50,000 feet below the surface.
2,400 Miles Southwest of the Continental United States.

Daylight

{Damian}

              We've been traveling on the whale for a while now. A long while actually. Staring at the sky isn't a fun activity to do for hours. Eventually, it'll get very boring. The surrounding waters are seriously a replica of a ghost town. Nothing for miles away, neither up, down, front or back. It's just me, Iruka, and the whale.
             "Do you know where we are now?" I ask Iruka who was laying lazily next to me. "Or where we're heading?"
             "According to the water patterns and temperature, we're heading towards the Coral City." She said.
             "And should I know specifically what that place is?" I ask.
             "Basically a large island where humans and sea creatures love to rest." She said. "It's where the waters are extra clear, the waves are stronger, and the humans are actually peaceful."
             I'm starting to get an idea of where we are heading. Hawaii.
             "Do you know what the humans wear on that island?" I ask. "I mean, besides the obvious."
             "I think so." She puts on her thinking expression. "Oh yeah! They have flowers sticking out of their head, and plants around their stomachs."
             Yup, Hawaii. That island is known for its one of a kind nature fashion. Stupid but hey... isn't that what most humans are? So nothing surprising.
             "That island my friend is called Hawaii," I said.
             "Ha-we-what??" She got confused.
             "Ha-wa-ii..." I said slowly and clearly. "That's the only island I know where humans like to wear plants."
             I mean besides Ivy.
             "Hawaii... wow, I never knew humans would name an island as well." She teases.
             "Hey don't look at me, I didn't name them." I shrugged.
             "Well, at least I learn something new." She said. "Next stop, Hawaii."
             If I recall my geometry, Hawaii is part of the United States, which means we're a city or two away from home which also means, we're close to Atlantis. I believe this is good news.
             But I guess until then, it's just gonna be the same routine which is just talking, staring at the skies, and repeat.
             "So..." I start off. "Tell me something about your ocean world."
             "It's my turn."
             "What do you wanna know?" She asks.
             That's actually a good question because when I was growing up, I had a lot of questions about the sea but then now I sorta have forgotten many of them. But I do recall some.
             "Maybe... what happens when a creature dies?"
             "It depends on the tribe and creatures." She said. "All colony has its own ways of handling the death."
             "Yeah that's true, it's the same as the human world," I said. "Do you know how the Merfolks or Siren handle the death of their kind?"
             "Like I said, different tribes, different ways." She said. "But they do have one thing in common and that is, every dead Merfolk is brought to the deep and buried there. So that way, no humans or creatures will be able to find their bodies."
             "Smart... very smart," I mumbled. "How does a Siren die?"
             "Many ways actually... it's either they've already lived for six whale lives, or in most occurrence, they're murdered by the creatures of the deep." She said while looking at the whale.
             Six whale years... an average blue whale life span is roughly 80 to 90 years, so six whale years is... 540 years old?!?
             Holy...... That's very old.
             I wonder how an old siren looks like. Do their hair turns grey like us or......
             "What kind of creatures are those?" I ask, a little shaken up.
             "There's the Calypso, Cetus, Lernean Hydra and many more... And there's the Kracken... many of them lurks in the deep and they have taken many... sirens in the past." She said. "Many." She repeated.
             "I..." I don't know how to respond because I'm tremendously shocked by the fact that I ventured into the Mariana Trench... I could've been taken by the Kracken....... I held onto rhe diamonds with shaky hands and looked at Iruka.
             "I could've used that info when I was going into the Trench earlier you know..." I said.
             "Slip my mind I guess." She said in a guilty tone. "But hey, you made it out alive so no harm no problem."
              "Anyways, back to the sirens... There are certain stories where the deceased merfolk will return back as a spirit to see their loved ones." She said. "However, only chosen Merfolks gets this opportunity it's because they have some unfinished business with their loved ones. So the sea Gods granted them a wish to do so."
             "But, they can't talk, touch, or see each other clearly."
             Huh... just like the human world. Well, at least to the people who believe in the supernatural.
             "Interesting." I acknowledge while nodding my head. "So the Merfolks bury the deaths in the deep... what about your kind, Iruka?"
             "What do the dolphins do when there's a death in their colony?"
             "The dolphins don't do anything special really." She said. "When there's a death in the colony, the body is left wherever the leader wishes to leave it."
             "Is a hidden place?" I ask.
             "No, it's mostly an open sea where predators lurk." She said. "The body becomes their food."
             Oh...
             "Oh..." I don't know how to respond to that.
             "Don't worry, it's just the circle of life." She said. "Nobody wishes for death but when it happens, you just gotta accept it and move on."
             "I suppose that's true," I said. "
             "Of course it is." She said. "But enough about my kind. Let's talk about your species."
             "My human self?" I ask.
             "No, you're Siren self." She said with a whole new tone. It seems like she is an expert in hiding a true self behind a mask.
             Sounds familiar huh...
             "But I don't know anything about my Siren self," I said as I lift my hand and stare at it. Every tiny piece of scale glistening, my talons as strong as metals and all my fins swaying along with the water pattern. "Yeah, I really don't."
             "I do." She said. "Want me to introduce you to yourself?"
             Now that was a really stupid yet intelligent question that I never thought someone would ask me. I raise my tail and rest it next to me, getting comfortable because im actually curious to know about my new form.
             "Yes, I would like to know everything about what I am," I said as I cross my arms.
             She lightly rests in front of me and met my eyes.
             "Alright, let's start off with the thing every Siren has. Your song." She said. "Every Siren has the ability to sing, regardless whether they're female or male. However, every song has a different effect. It's not always a bad effect."
             For a while, my mind went blank, and my surroundings went quiet. I started thinking of what she said about the song in me. I can see her talking but I can't hear a thing. All I know is, my eyes suddenly shut, my mouth opened and I started singing. But I was immediately cut off by her loud wake-up call.
             "Hey!!!" She shouts. "Not that kind of singing Clam head. I don't know exactly how the Siren song works but I know how it sounds like... and that my fish, ain't it."
             "You sounded like newborn calves crying."
             "That bad?" I ask.
             "Yup." She replied without hesitation. "Anyways, before I was interrupted by your singing, I was telling you on how the Siren song only comes when you really pour your heart into something."
             "Like what?" I ask.
             "Their song is a way for them to express their feelings such as sadness, fear, overwhelmed, and so on." She said. "They sing to get out a frustrating feeling that has been hindering them on the inside."
             "Though sometimes the Siren sings too much which ended up causing chaos to sailors on the surface." She looked up towards the surface.

"I still remember when I was a little Iruka, I saw so many sailors jumping in the sea free will because of those Sirens singing. Many of them were drowned by the Sirens and were brought to the bottom of the sea."

             So that's why there were numerous cases of boats with a lot of people leaving and never returning... they were all attacked by the Sirens... and no trails or clues were left behind for the people to find out what's going on. Heck, not even the boats.
             "What did they do those sailors?" I asked, feeling slightly afraid.
             "I don't know." She said. "I was never brave enough to follow them into the deep. My biggest guess, the Sirens kill them and eat them. I don't know but I do know that the humans were never seen again... and they're boats lie on the seabed."
             Sirens are carnivores... Great.
             "Well, let's hope I do not eat anything that is... moving," I said in a disgusted tone while imagining myself eating a living sea creature.
             "You never know." She laughs. "As I was saying... Sirens sing to release their feelings."
             "Good to know," I said while nodding.
             "Ok then, since we have nothing to do, why don't we explore some of your siren abilities." She suggested. "Do you want to know how it feels like to sing your very own song?"
             Not going to lie, im actually very very curious about how does it feel to sing a legendary siren song. As a human, I liked singing but it's just a random thing I simply do... but now as a Siren? This is a whole new thing for me... and im very excited to discover myself.
             "Yes, let's," I said.
             "Ok let's start off with this very simple question... how are you feeling right now?"
             "Right now? I mean... there's a lot but I don't know which is real." I said. "There's anger, frustration, and definitely a lot of sadness I can assure that."
             "How much do you miss your friend?" She said in a serious tone as if she was a psychiatrist. "How much do you wish you could see him again, and to touch him?"
             That question straight up brought me to a situation for which I do not know how to respond but to soak in a puddle of sadness. My mind automatically brought up Jons's image. How he looks like when I unintentionally scare him in the morning, how he smiles when I agree to go out with me, how he cries, and how much I miss holding his soft hands. I can feel myself crying but as always, I can't see the tears.
             "You're sad... and that's alright." She said softly. "The ocean may carry our tears away but it can't take the true feeling that's inside the heart."
             "A lot, Iruka," I said. "A lot."
             "What can you do about it?" She asks.
             "I don't know."
             "Exactly." She said. "Now...... sing, Damian."
             "Let the song from your heart be released into the ocean... let out your sadness."
             Without realizing, my eyes automatically began to close as I raise my chin up high. A weird but good feeling was starting to form in my stomach, slowly rising up to my throat and out of my mouth. And only then I realized, that I was singing.