A mermaid’s last song

The ocean whispered secrets only she could hear. Beneath the silver light of the moon, Liriel drifted along the surface, her shimmering emerald tail barely causing a ripple. The world above had always fascinated her, though it was forbidden to linger too long. The elders spoke of the dangers—humans, with their nets and harpoons, their ships that cut the sea like knives. But Liriel had seen more than their cruelty. She had watched lovers embrace on the shore, heard the laughter of children chasing waves, and felt the warmth of songs drifting across the water like magic.

Tonight, the sea was restless, and so was she. A storm churned on the horizon, but it was not the dark clouds that troubled her heart. It was the promise she had made. The last song. The final note of her existence.

The elders had warned her from the moment she was born beneath the coral spires of the deep—every mermaid was granted but a single, true song. A song that could heal, a song that could shatter, a song that could shape the tides of fate. But once sung, it would take her voice and, in time, her life.

She had guarded her song for years, keeping it locked within her soul. It was a mermaid’s most sacred gift, to be used only when the ocean itself deemed it necessary. And now, the moment had come.

On the distant shore, a man lay dying.

Liriel had seen him before—his golden hair like the sun, his eyes as blue as the morning sky. A sailor, a wanderer, a poet who had once thrown his voice into the wind in hopes that someone, somewhere, would listen. And she had listened.

For months, she had remained hidden beneath the waves, drawn to the sound of his songs, the way his fingers danced over the strings of his lute, weaving melodies that made her heart ache. She knew his name—Elias. She knew his dreams, for he had sung of them. He longed to sail beyond the horizon, to write a tale worth telling, to love so deeply that even the gods would remember his name.

But fate had been cruel. A shipwreck, a broken body washed onto the shore, and now the man who had filled the world with music was fading.

Liriel knew the price of her song. If she sang, her voice would leave her forever, and in time, so would her life. The ocean would reclaim her, as it did all who gave too much of themselves. And yet, she did not hesitate.

She swam to the shore, the waves carrying her forward as if they, too, understood the weight of her choice. The wind howled, the storm drawing closer, but she paid it no mind. Her fingers brushed against Elias’s cheek—cold, so cold. His breath was shallow, his heartbeat unsteady.

And so, she sang.

The first note was a whisper, carried by the wind like a forgotten dream. The second, a ripple upon the water, the pulse of the sea itself. Her voice rose, weaving the story of the ocean, the endless depths, the longing of a soul bound by water but yearning for something more. The song wrapped around Elias, sinking into his skin, into his heart, mending what was broken, breathing life into what had begun to fade.

Tears slipped down her cheeks as she felt her voice unravel, thread by thread, until all that remained was silence.

Elias stirred.

His eyes fluttered open, confusion giving way to awe as he beheld the creature before him—a mermaid, her hair like midnight waves, her lips parted in a silence more profound than any words. He reached for her, his fingers brushing her hand, and in that moment, understanding passed between them.

She had given him everything.

But the ocean does not wait. The tide pulled at her, gentle but insistent. Her strength was fading, her form becoming lighter, less solid, as if she were becoming one with the sea. Elias tried to hold onto her, but she smiled—a small, sad thing—and let go.

The waves rose to meet her, cradling her as she drifted back into the depths. The world above blurred, and the last thing she saw was Elias, kneeling upon the sand, tears mixing with the rain, his voice calling out her name—a name that would soon belong only to the sea.

The storm passed, and when the sun rose, the shore was empty.

But Elias remembered.

And for the rest of his days, he sang her song.