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He first hears it when he's young, no older than eight. A call late at night, pulling him out of his bed and into the dark. He's nervous, scared, cold. But he presses forth, following the sound that is resonating within his heart. He finds himself on the beach, looking out at the calm ocean waves. The song is so clear in the night, it's everywhere around him. It draws him into the water and before he realizes it, he's waist-deep in the freezing ocean, looking for, something, he didn't know what.
A wave catches him off guard, sending the young boy stumbling back. His head goes under the surface.
He can't get it back up.
Is this it?
He doesn't want to die.
But his clothes are heavy and his body is cold. He can't move anymore and now he feels his consciousness fading.
Until he wakes with a gasp, sputtering heavy breaths. He is, he is not dead yet. He lays on the shore, his clothes somehow dry. And he feels, warm, even in the cold night air. But the song, the song stopped. Yet his body still aches to go back into the water.
"Someone as young as you should not be out here this late," a voice tells him, causing him to sit up, frantically looking for where it was coming from. His gaze eventually falls on a woman, sitting in the water near him. Her hair frames her face, a brilliant gold against the dark night sky. Two white flowers are pinned on the side. And her eyes, the color of a rich honey, are staring into his soul.
"What brings a child such as yourself out here?"
He opens his mouth, closes it, no words leave his throat.
The woman smiles, flashing a row of sharp white teeth. He feels his skin prickle.
She moves closer ever so slightly and he shudders.
"Don't worry. It's not your time. That's why I brought you ashore.
There is no comfort in her words.
"Still quiet?" She tilts her head. He hates how he can't look away.
She gives a slight nod. "It is smart not to talk to strangers. But are we really still strangers after I saved your life?"
"Thank you," he whispers. And her eyes light up.
"The child does have a voice. Such a sweet one at that."
She glances up at the stars and he takes the opening to stand, slowly backing away. But her gaze is on him again before he can get very far, freezing him in place once more.
She gives a soft sigh, her breath forming a small cloud in the air. "Yes, I suppose our time is up. I'll leave you with this, then." She pulls a flower from her hair, lets it fall from her fingertips. But instead of falling, it floats gently over to where he is standing. "Take it." She tells him and he does as she says, grasping it carefully in his hand.
"You owe me your life." The flower weighs heavy in his hand. "Now, run back home, boy. We'll meet again." And with that, she turns, disappearing beneath the waves. And he swears he sees the glint of a golden tail flash before she's gone.
Six years pass and her words have all but faded into a faint memory. But the flower rests on his desk, a sign of a debt he can't remember. Yet one cold night he's roused from his sleep, that song ringing in his ears once again. He doesn't want to go but it pulls and pulls and he has to follow, quietly slipping out of the house and walking, walking until he finds himself at the beach.
This time he sees her first, sitting out on a patch of rocks. And he sees her tail, scaled in gold. He gasps and though it's quiet, she looks up, looks right at him. She gestures him closer and he finds himself stepping into the ocean, walking out towards her. He's chest deep when he realizes where he is and he starts to panic. He needs to go, he's going to freeze to death, how did he even get here?
He squeezes his eyes shut, maybe this is just a dream and he'll wake up safe in bed. But when he opens his eyes again, all he sees is her, she's right there in front of him. She smiles at him and his worries disappear as he loses himself in her gaze.
"You're back," she says, her voice light. "Did you come to visit me again?" He finds himself nodding though he knows, she is the one who brought him here.
"Time passes by so fast for humans." She reaches out a hand, delicate fingers tipped with sharp claws, brushes a strand of hair out of his face. "Your eyes, they've died."
It takes all his control to not flinch away.
"And yet, it's still not your time."
She sighs and he feels her trailing her fingers down the side of his face. They come to a stop underneath his chin and she tilts his face up. His gaze flickers wildly, not sure what to look at. Her other hand traces down his neck, coming to a stop over his heart.
He swallows, feels his heartbeat quicken. Every instinct is telling him to run, but he's stuck out here, with nowhere to go.
"Not your time." She repeats before removing her hands.
He exhales, it was as if a dark cloud over him had finally left.
"Then, I will see you later." And she swiftly presses a soft kiss to his cheek before turning and diving beneath the surface. Gone once again.
It's not until he's back on shore that he realizes he isn't wet at all. He looks out at the ocean for a final time, gently touching his cheek where she had kissed him. Before turning and running, running as fast as he could to get away from there.
Time continues to pass. He's never been back to that beach since. He's stayed away, far away, going wherever his job called him and burying her deep in the back of his mind. But he can't run forever, he of all people should know about paying back debts.
He's visiting home and that night the song tears into his head, more clear than ever before. The same hauntingly beautiful sound, but now he can hear something else, a violent undertone sinking its claws into him. He can't resist.
So he doesn't.
But as he goes to leave, he grabs the flower she gave him all those years ago. And hides a knife in his jacket.
He doesn't even hesitate this time, walking straight into the water. He keeps going and going until he feels a hand on his shoulder, turning him around. And there she is, the same as when he first saw her. While he wasn't sure if he had fallen in love before, he knew he was now.
This was the face that haunted his dreams after all, no matter how hard he tried to forget. She was here in front of him once more.
"Hello," she greets him, smiling at him. Her sharp teeth glint and for a brief moment, he feels like he's 8 again.
"Hello," he replies, causing her smile to widen.
"Are you ready?"
He brings the flower out of his pocket, gently places it back in her hair. She giggles softly, touching his face with her hands.
"It's your time," she sings. And he finds himself nodding.
He lowers his face towards hers, pausing briefly when they're close, before kissing her. One of her hands grabs his shoulder and he feels her claws sinking into his skin as the other arm wraps around his neck. And she's pulling him down.
But he won't go that easy. As one of his hands tangles itself in her hair, the other holds the knife, bringing it to her back, and stabbing it in.
She breaks the kiss, gasping. Yet that smile hasn't left her face. As her blood starts to color the water, she begins to laugh. It's soft at first but starts to grow more manic. He stabs her again, again, again but she doesn't stop. Instead, she grabs his face, digging into his skin with her claws.
"You won't get away that easily." Her tone is still light.
"I know." Is all he can say in response.
She kisses him again and he tastes blood in his mouth, she has taken his tongue. But he doesn't stop and they hold on tight to each other. She's dragging him down, down, down, and together they fall into the depths of the ocean.