The waters bobbed gently up and down the shore. Rocks were fixated almost like a maze around the sand and water. The sun was high, and no cloud blocked its rays. The sky and sea were both bright shades of blue.
Alexander thought it was perfect for a bit of fishing. Herman only came so Alexander could catch him some dinner.
“I packed biscuits if you’re so hungry,” Alexander looked over from the water, fishing pole in his hand. He was a tad pudgy, iron framed glasses, and the sun already burning his fair skin.
Herman, a slim fellow who chose to wear dark garments today and everyday, reached over from the shade a wall of stone provided and took a metal tin from Alexander’s gear. He popped open the container, saying, “I want fish though.”
“Don’t you worry, Hermie,” Alexander sang in his mellow tone. “I’ll catch you a whale, just you wait.”
“Waiting is such a waste of time,” Herman sighed, seeing the stale biscuits and tossing them back in the tin.
“Fishing is a sport and like everything it requires a bit of patience.”
“Yeah,” Herman felt a chuckle. “I’ll remember that next time you cook a ham- you burn that meat down to bone.”
While Herman made more jokes about Alexander and Alexander made note that he was annoyed by him, a pair of eyes was peeking out of the water not far from their fishing spot. Neither of them noticed, but something was swimming in the sea.
“Just when you make dinner, could you not burn it?” Herman asked his friend.
“You could cook yourself, you know,” Alexander stared back into the water, seeing nothing but the waves and birds.
“Hee hee hee.”
Herman’s ear perked. “You hear that?” He looked around.
“It was just a suggestion,” Alexander teased. “You don’t need to act like I’m not here.”
Herman gave a look around. “I’m going to explore a bit,” he told Alexander. “Holler if you see anything.”
“Sure thing,” his friend laughed.
Herman got up and maneuvered around the rocks, going slow in case he did see anything. There wasn’t much besides sand and rocky walls, but Herman did come to a little grotto, where there was a deep pool surrounded by a slanting rock platform.
“Hee, hee, hee.”
“Who’s there?” Herman called out. “I warn you… I have a knife.” Whether that was true or not was of no concern to this stranger.
“Tee hee!” a head popped out of the water. A smile, a girl. Her hair drenched from the sea, and her hair tanned from the sun.
“My,” Herman gasped, caught off guard. “What are you doing out here?” He bent down closer to speak to her.
“I’m Dini,” the girl giggled. “Are you a pirate?”
“No,” Herman shook his head.
“You look like one. You just need some gold jewelry,” Dini said.
“Do you have gold jewelry?” Herman joked.
“No,” Dini said, “but I do have this.” She dived into the water and that’s when Herman jumped back on his ass. She didn’t have legs. She had fins!
Dini came back and laid a shell on the sand. It was a sea mollusk shell. “Do you like it?” the girl asked.
“You’re a fish,” Herman mumbled, still sitting on the sand. “You have a fish tail.”
“Isn’t it neat?” she laughed.
Herman sorted his head. “Dini, isn’t it? I’m Herman… Have you always been…you know, a fish?”
“You’ll learn the proper term is siren,” Dini proudly corrected.
“Siren? Like the ones that lure sailors to their deaths?” Herman swallowed. “You gonna eat me?”
“No,” Dini lowered her head into the water. Only her face could be seen above the bobs. “I don’t eat sailors. Mum says that’s why I’m small.”
“So what do you eat?” Herman shuffled back a small bit.
“Sea veggies,” Dini slowly rose up. “I don’t see who could eat another living thing.”
Herman relaxed his body and came a little closer. “You’re not threatening are you?”
“I try not to be.”
Herman almost laughed. “Sorry, I just can’t believe I’m talking to a fish.”
“It’s not that unusual,” Dini thought. “I’m more surprised a human is talking to me. They usually run away.”
“How...