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Often, when people have near-death experiences, their brains could conjure up wild tales of how they survived, or what lies between life and death. They could be so incredibly realistic, so believable that it was understandable that some people believed them to be reality.
You know the feeling, of believing something so fully, yet being told again and again your experience was just the failing of your dying mind. You knew now, as an adult, that your drowning-induced imaginings were only fiction, but as a child it sent you crazy that no one else believed your ‘imaginary’ friends had been your saviours.
They were, of course. Imaginary. Silly local legends of mermaids and sirens had let your lonely young self construct oceanic friends of your own.
You were playing, when it happened. There was a storm, a horrible one, but you’d insisted that your mer friends were singing and crying, what if they needed your help?
Your grandparents had insisted they weren’t, tried so hard to dissuade you.
‘We’re too far from the water, how could you hear them through the storm?’
‘You can’t play outside right now, especially not by the ocean.’
‘Why don’t you pretend they’re in your room? Or the bath maybe?’
They only let you out of their sight for a few moments, and you didn’t blame them. Kids were little nightmares.
It was your stupid little child self that shoved a towel, snacks, and a change of clothes in your bag, somehow thinking you could get out and back home without them noticing.
It was you that pushed through the rain and dared to attempt to enter the ocean.
It was you, and your young body, that was quickly dragged far too deep, into waves far too rough for you to swim in.
But it was luck, not young merfolk, that saved you, tossing you back onto the wet beach. Well, that and the fact that you had apparently woken up long enough to drag yourself up the beach and away from the shore, before promptly passing out again and forgetting the action (lungs still half-full of water, mind you).
Even if you didn’t die that day, you think your imagination did.
You never pretended to play with the mer again. Perhaps you just left your childhood in its home, when your grandparents immediately moved you inland, away from the sea and towards better opportunities.
Little you had mourned the loss of your fish friends, begging to return to them. You suppose that’s how your grandparents had chosen their final gift to you.
Your grandmother gave it with her passing, when it was ‘time for her to see grandpa again’. One of the many old treasures left to you, that you assumed had been sold in years ago, was your childhood home.
Living in a small city flat meant you didn’t have much to pack, so moving was quick. You spent the first day amazed at how everything was exactly how you left it the final time you came home after leaving the hospital.
Half the second day had been spent unpacking, until you felt comfortably settled.
Now you stood in the cove where you nearly died, gazing out and the calm blue.
The beach was quiet, the whole town was really. When you were young the area attracted a fair number of tourists every day. It’s empty now.
The small fishing community had welcomed you home (so many people you didn’t at all remember, claiming to have known you so well). You’d learned that the old folk tales were back in full force, receiving so many warnings about how those ‘damned sirens’ had become so much of a problem in recent years. You’d been warned away from the water because of it.
You have clothes on over your swimming attire, a bag on your shoulder containing spares and a towel. The drive to swim, to enter the depths that had almost taken you so long ago, is electric.
There’s no-one here to steal from you, so you simply shove your belongings on the dry sand and rush towards the water.
It’s surprising warm, and you sink in quickly. It was late afternoon when you arrived, and you find a late swim to be a great way to enjoy your new (old?) home.
The sun is halfway set, darkness encroaching, with you floating relaxed on the water and watching the sky, when you suppose you should head home.
You turn over for a final dive beneath the surface, and as your eyes study the sand below you, you see it.
There’s a shark. A big fucking shark.
Maybe panicking is stupid, and puts you in more danger, but you could excuse yourself the transgression. You don’t get a good look at the thing before you’re flailing your way back to shore. You soon learn one feature, it’s apparently small, long teeth, which close around your ankle and drag you deeper into the waters.
You suppose this serves you right for immediately enters the waters you once drowned in. The ocean wants you dead it seems, and you handed yourself over on a silver platter.
The shark pulls you out, so much farther than you should ever swim. You’re desperate for air and putting all your willpower into not inhaling the water burning your eyes. You wonder if being eaten kills you faster than drowning.
The shark seems satisfied with your depth (you’ll never swim fast enough to reach the surface before drowning from here), and it turns to you.
Turns it’s face to you. Like, face face. On a head. Which is on a torso, which has arms, which have hands with claws, once of which is clasped around your ankle, letting blood leak out into the water.
It’s a mer.
It’s snarling at you.
And then it’s not. Actually the face it was making would’ve been funny in another circumstance. A mix of shock, horror, confusion, panic, and hope paint it’s face, all at their most extreme.
The mer remains frozen for a moment, before it’s hands suddenly jolt up to squish your cheeks and pull you in closer, your faces almost touching.
The look is still there, but the mer-sharks eyes are searching now. It’s eyes continued to study your face, flicking down to your body a few times. You get a decent look at it too- you were right in your original assessment that it was massive. It’s torso was twice the size of any humans, and while it’s face took up most of your vision, it seemed as if the tail just kept on going, and you couldn’t see the end of it. The whole thing is littered with scars and marks.
Most surprising of all, it’s face was familiar. Half-white, half-blue, with short frilly fins framing it. A long sort-of fin at the back of its head tapered of into a small lure light.
A name you thought was long since lost with the wonder of childhood crept back into your mind.
Moon.
The moment of realisation was short, as you reflexively inhaled the salty water and resumed your uncontrollable flailing.
You felt yourself being pulled forward against its chest, large arms setting tightly around you. The sensation of moving quickly upwards hit your skin, just as you lost consciousness.
When you woke up, confusion filled your mind. Why were you so damp? A little cold too, but you were lying on something warm. Warm and- vibrating…?
Your pried your eyes open to the sight of white scales. Tilting your head up, you met the face of the (still slightly bewildered-looking) mer.
Right. You had drowned. Again.
You suppose this is the second near-death hallucination of your lifetime. Maybe you were greeting your lost childhood in the afterlife? Haha.
…
There was nothing to betray the illusion. Nothing appeared as the wrong colour, nothing shifted in and out of being, your vision didn’t fade at the edges.
You felt, smelt, and saw everything as if it were truly reality. Just like you had as a kid.
But it wasn’t. You spent so long after you left convincing yourself none of your fantasies had been real. That your friends hadn’t been real.
But now, back in your home, back in the water, the mer that was before you was everything you remembered.
“M-…” He twitched the second you made a sound, and although your voice quivered, you continued. “Moon?”
A guilty look flooded his features. You only saw it for a second before a clawed hand moved to the back of your head and shoved your face back into his chest.
The vibrating - purring - had stopped.
This was your friend. Your not-at-all-imaginary childhood friend.
He was real. He was here.
They were real, all this time.
“Moon. Moon?”
The mer simply whined in response, holding your head down when you tried to lift it.
“Moon…? Do you-… remember me…?”
His grip tightened at that, arms clutching around you and pulling you further up his chest to nuzzle into your hair. He was trembling slightly.
“O-of course I remember you.” With the way his body jerked and shuddered, you were sure he was silently crying.
Slowly looking up, tears were just visible against his face. You reached up to press a hand against his cheek, brushing away a tear.
“Oh, Moony.”
He sobbed at that, shoving his face into your neck, your lower halves tilting down into the water slightly with the motion.
Unsurprisingly, you didn’t feel all that prepared for the situation facing you. You hadn’t done any of you’re pre-conversation prep beforehand, seeing as you thought the fish currently crying into you wasn’t fucking real.
You let your own arms slide up around his neck, unsure of how else to comfort him. The sobbing slowly subsided into occasional trembling and heavy breaths against your neck. With a sigh, he turned to nuzzle his face in your hair before leaning back again to meet your eyes.
A solemn smile graced his features.
“Hello, starlight.”
There was thick silence between you.
“…Hi, Moon.”
The silence was unaffected.
“I- I thought you… that you weren’t real. That I made you up.”
“Heh- ha, really now? All our playtime, and you thought we weren’t real?” He tried to look less hurt than he was by that. You’re amazed you can still read him at all.
“Is the other one - th- the yellow one - is he real too?” Claws press slightly into your back.
“S-sun. Sunny. Of course he’s real. Don’t you remember his name?” He tilts his head, becoming more distressed again.
“I- ah-… do now?”
In your defence, you didn’t remember either name until today.
How could you forget their names?
“That’s fine. It’s fine. You’re only human, after all.” He forced another smile, but let it melt away. “Where did you go?”
“After I drowned, when Sun saved me, my grandparents didn’t want me by the water anymore. We moved away.”
“You never even said goodbye.” He spoke quietly, removing his gaze from you.
“I- I wanted to!” Your volume shocked you both. “I wanted to stay! But they already decided, we left the same day I got out of the hospital. Moved way inland. I couldn’t- we moved too far to visit.”
You can feel your own tears building, and squeeze your eyes shut to hold them back.
“Everyone said you weren’t real, that it was time to grow up and focus on school and I-.” You cut yourself off to prevent your own sobs from breaking through.
“Ssshhh, it’s okay, I understand, it’s alright.” Large hands rub your back smoothly.
The silence was back again.
You weren’t sure if you should break it or let it sit, though your curiosity would decide for you.
“Where is Sun?”
“He’s probably sleeping by now. He needs his rest, he’s had… a rough few years.”
You wanted to pry further, but there was a weight to his tone that warned against it.
You chose to stew in the silence.
Waking the next morning came with the same sense of confusion as in the night. With the addition of a vague concern that you’d slept on a big fish on the ocean all night.
But you were mostly dry, and Moon was warm. Your mouth was sticky with a need for water, but nothing more severe than your usual morning thirst.
The siren purred as your eyes met his.
“Good morning, Starlight.”
“Morning, Moon.” You yawned out.
“Well, afternoon almost.” He looked up towards the sky, and you followed his gaze. Only to immediately slap a hand over your eyes after burning the image of the sun into them.
You groaned, and he chuckled at you.
As you tried to blink the image away, you heard a song echo from Moon. It was something between the sound of sea shells held up to your ear, and blowing into glass bottles. Melodic and flowing, like a reflection of Moon himself.
A siren song.
Though you didn’t feel urged to drown yourself from it.
“Sorry, just calling Sun over. He’s been wondering where I am all morning.” Moon explains at seeing your bewildered expression. “I didn’t want to wake you up when you were sleeping so peacefully.”
He tipped the both of you upright in the water and chuckled when you yelped at the sudden chill.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah actually, I guess I needed it too. Probably moving stress.” You felt suddenly out of breath. “I, ah, still can’t believe you’re real.”
Moon only hummed in response, brushing a hand through your hair.
A burst of yellow surfaced only a metre away, starting a barrage of angry chirrups and whistles before abruptly cutting himself off. You had only a second to study Sun, golden with red speckles and magnificent frills fanning out around his face (though they flopped back in the open air). He lacked the smattering of injuries sported by Moon, instead a large, severe looking scar streaked from the side of his chest to his hip.
In the next second, he was moving too fast for you to see, sweeping you out of Moons arms and holding you almost fully out of the water above him.
“Friend! Oh, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful friend! Is it really you!? You’re back! You came back! Friend!”
You laughed at Suns excitement, the smile on his face so bright.
“Yeah, Sun, it’s really me!”
“Ooooh, friend!” His voice wavered as he tugged you in for a hug. “We missed you so much! Didn’t know were you’d gone to- oh gosh! Were you okay!? You almost drowned, and I’m not the strongest swimmer, oh I hope I wasn’t too slow, I’m so-“
“Sunny! I’m here now, I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about something that happened a decade ago, ‘kay?” You giggled again at his antics. Moon was a little more quiet and reserved than you remembered of the mischievous scamp, but Sun was just the same as always.
“Oh, are you staying? Pleasepleaseplease please don’t leave again, please? If- if you just stay by the coast at least you can show us any beach and we’ll move too! Or at least visit, will you visit when you’re gone again?” Yep, Sun could still talk a mile a minute, and still made full use of that ability.
“Sun, it’s fine, I’m moving back here. Actually, everything’s pretty much done already, so I couldn’t leave if I wanted to.”
Sun squealed at that and spun around with you in the water. He stopped abruptly and swam back over to Moon.
“Moony! Did you hear that!? They’re staying! They’ll be right back here with us, everyday!”
Moon had submerged himself in the water, only his eyes still exposed to the air, but he nodded in response. He wasn’t looking at you anymore.
Suns giggling pulled you away from his darker counterpart, to find him still staring at you (you swear you could see sparkles in his eyes).
“I mean, maybe not everyday, I’ll have to work for, uh, life stuff. Food n’ all.”
Suns face fell.
“What!? No, no- we can get you food! All sorts of fishys and crabs, anything you want! We’ll handle it!”
“Thanks Sun,” you smiled at his overzealousness. “But I still need to pay my bills.”
“How do you pay bills?” Sun demanded.
“With money.”
“How do you get money.”
“By working.”
Sun whined again. A long, loud, sulky whine.
“Are there any other ways to get money???”
“Unfortunately, no legal ones. And if I get thrown in prison then I definitely can’t visit you, so that’s not an option.”
Sun huffed and flopped back into the water, lying you on his torso just as Moon had earlier.
“Why’d humans have to go and ruin such a good thing?”
“Hey, I can probably still see you most days. Just not everyday.”
“I guess that’s better than nothing.”
“On that note, I should probably head home. I’ve been out all-“
“Morning! Yes, yes, humans aren’t made for water, should go home, should rest.” Moon shoots up to interrupt you and you give him a quizzical look at the lie. He returns a pleading gaze.
“Whaaat? But that’s not even that long! I’ve seen humans stay way longer in the water before, even in winter!” Sun complains at your assertion.
“Yeah but,” you glance at Moon again. You suppose you’ll have plenty of time to figure this out, so go along with his lie. “I haven’t been to the beach in years. I’d rather play it safe and slow than get sick or something, right?”
Sun still looks pouty, but growls out a “Fine” nonetheless.
Your conversation leans towards the years you spent away, as they slowly guide you back to the cove. You try push to hear more about them, but they seem intent on knowing every little detail of your life.
Their movements become slower the closer you get, and Sun refuses to let you go until the last possible moment.
He’s lying on his back in the sand, with you still atop him and tiny waves gliding back and forth beside him. Moon too has pulled himself up on his front.
“Sun, you gotta actually let go of me.”
He whines again curling around you as well as he can and nuzzling into your head.
“It’s too soon.” He sighs, yet lets you slide off him and between the two. Moon pulls you to his side, offering his own quick nuzzle, before urging you up and pushing back into the water.
He waits for Sun submerged, and you mourn the lost opportunity to question his behaviour. Sun rolls over, looking nervous and fisting the sand tightly.
“You’ll come back soon, though. Right? Today? Please, please come back later.”
“It depends on what I can get done today, but I’ll try. Don’t worry too much though, okay?” Your soft smile serves only to make him more upset.
“I- I missed you Starlight. Please don’t leave again.”
Your heart breaks for him and you smooth your hand over the fins on his head.
“Don’t worry, Sun. I’m not leaving anytime soon.”
He takes your hand in his, pulls it down to his mouth and fucking licks it. You mange your hold back your cringe and pull your hand away from his nuzzling to leave. He sinks further back into the water, but still not fully down beside Moon. At the unstable arch leading out of the cove you turn to wave at him, still in place, and notice Moons head above the water to watch you go.
Sun reciprocates in his own weak wave, and you leave with a smile and an urge to get the days tasks done quickly. You want to return to the bright sirens you missed so much.