Halloween Count Down 2023: Rising Tides, Fallen Creatures - Part 1

  

Request from - Jordan The Goblin Queen 

Mermaid X Vampire, Forbidden Love, Happily Ever After

  Since mortals took their first breath, they have sat in the shadows of night and told stories to chase away the darkness. Vampires were no different. Perhaps it was because they were once mortals themselves, or perhaps they needed it more because darkness was all they had. Regardless of the reason why, Arche came to hear a myth from the vampire who sired him. 

    The story goes that the ocean was once quiet and still. So still that the surface shone like a pane of glass, and you could see clear to the ocean floor, where gods most mysterious creatures swam and danced in the coral and seaweed. One day a mortal, who had traveled far from the place of mankind's birth and stood in the clear water. It was the first mortal that the ocean had ever seen, and they couldn't help but admire the human as much as the human admired them. The mortal came every single day just to wade into the water, and stare into the ocean's depths. Soon it became apparent that the mortal could hear the ocean's true voice, something many of the other gods could not even do, and they became inseparable. The mortal would not travel farther away than the beach, and they would speak late into the night, sharing all their hearts secrets with each other. The deeper their connection became, the more the other gods took notice, and could not condone such a union of mortal and immortal. It wasn't enough for them to simply dispose of the mortal. The gods wanted to make an example of them. The mortal was sent away to the moon, where the ocean would know they were imprisoned and be ever reminded. From that day forth the ocean was no longer quiet or still. It churned, rolled, and raged. Waves breaking the surface to reach out high, to the one they loved. Each century that passed the ocean grew more violent, but no matter how much they raged, the waves could never reach the moon. 

    It was a tragic tale, but also a silly one. At the very least Arche didn't believe it was true. In all likelihood it was the creation of an older vampire, lamenting their immortality, probably even their own lost love. Though he thought it was silly, the story still stuck with him for many years as he wandered the earth in solitude. Many nights he would even find himself at the ocean's edge, seeking some kind of solace. Many nights, he would find himself feeling more alone. This night was not one of them. 

    On this night he sat upon a large rock, dipping his legs into the lapping waves, unable to feel the chill of the water or the winds. When he first heard the sound, he thought that he was finally going mad, but it grew louder and clearer. A gentle voice was singing an eerie song, in a language he could not speak, yet the emotion behind it, he could understand. Something out there in the waters was grieving. He peered through the dark farther than a normal man could have seen and caught sight of a head and shoulders bobbing up and down in the water. He was sure in his bones that it was the source of the mournful aria. Against thought or reason, he stepped into the night black water. The splash he made must have been enough for the stranger to hear it over the sound of the waves because their head swiveled in his direction, cutting off the song. It didn't move at first, until he took another step, and it slowly made its way towards him. He took yet another step and he could see their face in the dark. The face of the most beautiful person he had ever seen in his life. Alive or undead. 

    

    Their features were uncanny, the angles too sharp, the surfaces too smooth, the eyes too dark. Yet he was mesmerized and once they were close enough that he could reach his arm out and touch them, he had to use all of his will to keep his hands at his sides. Stranger still, his gaze traveled down passed a bare, flat chest, and to scaled hips. Yes, scaled. Blue-green iridescent scales caught the barest amount of light and shone through the water, from their hips all the way down their... their fish tail. 

    "Are you real?" he asked, his voice so quiet it was almost lost on the waves. 

    The being simply tilted their head at him and observed intently, as though he was the unbelievable thing. Then he recalled that he was, in fact, an unbelievable thing. So, he stood there and let the-... well, the mermaid, observe him. They tried to say something to him, but it was in that language he didn't understand; couldn't even identify. 

    

    "I'm sorry I don't know what you're trying to say." He told them, unsure if his words would even have a meaning.

    The mermaid was silent for a moment, then without warning, stuck their fingers directly into Arche's mouth and poked at his fangs. He jumped out of his skin before he realized what was happening. An unexpected laugh bubbled up from his chest, as he gently pulled their hands away, the taste of sea water spreading across his tongue. The mermaid laughed back, and he couldn't tell if they were laughing at him or just copying the sound. They sunk back into the water and disappeared with a glimmer and splash. IT happened so fast, that he could only stand there, soaking wet, and wondering if it had happened at all. Time did funny things to a man's mind, mortal or immortal. 

    He tried to return to the spot after the sun had risen, but the tide had gone down and there were only rocks and sand to be found. He tried to forget about it... for a while. 

     After several days of his thoughts filling with freezing water and the taste of salt, he returned again to the shore. This time he came at night again when the tide was high, and water lapped at the rocks once more. He wasn't sure what he expected but he sat at the rocks, and he waited. The night was clearer than before, the moon shining down bright, lighting up the surface of the waves. The reflections played tricks on his eyes, and he was starting to become very certain he had lost his mind. 

    Then he heard the voice.

    The song it sang was different this time, still eerie, but not a sound of mourning. He caught sight of them out in the water, looking directly at him. They came closer, leaning over the edge of the rocks to examine him again as before, still singing with a wistful look on their uncanny, beautiful face. 

    He knew in that moment that he would keep coming back to this place. 

    That he would keep coming back to them.

    

Part 2: https://mangothoughtswritingblog.blogspot.com/2023/10/halloween-count-down-2023-rising-tides_11.html