Edge of the Earth

Written by Júlia de Toni Carvalho, 1st-prize winner

CW: violence

People would call her crazy for saying it, but the sea was a place of romance.

The lull of the waters were the sweet caress of a lover, the push and pull of tides

were the most enticing flirtation, and the movement of the stars a knowing wink

calling for a kiss. Pyra found herself always enticed to the sea’s calling, in more ways

than she could ever imagine. At first she thought herself going slightly mad, hearing

notes coming and going through the waves. Then, no matter where the sea took her,

the notes created a melody she soon became familiar with. She would sing it to

herself on the deck and whisper it before sleep. Lyrics would dance around her head,

swapping and moving until, eventually, after much persisting the words settled on a

song.

On a night of calm waters, she woke up to herself singing the memorised

lyrics as if in a trance. Only to realise it was not her voice she heard, but something

that came from the depths. Following pure curiosity and instinct, she made her way

out to the deck. The song intensified in power, guiding her towards the edge of the

ship. She should have felt like a fish swimming its way to a hook, but no fear arose in

her body. Something in the resonance between her body and the waves felt

purposeful, like many years of seducing had finally earned herself the right to explore

more of the beauties the sea so easily hid from her.

It was then that a figure breached the surface of the water. Not a shark’s fin

nor a jumping fish. But a woman. Or, well, the semblance of a woman. The colour of

her skin was a marbled surface of all the colours of the waters and her hair a mass

of swirling sea foam. From her thin and purpled mouth came the beautiful melody

she had heard over the past several months, and peaking out past her lips were

sharp pearled teeth. A rush of heat coursed through her body from her head to the

pit of her stomach. Pyra jumped into the cold embrace of the sea and the sea

embraced her back.

Her eyes, oh, her eyes. They were the pitch black that matched the night sky,

sparkling with the stars above. She saw herself and the waves reflected in them and,

finally, she felt possessed by the waters. Her skin was pricked by webbed fingers,

holding a tight and comforting grip on her. The mermaid’s lips spilled cold water

inside her mouth, filling up her throat with bitter salt. The more she pushed herself

towards the mermaid, the more she seemed to pull back, and more the excruciating

heat built inside of her despite the coldness surrounding her.

Then, the whizz of a harpoon cut through the air, barely missing her ear. The

melody was cut off by a hurtful screech and, suddenly, the heat escaped her. With a

gasp she was broken free, and the last she saw of the mermaid was her strong,

eel-like tail splashing away back to the depths. Strong hands grabbed at her shoulders, pulling her towards a small boat. Her body shook uncontrollably as she coughed up blood red water. Her vision spun with the dancing stars above. They told her she had been saved from certain death, yet no touch felt the same as that night. She was incomplete, hollow, searching for a song she couldn’t remember.

She spent years following every tide, finding herself at the edges of the world

only to be met with deafening silence. She screamed at the skies and let her tears

be taken by the waves. She begged and prayed to the Sea, who only tortured her

with storms and difficult crossings. Eventually she accepted she would never have

that feeling back. She sold her ship, closed her eyes over a map and let her finger

fall to a little island in the middle of the waters. She wasn’t happy, but she was at

peace. Every morning she awoke to the sound of the waves and birds, and, although

she was stagnant, the stars kept dancing above her.

Perhaps it was that semblance of peace that brought forth the mercy of the

Sea, and one quiet night she heard the musical notes all over again. She ran to the

edge of the beach, letting the water tug and push her legs further in. The mermaid

appeared from the waves with open arms, as if she had awaited that moment for a

lifetime. Pyra’s skin dried into salt, her hair foamed like the waves, and her body

joined the waters, possessed for eternity.