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Evelyn

T he waves crash in the distance as boisterous laughter and chatter fill the Elder’s hut.

The abundance of plush blankets, intricately crafted seashell chairs, and walls lined with woven straw have transformed this large hut into a cozy haven for us to spend our days.

In this space, we lounge in comfort when not busy entertaining the men who have wound up on our island of Kafigda.

A soft ocean breeze rustles the straw, whispering its way around my siren sisters as the sun shines happily through the large open doors, creating a serene atmosphere of relaxation and warmth.

Many of my sisters will be preparing for the ceremony tonight, and their male conquests, but it's been many moons since I’ve taken a lover. My interests have drifted to the lush forests and wildlife that cover our rocky shores.

Spending a hundred and twenty-seven years on the island of Kafigda has given me plenty of time to become familiar with our lavish home.

I hadn't paid much mind to our surroundings, but in recent years, I've become obsessed with learning more about the island's vegetation and new ways to use it for medicinal purposes.

So, instead of spending my days lying in bed with all the other sirens and men, I've been exploring the dense jungles and discovering new plant species.

My half-sister Katarina would rather I take her advice and spend more time free of my clothes and indulging in what the village has to offer, but I’ll never be what my sister wants me to be.

I’ve grown tired of bedding men just for a mere moment of pleasure, I long to feel something real, and have someone all my own to spend my days exploring with.

I take a moment to soak in the peace of the early morning and look around the room at all of the sirens enjoying this time of peaceful tranquility in the Elder’s hut.

A small fire burning in the center of the room makes it even more welcoming.

We all like to spend our mornings wrapped in warm blankets and lying on the cushions that line the floor before our evening events.

I try to imagine myself as one of them, content with spending each day tangled in the sheets with a sailor who’s never interested in more than a tryst.

But I can’t, I can’t imagine myself wanting anything less than a true connection. I ache for genuine conversation and someone who’s passionate about the same things I am.

I yawn, standing and walking to the open doorway to watch the sprawling sea beyond the beach.

While Kafigda may be home to the sirens, we are much different from what the stories say.

For one, we can walk on land. As soon as our legs touch the waves, we transform, but on dry land, we have two legs like anyone else.

Secondly, our song doesn't lure men to their deaths.

Some of us can use our voice to heal, change the tides and weather patterns, or even manipulate the mind.

Though we spend most days surrendering to the passionate energy and wild abandon of our island's vibrant culture, we have also created a flourishing cooperative community here.

Everyone pitches in, using their talents and strengths to transform this place into a vision of paradise.

Working together, we have constructed new homes for those who fall victim to the storms surrounding us and find themselves stranded on our beaches, ensuring they are comfortable in their new home.

Our communal spirit extends to cooking, where we make meals and host gatherings beneath the starlit sky for the whole island, often leading to freed inhibitions of lust and unity.

Each day seems to blend into the next, and I often feel like there is no end in sight to the routine of it all. Kafigda is a beautiful place to call home, even if I feel like a prisoner stuck in a paradise.

“A ship has been spotted at the border!” One of my siren sisters walks past me into the hut, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Another one so soon?” Katarina squeals gleefully beside me. I follow her as she runs from the Elder's hut to the beach, where a large ship can be seen on the horizon. Like a fish in a net, it's caught within the feverish storms surrounding our cursed rock.

“What did we do to deserve such a treat?” Katarina’s strawberry blonde hair flows in luscious waves down her back. I watch her pink and blue scales sparkle in the light as she clasps her hands together, bouncing excitedly on her webbed feet.

She loves it when the storms bring new sailors to the island. I, on the other hand, could never see another ship again and know peace.

The storms that rage in the ocean near our island are not natural. They're a curse, and the reason legends claim us to be monsters. It's not us luring sailors to our shores—it's the island and its storms.

It’s always been this way, for as long as we can remember. Kafigda is beautiful, everything we could ever want grows here, and we are thriving. There’s just one problem—we can never leave this blighted place.

From the outside, it appears to be a storm that even the most seasoned sailors dare not cross, but past the dark clouds and rain is our paradise, which is nothing more than a gilded cage.

Our island is full of secrets, things that the sirens haven’t yet uncovered, or if my suspicions are correct, don’t want to expose.

Like my sister, most of them were happy to spend their days beneath the sun's warm rays, swimming in the deep cerulean waters, and enjoying the company of the sailors trapped on our shores. But I’m not content to waste my life in this place.

Maybe it’s because I was raised by an Elder who told me stories of her youth where sirens were worshiped by sailors and merchants alike.

My childhood was filled with tales of travelers who came and left as they pleased, who were able to experience a world past the small island of Kafigda. Tales of the Elders using their powers to predict storms that could save lives and steer fish into the waiting nets of hungry fishermen.

I longed to know a time before the storms, before we were cut off from the world and legend transformed us into monsters who lure men to their deaths.

The Elders who washed up on the shores of Kafigda all those centuries ago tell us how the mainlanders loved us and how the island became a destination for weary travelers seeking rest after a long fishing season.

Then one day, off in the distance, a single storm cloud swirled, dark grey, with streaks of lightning that brightened the sky.

The cloud grew and encircled the island, massive waves gathered and crashed against the rocks, destroying all the boats waiting to take the sailors back to Kafigda.

Try as the sirens might, there isn’t a song that has ever been sung that can lessen the wrath of the storms.

We've learned to survive with what the ocean and the island provide. If any new ships become trapped in the swirling clouds, we work to save all we can, but as soon as they are safe on our shores, they're stuck.

No one can leave.

Ever.

Although many have tried, no sailor or siren has ever made it past the circle of rolling storm clouds alive.

As the years pass, some of us have created ways of coping with this bleak existence, like my half-sister.

She has honed her songs and can lure virtually any sailor she wants into her bed.

She is well versed in how to pleasure a man and how to demand pleasure in return.

Katarina never gets bored of sharing her exploits and tips for how she uses her curves and siren’s voice to get men to do exactly what she wants.

One moon ago, a large royal vessel was lured into the storms. Katarina rescued a tall, striking dark-haired man with an air of confidence about him, just before the waves swallowed his ship.

I doubt she even remembers any of the names of her many conquests, but with this one, I often find her sneaking him away into the forest late at night, and I only roll my eyes at her appetite.

I used to be like her, insatiable , but after years of bedding too many men to count, I began to crave connection, deeper conversations, and real feelings.

None of the men are interested in anything that serious.

While I still participate in the occasional celebration, I've sworn off routinely bedding men until I feel something more for one of them.

I sigh, focusing my attention back on the ship trapped within the tempest of the sea. “I wonder how many men will survive this time, if any at all.”

“Hopefully plenty,” she winks at me. “I could use another man to entertain me. That royal boy is getting rather predictable.”

“You’ve only had him for one moon, surely you aren’t sick of him already. There has to be more you can teach him.”

“Sis, I can teach him plenty, but it’s more that I want him to know what I want and be ready to give it to me anytime I require,” Kat whines, before adding.

“Why don’t you give him a try and see? You need to see what he's like.

" Of course, she brought up the same argument we've had for weeks, months, years really.

“I have no interest in teaching a new conquest what I prefer or becoming involved in any other schemes you are cooking up. I crave more from this life. Don’t you?” I am already exhausted by the turn this conversation was starting to take.

I can only have the same argument so many times before we talk in circles around each other, and suddenly, I start to believe that I am the unreasonable one.

“You’ve spent too much time believing the Elder’s stories.

There will never be a happily ever after for us.

We will never be like Aurelia. She was one in a million.

You know that, and Florence putting all these ideas in your head about being just like her makes me worry about you, E.

” She spoke softly, her voice lined with a gentleness that I rarely saw, but also a tinge of pity.

Maybe I am being unreasonable.

Kat always brought up our mother during these talks. Aurelia was one of a kind. Fearless. Beautiful. Kind. Clever. Everything I wanted to be.

She was a member of the Elder council and worked so hard to rid our island of the storms encircling it.

Aurelia was one of the lucky few sirens who found true love, the kind that sweeps you off your feet, and ballads were written about.

She was so desperately in love with my father and he with her, that when she died giving birth to me, he sailed out into the waves, losing himself to the storm.

He could not stand the thought of living without her.

Even my birth couldn’t keep him in this world.

I was left to be raised by one of the Elders, Florence.

She always made sure to keep my mother’s memory alive by sharing stories of Aurelia, and as much as I love her for it, my mother can never be replaced in my heart.

“I will not lie with another stranger doomed to live out the same fate that I am. My heart cannot take it anymore. Besides, I am never able to lure men to my bed in the same way you are.” I jest, trying to keep the conversation light.

I am in no mood to dive deep into all the reasons why I can never feel fulfilled by this life. It is too early in the day for that kind of talk.

“Speaking of, if that royal boy is getting so predictable, why not hand him over to the rest of the girls?” I say, desperate to change the subject. “Maybe it’s time for him to find someone new, and you too.”

My sister has a vicious appetite that never seems to be sated. Being a siren came with its perks, including being completely irresistible to any man she chose to pursue.

"Evie, I'm still having fun! You should try it again sometime. I highly recommend it." She wiggles her brows at me. "There's just something about a royal I can't resist. They're so broody."

Kat looks off into the distance, and we watch lightning strike the ship, sparks flying. "They're always looking for ways to be of service. Trust me, E, once you've had a royal man on his knees for you, you will be singing a very different tune." She laughs and dives into the gentle waves.