The last one who spoke laughed like she knew what I was doing. But I saw that I had the blonde’s attention. She had shifted away from Zach.

“I mean, if I’m going to join you, I need to know who’s going to be my mentor. I’m Odysseus’ descendant. I’m not just going to follow any old siren.”

The redhead eyed her sisters carefully now, as though sizing up the competition.

“You should know better than to try to turn us against each other.” The last one spoke again, causing her sisters to pretend that they had known what I was doing. “It’s a pity that his descendant is so cowardly.”

Moving closer to Zach and the sirens, I continued holding the owl tightly in my hands.

“Hurry up, dear. Don’t keep us waiting.”
“No. No, I’m not going to do it.”

The last one who spoke looked unconcerned, nodding to the blonde to move closer to Zach.
I didn’t know if this would work. But it was better than becoming a siren. I ripped the necklace away from me and tossed it to the blonde.

She shrieked; a loud piercing scream that resonated, as she caught hold of the owl and it seemed as though the owl was burning her hand as she touched it. I would have watched, dumbfounded by the effect, if I had not noticed the other two’s feathers rising. The last one didn’t seem so amused now.

Instead, I grabbed Zach.

“What do you think you’re doing?” snarled the redhead, moments before the blonde threw the owl into the air.

I glanced at it and the last one saw the owl. Before I could reach for it, she took it.

Though it burnt her hand, she didn’t scream. Instead, she smiled condescendingly. “What are you going to do now?”

I wasn’t the best swimmer in the world and now that I had turned against the sirens, I could feel my air supply running low. They must have manipulated the waters to allow us to survive for so long. So, I started swimming, carrying Zach along like how lifeguards did.

The sirens started singing.

The song was tragic but beautiful. I could understand how they lured men into their island for them. In fact, Zach thrashed about, as though he wanted to return to them. The sirens forgot something though; Odysseus had managed to survive their songs. That ability was in my blood.

So no matter how heavy Zach weighed or how he struggled against me, I didn’t let him go.

When I burst out of the choppy waters, I could see the sun peeking out of the dark clouds. And so, I smiled.
~~~
I had been so afraid after my parents died. I was afraid of talking to Zach, scared of his anger for abruptly leaving, so I never called. I was frightened that I would lose Grandma and so, I came to Rosewood Keep for the summer.

It had been so long since I had last seen the sirens but bit by bit, day by day, I was becoming what I wanted to be.

Brave.