Chapter Text
The speed of the water was such a flurry that Theo felt himself being strangled by it. It was beyond agony. His heart lurched too many times to count as he desperately tried to find something, anything that would guarantee his safety. Despite the prayers that ran through his head, he still had to fight the endless pain that cut through his heart and made him unable to breath. He made one last feeble attempt at quickly paddling to any surface above water, but the current was too strong. He muttered one last hopeless prayer before he felt himself sink toward the bottom–
. . . And was greeted by the clattering commotion of Liguria, Italy–Cinque Terre, specifically.
The only thing that managed to pull Theo out of the deep abyss that was that horrid daydream were the cheers directed his way as he stood on the edge of a small boat.
This morning, his father delivered the news: his request for a solo mission had been approved. This was the first time he had permission to explore the grand vastness of the blue ocean alone. Despite this, he wasn’t excited. He held nothing but dread for the upcoming mission his father was forcing him to take on now that he was a teenager and is no longer “a wimpy young boy who’d rather spend his time gardening and selling strawberries than acting like a real man”.
There were so many things that could go wrong. His boat could sink. It could even crash. He might even be gobbled up by some enigmatic undiscovered ocean-dweller species and fight to survive in its stomach acids–
Theo stopped himself before he was lost to another gorey daydream and focused on the crowd once again. Professionals held shears up to the rope that attached his small yet mighty boat to the dock.
Captain Giovanni glared up at him, his expression revealing nothing but a combination of pride and fear of what was up to come. “You ready, kid?” his gruff voice awaited approval.
Tentatively, Theo nodded. No point in delaying the inevitable.
The crowd went wild when the sharp object pierced through the rope and his boating began naturally sailing north. For a moment, he trembled, but he quickly stabilized himself under the weight of approval. The crowd went silent as he sailed further away, and eventually, it began to disperse.
* * *
His whole life, Theo was told to act strong. To act like a man. To act like the brave pirate everyone knew he’d grow into one day, the way the system wanted him to.
No matter how much he wanted to promise that he’d come back mature, he’s never been more terrified in his life.
He wanted nothing more than to be relaxing in his garden, listening to peaceful playlists, humming along and watering new tomato plants.
That reality only grew more desirable as the water began to rumble.
He clutched against the nearest side pole and braced for impact. Words couldn’t describe how prepared he was to simply collide with the water and meet his fate.
And then, he heard a song. A peaceful, high-pitched one. The singer blended the sound together like water gently clashing against a rock.
Before he knew it, Theo was putting one foot in front of the other. Towards the edge. The song was desirable, almost like it was making him desire closeness. He didn’t want to remain far from the song for any longer than he had to.
He pressed his palms against the edge of the boat, and just as the shaky water rumbled and he put too much weight on the side–
He was scared shitless as the boat tilted over and he was let loose into the water.
He held his breath and shut his eyes–not like, but because his life did, in fact, depend on it.
It took a minute before he realized he didn’t have to.
When he finally let his eyes relax, he noticed that he wasn’t sinking, and neither was the boat, which was simply upside down. He was floating in a literal air bubble that had somehow prevented him from drowning.
And, right before his eyes, he saw a shiny blue figure appear in front of him. A tiny trident that shone like the moon in the dark of night. It faded into nothing as soon as it appeared.
And, in the deep sea, the next thing he saw was a wide, unidentified pair of eyes glaring at him.
He shrieked and backed away, which was how he got a better look at the creature in front of him. Its skin was rotting and was decaled with scales. It wore a purple top, and its lower body faded to a tail laced with flowy fabric and pearls in replacement of human legs. Its hair was a dark, muted red and its eyes were wide and full of curiosity, along with some vitiligo that Theo could identify, even through disturbances like peeling integument and, surprisingly enough, gills. He couldn’t help but notice that the creature was rather pretty despite its flaws.
“Ah!” Theo exclaimed, the expression seemingly fake because, believe it or not, he was actually rather comforted by the creature’s presence. “Cursed mermaid!”
“Siren,” the creature corrected in a low, ragged voice.
Now, Theo has to admit, the voice did scare him a bit. “Sirens aren’t real.”
“Neither are ‘cursed’ mermaids.”
Checkmate. Theo had no reply for that.
The siren leaned in closer to inspect him, to which Theo backed away. The air bubble followed him. This only reminded him of how surreal the whole situation was.
“How are you not dead?” the siren inquired.
Theo made a noise that was a flustered mix of a terrified squeak and a sob.
“The water should’ve killed you,” the siren continued, trying not to draw attention to whatever the hell Theo was even trying to do. “I’m going to have to study you further. The name’s Reef.”
“Theo.”
The siren nodded in approval. “Help me tilt this boat back over, Theo. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”