Jaclyn Dolamore - Between the Sea and Sky

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To my parents, for giving me a lifetime of love and creative space

It was not every day that a mermaid became a siren, and not every day that Esmerine attended such a party. It seemed just yesterday that she had moped at home while her older sister, Dosinia, had spent the week in a whirlwind of ceremony and celebration for her sirens debut. Now Esmerines turn had come.

Yes, this is Esmerine, my second to oldest. Esmerines mother put her arm around her daughter for perhaps the fiftieth time that evening.

Well! The older merwoman, her neck laden with pearls, made a slight dip. Congratulations, Mrs. Lornamend

Lorre men , her mother corrected. Everyone knew of the Lornamend merchant family, but the Lorremens were fishermen, and their name was hardly on the lips of society. You may remember that my eldest daughter, Dosinia, was granted a sirens belt two years ago.

Oh, of course , the older woman said. Miss Dosinia, yes. Shes a lovely young woman.

Esmerine here is the brain of the family, Esmerines mother continued. She has a wonderful head for remembering songs and histories.

Esmerine smiled dutifully. DosiniaDosia to her sisterswas the pretty one, while she was the brain, and if they ever forgot, their mother would surely remind them.

The old woman paused in thought, her rather short tail gently waving. Wasnt it one of your daughters who used to play with that little winged boy? She frowned at Esmerine a little, disapproving the behavior even before it was confirmed.

Oh goodness, that was years ago! I had quite forgotten, her mother said, clearly a lie, for Esmerine was still teased about her friendship with Alander from time to time. She hadnt seen him in years, but the fact that she used to play with himand worse, that he had taught her to readhad branded her as peculiar.

Im glad he doesnt come around anymore, the old woman continued. Those people ought to keep a better eye on their children. She gave Esmerines mother a pointed look, as if she should have done so herself.

Excuse me, Esmerine said, catching Dosias eye across the room. She swam upward with a flick of her tail.

Esmerine barely saw her sister these days. Even if Esmerine hadnt been busy preparing for her sirens initiation, Dosia was almost never home. Esmerine suspected she had a new beau.

Dosia stopped munching on olives long enough to wrap her arms around Esmerines shoulders. Finally! Dosia squealed in her ear. They had been wishing all their lives to do something truly exciting together, and now that day had come. They would both be sirens.

Esmerine reached for an olive, glancing around for a server. Whered you get those? she asked Dosia.

They were just passing them out a minute ago. Ill share. Theyve got almonds inside. Dosia gave half her olives to Esmerine. Esmerines mother only bought olives when good company was expected, complaining all the while about giving the traders a whole fish for a paltry handful of the surface-world treat.

Dont tell me youre tired of trailing Mother around and meeting all those charming old rich ladies? Dosia said with a grin.

My favorite part, Esmerine said, is that they keep calling us Lornamends .

Dosia groaned. I remember the same thing from my initiation, and I think they only do it so were forced to correct them. Well, it doesnt matter, the rest of the sirens are lovely. This is the only night you have to endure these old matrons. Dosia made a face as a gentleman mer brushed by, his numerous strands of shell jewelry almost catching in her hair.

Lets go up near the ceiling until the ceremony, Esmerine said. Its so crowded here. Most of the mers had gathered at the bottom of the room, clinging to sculpted rocks or clustering by the floating lanterns.

I thoroughly agree. Dosia grabbed Esmerines arm and swished her tail, drawing them both up along the gently tapering walls. She stopped at a rock that jutted out not far from where water-freshening bubbles from an underground air pocket flowed through an opening in the ceiling. Although the bubbles occasionally obscured the view below, they had the space to themselves.

So where have you been these past couple of weeks? Esmerine asked. Ive hardly seen you.

Youve just been busy, Dosia said. Ive been around.

Esmerine raised her brows. Hardly. And I havent seen much of Jarra either. Dosia was always coy when a boy first caught her interest, but it was no secret that she had favored Jarra at dances lately.

Dosia paused, looking back toward the bottom of the room, where the water churned with movement. Jarra? She shook her head. I havent seen him either.

Well then, who?

Maybe Im not interested in a boy , Dosia said. She looked embarrassed, which was odd for her.

The soft orbs of magic lights dimmed, signaling that the show would begin soon. The sirens ceremony would follow, and Esmerine knew she ought to take her place with Lady Minnaray in preparation, but she preferred to watch with Dosia.

The lights snuffed. Esmerine could hardly see Dosias face. The eerie sound of female voices rose from the seafloor. Three merwomen appeared, pushing a softly glowing rock as tall as their length into the center of the floor.

Additional magical lights floated down through the opening in the ceiling, briefly illuminating Dosias face as they passed. Mermen with their tails formed into legs and dressed in tattered clothes kicked their way down from the skylight. Behind them followed pairs of mermen bearing white sails to represent the ship the humans rode.

The song of the women on the floor had faded, and now the men began to sing, mimicking the sea chanteys of human sailors. If the winds hold fair well catch that whale, and if our luck is true, boys, well catch a mermaid too

As they sang, the rock on the floor cracked down the middle, releasing a narrow beam of light. The mermaid singers pried the rock open, revealing a mermaid nestled in a crystal lining, her rare red hair floating about her. Strands of tiny glowing beads ran through her hair, and a faux golden sirens belt glinted around her narrow waist.

O sisters, what handsome voice crept into my slumbering ear and brought to me a waking dream? The mermaids pure, powerful voice put Esmerines neighborhood singing club to shame.

One of the human men swam down, lured by her song. They locked eyes, and she began to drift toward him.

Sister, no! Come back! sang the mermaid chorus.

The other sirens pulled at her arms and fins, and she shook her head like she knew shed been a fool, but in another moment she began to drift up again. The siren and the human man grew ever more enraptured by one another, until finally he slid her belt from her waist and she fainted dramatically into his arms, her tail splitting into legs with one final convulsion. The mermen bearing sails scattered around them while the sirens fled to a dark corner, cooing a sad song for the one they had lost. The merman actor did a magnificent job of portraying a human struggling to drag the mermaids body to shore.

Dosia and Esmerine sighed at the romance and the tragedy to come. They knew this story well. Not a week went by when even the poorest merfolk didnt gather in homes and taverns to share songs and stories of their history.

As the next act began, the human man brought the siren to his home. Props brought from shipwrecks formed the stage set. She tried to please her new husband, but tongues of black flame from the seaweed fireplace burned her and she shied back from his horseplayed by a muscular merman wearing a sea horse mask. Her husband finally lost patience, striking her across the face. The audience booed him with a passion.

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