Sunken Melodies
[Reconcile][Art by Audrey Kawasaki]
The sun is shining stronger now. The cold kept its icy grip on these lands for far too long this year, the frost is finally receding. It has been months since I last felt the warmth of a dying man, and the sea has been ever insistent that I join her this season. All like me belong to her. Our paths to this existence may be different, and from what I know, in the end we all eventually answer her call. Becoming the salt to her waters, but I don't want to. I doubt that I will find peace in her all consuming waves, so for now I will wait.
º
The waters are becoming warmer now. I can feel the stirrings of life about this island they call Cape Clear. It's a beautiful place with its rocky coasts and the bird life that inhabit the green shores. I don't want to leave, I never have. This emerald isle has been my home for the two lifetimes I have lived. The sea cannot have me. I do not belong out there among the lost and forgotten souls. But in my heart I know that if I do not take what I need, I will soon fade and my choice will be taken from me.
º
There is a ship off coast, but too far away to hear my call. Each day that passes, I become more desperate. I can sense that someone is nearing as I look out towards the Irish Sea. But I see nothing but a flock of Black Guillemots sitting out on the water. I can still feel it though, warmth radiating out from a young and pure life. I cast my gaze towards the shores of Loch Lorel and finally see him there. He is not yet a man from what I can taste and so very unsuspecting of the doom he has wandered in to. I've never lured a man from inland, only those already out at sea, but I need him none the less. I take a deep breath, inhaling particles of water from the air and send myself down to the shore where the boy is heading.
It doesn't take long for him to pick his way along the shore until he finally spots me. He seems stunned at my presence but recovers quickly. I have to admit he is one of my younger and more beautiful victims. Pity, but it was either him or me.
"Hello love, are you alright? Not lost are ya?"
The melody of his voice is kind, but his smile reminds me of someone I knew before this life. It flashed for but a second in my memory before I lost it completely, not that it mattered much at all now. He could have been a relative of a sailor I had taken before, so I didn't dwell too long on the idea.
"What is your name dear boy?" As soon as I spoke I knew he heard nothing but the siren song beneath my words, drawing him in. Everything about his demeanor shifted. The others were usually lost the moment I opened my mouth, but something inside this one held back. It didn't make much difference though, I could hear his heart beat slow and watched his warm brown eyes glaze over with the trance I spun through his soul.
"Morgan." He answered in a hushed tone, as if it were a secret meant to be shared between him and I.
"Will you stay with me for a while Morgan?" I said humming the words like a lullaby.
His eyes closed against his will as he nodded his head, letting honey colored hair fall across his forehead. I spent the next few hours left of sunlight listening to him tell me of the adventures he’d been on around the island, and as dusk fell Morgan grew tired and longed for his home. I decided I could allow him one more day before taking him with me to bottom of the loch. I was saddened to cut his life so short but it was what had to be done, whether I enjoyed it or not.
“Morgan, will you visit me again tomorrow? I am so lonely and wish to see you once more.” Before I even finished my plea, he agreed and I bid him farewell for the night. After watching him go, I made myself a bed under a bush of honeysuckles near the loch. It wasn’t long before the cold crept into my body and the call of the sea began to lull me into a dream of waves upon distant shores, somewhere much warmer than here.
º
I awoke late into the morning the following day to hear Morgan skipping rocks about the water. I had become so bitterly cold that it was more than difficult to get up and go to him. At the sound of my stirrings, Morgan turned and rushed to me. Even though I protested, he cradled my naked body in his arms and held me against the heat of his chest. It was such a lovely feeling to be so close to the warmth of his soul. My fading body craved his death all the sooner.
“You are so cold Lorelei. What can I do to help?” he said in a panic.
Lorelei, I liked that name. It was my favorite so far. Of course they all had different names for me over the years though they never heard me speak the one I was given. Rina, Bridget, Muriel, Sirena, all pretty in their own way. But Lorelei, that was the name I wanted to keep forever.
“Why did you call me Lorelei?”
“It’s who you are love. You are the siren that calls to me, here at Loch Lorel.”
His words took me off guard. There was clarity in his eyes, something the others never had. Somehow he was different than them, old and knowledgeable beyond his years. Either he had a stronger will or I was much weaker than I had thought. I wanted to keep him, but my want wouldn’t take away my need.
“Take me to the water Morgan. I need its warmth. Will you swim with me?” He said nothing while he gently stood and made his way to the shore, carrying me in his arms. Morgan didn’t stop when he reached the edge of the lapping waves, just continued until he was waist deep in the clear blue waters. It wasn’t much warmer than the breeze, but it was enough to give me the strength I needed. The song came out soft at first, building higher until it wrapped itself around us. His eyes started to drift close, fluttered a few times before locking onto mine with such hunger that I almost stopped singing. It was like looking to the heart of his soul. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I just wanted this to be over with already. Reaching up, I tightened my grip around his sun beaten neck and leaned in towards his lips. At my advance he shut his eyes and welcomed me in. He slowly lowered me to my feet and wrapped his strong arms around my lower back. I pushed my song deeper into him while taking a tentative step back into the deepening waters. He followed me willingly. I continued until the waters lapped up above our heads and pulled him closer to my ever warming body. Something sharp dug into my chest. I pulled away for a second to see what it was before the sudden pain of realization hit me.
There floating around his neck was a small silver compass with the North Star encrusted over its lid. I had seen the same of its kind many years ago during my first life. The man I loved bore it then around his neck and told me that the needle had pointed him straight to me. That was before the day I drowned and was reborn in the very same waters that we now stood. It had been almost twenty years ago making the boy who floated before me and who was willingly giving me what I asked for, Kennedy‘s son. All the warmth that had filled me now fled back to his body at my command leaving me cold as ice. I could not take this one, and I would not! With the last bit of energy I had, I pushed him back towards the surface and dove deeper into the depths of the loch. I knew that letting him go sealed my fate. It may have not been a fate of my choosing, but it was the timing of this fate that I decided now.
His screams of my name echoed down to me but I did not turn back. I searched for the underground cavern that lead out to the sea with such ferocity and expended energy that it made me dizzy. His words were lost to the defining roar and call from the sea. She knew the decision I had made and cried for my return. I paused for just a breath at the cavern's entrance to hear Morgan say my name one last time before I gave my soul to the deep salted waters.
º
She is gone now, I can feel it. Every day I return to these abandoned shores searching for her, still hearing her haunting song that calls to my soul. But there is nothing left of my siren Lorelei, nothing but the cold ache in my heart. Nothing left but longing and salty tears.
© Sonja Scutaro 2011.
º
The waters are becoming warmer now. I can feel the stirrings of life about this island they call Cape Clear. It's a beautiful place with its rocky coasts and the bird life that inhabit the green shores. I don't want to leave, I never have. This emerald isle has been my home for the two lifetimes I have lived. The sea cannot have me. I do not belong out there among the lost and forgotten souls. But in my heart I know that if I do not take what I need, I will soon fade and my choice will be taken from me.
º
There is a ship off coast, but too far away to hear my call. Each day that passes, I become more desperate. I can sense that someone is nearing as I look out towards the Irish Sea. But I see nothing but a flock of Black Guillemots sitting out on the water. I can still feel it though, warmth radiating out from a young and pure life. I cast my gaze towards the shores of Loch Lorel and finally see him there. He is not yet a man from what I can taste and so very unsuspecting of the doom he has wandered in to. I've never lured a man from inland, only those already out at sea, but I need him none the less. I take a deep breath, inhaling particles of water from the air and send myself down to the shore where the boy is heading.
It doesn't take long for him to pick his way along the shore until he finally spots me. He seems stunned at my presence but recovers quickly. I have to admit he is one of my younger and more beautiful victims. Pity, but it was either him or me.
"Hello love, are you alright? Not lost are ya?"
The melody of his voice is kind, but his smile reminds me of someone I knew before this life. It flashed for but a second in my memory before I lost it completely, not that it mattered much at all now. He could have been a relative of a sailor I had taken before, so I didn't dwell too long on the idea.
"What is your name dear boy?" As soon as I spoke I knew he heard nothing but the siren song beneath my words, drawing him in. Everything about his demeanor shifted. The others were usually lost the moment I opened my mouth, but something inside this one held back. It didn't make much difference though, I could hear his heart beat slow and watched his warm brown eyes glaze over with the trance I spun through his soul.
"Morgan." He answered in a hushed tone, as if it were a secret meant to be shared between him and I.
"Will you stay with me for a while Morgan?" I said humming the words like a lullaby.
His eyes closed against his will as he nodded his head, letting honey colored hair fall across his forehead. I spent the next few hours left of sunlight listening to him tell me of the adventures he’d been on around the island, and as dusk fell Morgan grew tired and longed for his home. I decided I could allow him one more day before taking him with me to bottom of the loch. I was saddened to cut his life so short but it was what had to be done, whether I enjoyed it or not.
“Morgan, will you visit me again tomorrow? I am so lonely and wish to see you once more.” Before I even finished my plea, he agreed and I bid him farewell for the night. After watching him go, I made myself a bed under a bush of honeysuckles near the loch. It wasn’t long before the cold crept into my body and the call of the sea began to lull me into a dream of waves upon distant shores, somewhere much warmer than here.
º
I awoke late into the morning the following day to hear Morgan skipping rocks about the water. I had become so bitterly cold that it was more than difficult to get up and go to him. At the sound of my stirrings, Morgan turned and rushed to me. Even though I protested, he cradled my naked body in his arms and held me against the heat of his chest. It was such a lovely feeling to be so close to the warmth of his soul. My fading body craved his death all the sooner.
“You are so cold Lorelei. What can I do to help?” he said in a panic.
Lorelei, I liked that name. It was my favorite so far. Of course they all had different names for me over the years though they never heard me speak the one I was given. Rina, Bridget, Muriel, Sirena, all pretty in their own way. But Lorelei, that was the name I wanted to keep forever.
“Why did you call me Lorelei?”
“It’s who you are love. You are the siren that calls to me, here at Loch Lorel.”
His words took me off guard. There was clarity in his eyes, something the others never had. Somehow he was different than them, old and knowledgeable beyond his years. Either he had a stronger will or I was much weaker than I had thought. I wanted to keep him, but my want wouldn’t take away my need.
“Take me to the water Morgan. I need its warmth. Will you swim with me?” He said nothing while he gently stood and made his way to the shore, carrying me in his arms. Morgan didn’t stop when he reached the edge of the lapping waves, just continued until he was waist deep in the clear blue waters. It wasn’t much warmer than the breeze, but it was enough to give me the strength I needed. The song came out soft at first, building higher until it wrapped itself around us. His eyes started to drift close, fluttered a few times before locking onto mine with such hunger that I almost stopped singing. It was like looking to the heart of his soul. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I just wanted this to be over with already. Reaching up, I tightened my grip around his sun beaten neck and leaned in towards his lips. At my advance he shut his eyes and welcomed me in. He slowly lowered me to my feet and wrapped his strong arms around my lower back. I pushed my song deeper into him while taking a tentative step back into the deepening waters. He followed me willingly. I continued until the waters lapped up above our heads and pulled him closer to my ever warming body. Something sharp dug into my chest. I pulled away for a second to see what it was before the sudden pain of realization hit me.
There floating around his neck was a small silver compass with the North Star encrusted over its lid. I had seen the same of its kind many years ago during my first life. The man I loved bore it then around his neck and told me that the needle had pointed him straight to me. That was before the day I drowned and was reborn in the very same waters that we now stood. It had been almost twenty years ago making the boy who floated before me and who was willingly giving me what I asked for, Kennedy‘s son. All the warmth that had filled me now fled back to his body at my command leaving me cold as ice. I could not take this one, and I would not! With the last bit of energy I had, I pushed him back towards the surface and dove deeper into the depths of the loch. I knew that letting him go sealed my fate. It may have not been a fate of my choosing, but it was the timing of this fate that I decided now.
His screams of my name echoed down to me but I did not turn back. I searched for the underground cavern that lead out to the sea with such ferocity and expended energy that it made me dizzy. His words were lost to the defining roar and call from the sea. She knew the decision I had made and cried for my return. I paused for just a breath at the cavern's entrance to hear Morgan say my name one last time before I gave my soul to the deep salted waters.
º
She is gone now, I can feel it. Every day I return to these abandoned shores searching for her, still hearing her haunting song that calls to my soul. But there is nothing left of my siren Lorelei, nothing but the cold ache in my heart. Nothing left but longing and salty tears.
© Sonja Scutaro 2011.