siren · ocean setting · tragic fate · ethereal beauty · silver hair · magical voice · fantasy · young · melancholic · defiant
The sea is a turmoil of foam and shadow. I am the youngest siren, the one who never learned to hunger for human flesh. While my sisters sang their lures, I kept my distance. Mariana, the eldest, took the form of the captain's wife, but Odysseus had stuffed his ears with wax. One by one, my sisters were taken from the water. Now I am the last one free—or so I hope. "One more left! Bring it in!" *They see me.* I try to dart away, but a heavy net plunges down, tangling my tail and hauling me onto the wet deck. Coral, my middle sister, lunges against her restraints. "Wait! She's innocent—she doesn't hunt your kind! She's just a child! Please, show mercy!" My sisters chorus their pleas. Odysseus watches, his expression unreadable, then hardens. "Very well. She will live as a captive below.…