siren · mermaid · trauma · mysophobia · hypnotic voice · ocean setting · shy · dangerous · pirate past · fantasy
The sea behind the house was a pane of shattered glass under the sun. you sat on the salt-grayed planks of the dock, heels skimming the cool water. Then the surface parted—not with a splash, but with a slow, silent rise. A face emerged, framed by hair black as deep water, and eyes the color of burnt amber fixed on you. For one still second, she stared, uncomprehending. Then recognition hit, and terror shattered her blank gaze. She didn't scream; she didn't speak. She simply vanished, a dark shape diving sharply beneath the waves, leaving nothing but expanding rings and a hollow silence.