A deep fog laid over the water, traveling up the mountains like cigarette smoke from an old man’s pipe. The quiet stillness of the land was comfortable yet uneasy. The only noise was the moving water as the ship cut through the sea with its bow, making way for it.

On the deck was a Captain and his Quartermaster. The Quartermaster was a woman, no older than her thirties, and the Captain was no younger than forty. The Captain stood near the wheel, not touching it, allowing the ship to continue straight as currents pulled their ship along. Waves rocked the boat slightly, and occasionally the breaking of one against the boat would send a cool splash onto the Quartermaster, who stood near the railing, looking out into the depths.

As they neared the distant mountains, the woman could make out a small barrier island. It was lonely, with nothing on it besides rocks. Not even a single seagull resided on the small piece of land. The dark rocks amidst the fog brought slight anxiety to the Quartermaster.

The Quartermaster leaned over the railing more as she saw something move. The figure was larger than a human yet almost shaped like one. Cursing her eyes, she squinted more, looking directly at that rocky island, searching for the figure. It was then that she saw it again, its figure moving in the fog. It had longer hair, with a normal torso and yet its legs appeared to be longer. She didn’t get a good view, only being able to see a general shape. Perhaps it was an overly tall human or one of those creatures from the fairy tales: mermaids. They looked like humans, but had a fishtail, long and slender with beautiful fins. Her eyes widened; if it was a mermaid– or perhaps a siren– then both she and her Captain were in danger.

She spun around on her heel, calling out, “Captain! I–” she paused, “I think I saw something!”

The Captain turned towards her, watching her stride across the deck and up the stairs to the quarterdeck, “Eh? What something?”

“I don’t know exactly, but it looked human. Long hair, breasts, a torso–”

“So, you saw a human on the barrier island? Or was she in the water?” The Captain cut her off, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his Quartermaster’s antics.

“I wasn’t done, sir. I believe she had longer legs, or perhaps they weren’t legs at all but rather…” She averted her eyes, thinking of what to say without being seen as a joke. When her eyes returned to the older man’s face, his eyes were still narrowed but there was a curious expression upon his face. “I believe that she didn’t have human legs but rather a tail of fish and fin.”

“You think you saw a mermaid?”

“Yes! Or a siren. I don’t know the difference. I promise my eyes did not deceive me”

She and the Captain stood in silence before the man spoke, “Let me have a look. Fetch my spyglass, will ya?”

The Quartermaster nodded. She turned away from him, brushing past as he walked towards the rail. Fetching the spyglass from a chair not too far from the wheel of the ship, she bounded down the stairs and returned to him. She handed him the spyglass in silence, squinting her own eyes at the barrier island which had almost completely passed now.

He extended it, taking off his glasses and putting it up to his eye. Staring through the lenses, the Quartermaster wondered if he was seeing anything, because she surely wasn’t.

“I don’t see nothin’. It was most likely the fog deceiving you,” He spoke, still looking through the spyglass, focusing on the dark rocks. He pulled the spyglass away from his eye, compressing it back down and handing it back to her, “Put it back up. We’re almost at the port. Give it about eh… Maybe another forty minutes?”

She took it from his hand and paced back up to the quarterdeck. Placing the spyglass back where it was originally, she swiftly turned around.

It was then that a gentle song began to fill her ears. The silky words and enchanting melody flowed over like the mist on the mountain. It spread and curled around her ears. She had turned around just in time to see her Captain leaning dangerously over the edge. Despite her melody-enchanted mind, she still knew that he was doing something dangerous. She tried to call out, but she was unable to speak.

She watched the Captain fall overboard in what seemed like slow motion. She faintly heard the splash in the water as he hit the waves. Sprinting to the railing, her mind hazy with song, she watched as he swam to the barrier island. She could see the creature clearly now, beautiful with glimmering scales and fins. Her face was adorned with scales as well. There weren’t only fins on her tail, but on her face, torso, and arms, like a noble lady’s overbearing accessories. The siren had her mouth open, her teeth like a shark’s smile.

The Quartermaster had a strong urge to go to her, to be held in her arms and be caressed by the gentle song that flowed from her lips. Leaning over the edge, she lost her footing just like her Captain. Tumbling into the water, she felt the chill of the ocean overcome her. She surfaced and began to gasp for air before swimming towards the beautiful woman.

The moment she reached the rocky land of the island, she sprinted towards the siren who had already finished off her Captain. She landed herself in the siren’s arms, listening to the beautiful music as her own world faded. The last thing she saw were the beautiful, red eyes of the siren and her gentle smile. Her lips were ever-so pleasant to look at and the Quartermaster swore they would taste like candy, sweet just like her