BENEATH THESE WATERS

In a time when men quivered at the mere thought of the sea, their fears resonated through the depths of their souls. They trembled at the storm-tossed surface, where moonlight danced in mysterious ripples, and recoiled at the frothing waves, whose hungry maw had devoured countless fishing boats, swallowing the lives they held within. Among the sailors embarking on that fateful maiden voyage, one young soul, burdened with unease, bore the weight of apprehension more heavily than his companions. Whispers of fathers lost and sons consumed by the merciless sea echoed in his ears, mingling with his mother's desperate pleas. But in a village plagued by scarcity, where choices were as scarce as coins in their pockets, there was little room for succumbing to fear.

Reluctantly, the ship cast off, distancing itself from the sheltered cove, each crest of a swell carrying it further from the safety of the moon-bleached shore. Out there, survival was a solitary struggle, and every man's adversary was the tempestuous sea itself.

On the deck, piles of dark, flopping fish bore witness to the Eger sailors' relentless pursuit of profit. They cast lines and nets, determined to strip the sea bare for a meager buck. But with each haul, their wary eyes scanned the catch, for there were things lurking beneath the surface that one would rather not ensnare. And always, their gazes remained fixated on the treacherous expanse, as if anchored in perpetual vigilance.

Though the young lad was no stranger to the ocean's embrace, a pang of homesickness gripped his heart whenever his gaze wandered to the waves. A memory from the morning prior incessantly replayed in his mind, haunting his thoughts like an ethereal specter.

"Don't go," his mother's voice reverberated within him. "If you go, I fear I will never see you again."

Then, his recollection shifted to his father, slumped in the worn living room chair at dawn, his breath laced with the dizziness of alcohol, and his eyes glazed over. Another night spent carousing in the taverns, oblivious to the world. A faint, breathy snore mingled with the tangles of his unkempt hair. He wouldn't wake until the sun sat high in the sky.

"He'll lose his wages if he doesn't go."

"Don't go."

"We must pay the rent."

"Don't go."

"And with what money shall we feed ourselves?"

"We will find a way, my son. Just please, don't go."

She clung to his arm, her grip desperate, as he stepped out, dressed in his father's worn wool sweater and cap. He shook her loose, shutting the door behind him, avoiding the image of her tear-streaked face that would linger at the window.

"Out of the way, boy!" a sailor's brusque shout jolted him back to the present.

Startled, the lad stepped aside and perched upon the ship's gunwale. It was then, in that quiet moment, that he saw her—or rather, it saw her.

She sensed their arrival, men whose blood tasted sweet on her tongue, men with flesh as tender as a ripened peach. The sea rejoiced, its song laden with bitter coldness and familiar malevolence, stirring the waves into a deadly dance. They surged upwards, hungrily spilling over the railings and flooding the treacherously slick deck.

Emerging from the fathomless depths, she possessed a grotesque beauty. Her skin, rough and sinewy like kelp, shimmered with iridescent scales, reflecting the feeble light that dared to penetrate the murky waters. She was a creature of nightmares, with slitted eyes that peered maliciously just above the surface, and gills that flapped wearily in the folds of her neck, struggling to breathe the alien air. Knotted strands of hair cascaded down to her hips, tangled and wild. Her tail burned and itched where her once-smooth skin had been rubbed raw by the relentless grip of a single rope tied in a pretty little knot. The rope, weathered and frayed, bound her to the haunting memory of who she had once been.

With each crashing wave, she bucked against the ship, her body tossed downwards, stinging saltwater assaulting her eyes. Yet, she rose once more, fixated on the figure before her—a sailor with sea-green eyes.

There was a time when she had known this man. He had been but a boy then, with a handsome face and an enchanting smile that set the hearts of village girls aflutter—fragile hearts that seemed as thin as paper when he callously tore them apart. Now, he had become a fisherman, a vocation neither desired nor chosen, but one demanded by the unforgiving sea. Fishermen had a knack for disappearing in these treacherous waters.

He had transformed in her eyes, grown unrecognizable in countless ways—his sun-drenched skin, etched with the lines of labor under the relentless gaze of the sun, the creases forming a permanent scowl on his weary face. And now, as their eyes locked in a moment of horrific realization, she smiled, relishing the horror that twisted his exhausted features. They all feared the sea, but he, he feared it with a deeper, more intimate terror.

"Do you remember me?" she asked, her voice a haunting melody that echoed with the secrets of the deep. He hesitated, a flicker of recognition crossing his troubled gaze, and within that hesitation, she found her answer.

In her youth, she had lingered too long on the shore at sundown, defying her father's stern warnings. When the tide had surged forth, the foaming waves had seized her ankles in their urgent grip, and she had narrowly escaped with her life. Years later, upon returning to the beach, the gentle touch of the water's edge brushing against her foot had jolted her into a frenzy of fear. The cruel laughter of her schoolmates still echoed in her ears, and she had believed she would never outlive the humiliation, the incessant teasing—until the day a boy with sea-green eyes had approached her, carrying a note. "Sundown. Meet me at the beach."

They had stood there, side by side, the sinking sun casting its fiery hues upon their vulnerable forms, the warmth of the day fading with its descent. Inside her chest, her paper heart fluttered within its cage of bone as the boy offered her a knotted bracelet—a sailor's knot—and bestowed upon her a disingenuous smile.

"I love you," he lied. And as she leaned in to kiss him, he pushed her into the sea.

Her schoolmates had laughed, their adolescent joy swelling at his heartless trick, and they watched as she sank, ensnared by seaweed chains that coiled around her ankles, slick and unyielding. The water closed in around her, suffocating her, stealing the last gasp of air from her thin throat. And above her, the distant echo of callous laughter mingled with the abyss that became her watery grave.

Those schoolboys had been cruel, yes, but they were young and foolish, their hearts unburdened by the weight of consequence. They had waited for her to surface, forgetting that she could not swim.

Yet, she had waited. And now, there he stood before her, the boy turned man, his sea-green eyes reflecting a glimmer of surrender, clouded with dread. The sea hissed, its sirens' seductive whispers echoing through the salt-laden air, captivating the sailors aboard the ship with promises of untold wonders. Men feared the sea, for it was a merciless force, but she, she was a monster born of its depths.

"I love you," she lied, her voice mingling with the haunting melody of the waves. In an instant, she surged forward, her powerful tail propelling her through the water with a grace that defied her grotesque form. Her scaled hand reached out, fingers elongated and webbed, and seized him with a grip that promised no escape.

As the sea-eyed sailor was pulled beneath the surface, his once-familiar world shattered, replaced by a watery realm of darkness and swirling currents. Panic enveloped him, his struggles futile against her inhuman strength. Through the depths, he caught glimpses of her monstrous beauty, her slitted eyes gleaming with a wicked delight.

Memories intertwined with fear flooded his mind—the teasing laughter of his friends as they watched her sink, the weight of guilt that had gnawed at his conscience for years. Now, he understood the weight of his actions, the consequences of his heartless betrayal.

The sea embraced them, its touch cold and unforgiving. They descended into its inky depths, where time lost its meaning, and the boundaries between reality and nightmares blurred. She held him captive, her grip unyielding, her vengeance consuming her very essence. For in the depths of the sea, there is no forgiveness, only the ceaseless dance of vengeance and retribution.

As they sank deeper, a surge of memories flooded her own twisted mind. She recalled the innocence stolen from her, the treachery of his embrace, and the laughter that had accompanied her descent into darkness. The years had transformed her, granting her a form both monstrous and beautiful, a reflection of the darkness that resided within her soul.

Through the ebbing light, they descended into a realm reserved for the damned, a world where regrets suffocated the air, and lost souls wandered in eternal torment. The sea cradled them, a silent witness to their twisted fate.

The sailor's struggles weakened, his once defiant spirit succumbing to the inevitability of their shared destiny. Her grip tightened, and as the last vestiges of air escaped his lips, his eyes met hers one final time. Within their depths, she saw a glimpse of remorse, a flicker of regret that mirrored her own.

In that fleeting moment, as their souls intertwined in the abyss, the sea whispered its ancient laments, mournful cries carried by the currents. Theirs was a tragic tale, woven into the tapestry of the sea's relentless pursuit of justice. The world above, oblivious to their watery demise, continued its ceaseless churn.

The sea, once their playground and sanctuary, now became their eternal prison. Bound together, the sailor and the sea-monster sank into the depths, their shared fate sealed within the watery depths, a cautionary tale whispered among sailors for generations to come.

And so, the sea claimed its due, as it always had, and always would. The tale of the sea-eyed sailor and the vengeful monster merged with the countless legends that washed upon the shores, a haunting reminder of the depths of human cruelty and the unforgiving nature of the sea.