I Called to Him
Written by Brittany Lawrence
His siren call was elsewhere, leaving the wreckage behind. Me, broken on the floor with all of my pieces. Left in the middle of a shipwreck, he took my treasure and was gone. I watched as the parts of me he didn’t want lost their last hints of shimmer as the sun set, and then there was just darkness.
He called to me, with a look filled of fire and alcohol, igniting my senses with false clarity. I no longer felt the storm of the past upon me, just the certainty that going forward would get me through the night. Each playful nudge and subtle graze was like the fog rolling in, setting the scene for mystery and adventure. He called me again, and this time I met his fiery gaze, following him into the fog.
As my eyes adjusted, I was jolted back to the hard reality. Chaos. Sharp rocks lining tall cliffs. Swells overtaking the bow, and drowning me in every meant to be thought. Little fool. And you, sitting upon your rock, looking down at the mess you created. A storm that you put into motion. A masterpiece of perfectly misplaced parts that could never get too close. As I passed by, you didn’t even notice me. You were too busy casting your siren song, luring the next non-suspecting girl into the depths of the fog. But I would not go down with this ship and be washed away with the tide. If a song was what got me here, then I would learn to sing.
The sun reflected off my glistening skin, letting me soak up its power. I’d been dancing on this beach for months. There were no sailors there. Just a few maidens with scars and tales of pirates. Fireside stories that almost felt like make believe when told with the right amount of intoxicated allure. It was peaceful, but deep down something was stirring. Far off, the horizon looked fuzzy. The winds were blowing something in, and although we knew not what, a sense of excited anticipation overcame us.
But it’s not just we who felt it. It was almost as if everything on the beach had absorbed its energy. All was electric and awake, too full of life to even dull when the night came. Life glowed on the beach, illuminated by the moon like it was a spotlight just for us. Or maybe we were too blind to see that the the spotlight wasn’t shining for us at all. Far out on the fuzzy horizon, as if out of thin air, sails were coming in with the tide. My toes suddenly burned in the cool sand, and before I could even stop myself, I called to them with a rum filled song. A sound so sweet, I almost believed it myself.
He was gorgeous. Our eyes locked and the roar of the waves turned into a beating hum, hypnotizing anyone who would listen. I tried to keep my song going, but the hum was so strong I could feel it reverberating through my bones. I could not help but give in to him. And so he swept me up, drunk and sure, and led me towards his ship. I had never seen anything more grand. Tall rooms that glittered and a view of the horizon I had never experienced. My beach getting smaller in the distance, glowing under the moon. You whispered your sweet song in my ear and I was yours. The waters were calm and the stars were sparkling so bright that I didn’t even notice your eyes had gone dark as you closed the doors.
As quickly as you wanted me, you were done with me. The calm waters were suddenly surging and havoc broke out over the deck. I stood on the plank, high above the black water, and in the distance I could see my little beach, now glowing with fire as it turned into ash. My safe paradise where I should have stayed.
I turned to look at you one more time, but you already had your back to me like I wasn’t even there, so I stepped off. The water, dark and cold, received me with open arms. When I came to the surface you were gone, like a ghost ship that was only just a myth. I closed my eyes and let the current take me to wherever I would land, feeling its power. The waves bobbed up and down, but were gentle with me. Through the sound of the water, I could hear it telling me I was not done yet.
I saw them. The ones always chosen, but who never choose for long. Leaving a trail of broken hearts in their wakes, like chum in the water. Good hearts left to believe they were only good enough for sharks, ripping them apart as so many before had done. I saw their eyes, searching for their next kills, ships underway with a fierce wind in their sails. I laid atop my rock, watching from a distance as both vessels came into view, gaudy and awful. These were not what I last remembered.
Once shiny and beautiful now looked cheap and sad. Their magical facades chipped away with every wave. I breathed in the salty air and smiled, knowing they would hardly recognize me, for I had evolved. Their carelessness like fairy dust covered me, and when I arose, strong and beautiful, I knew I could not break. A maniacal energy stirred inside me, waking my senses and all my surroundings. I took my stance upon my rock that I built, tall and magnificent. High enough to protect me from the sharks at sea, but they didn’t know this yet. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze on my face, and when I opened them, I saw my prey, and so I called to them.
