How the Mermaid Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Siren

In the most peaceful lagoon in the world, there was a beautiful mermaid whose name was Astarte, living among her people. Everyone around her loved her, and she was seen as a goddess. She would help the weak ones, she would nurture children, and she would help the fish escape the nets around the lagoon. She was only sad because she knew she would never be able to have her own children, but she also knew she had many children, only not of her blood. One day, the lagoon saw the bloodiest attack in its history. The sirens were chanting and bringing along with them many drunken sailors. They were pulling the sailors under the water, they were suffocating the sailors. The bodies of them were dangling among the algae. The beautiful Astarte saw that the bodies falling upon her home, and became so angry with the sirens that she cursed the sirens; she wished that they turned into men. The gods of the oceans and the skies listened to her wish, and all of a sudden the sirens were drowning like the men they pulled. Many of them died before they reached the surface, but there were a couple of survivors. While Astarte was looking around near the surface, she saw that what she did was a mistake. One of the sirens, now a man, was struggling to get out of the net, but he couldnt move. Astarte was not sorry for the man, but for what he was carrying: he was trying to save a baby siren, the baby, now in human form, was floating on a piece of wood. His father, or mother, was trying to save him from drowning, but he was caught in the net. Astarte, never resisting the urge to help someone, swam to them, touched the siren and the baby, and they bought turned into their true forms. Even though Astarte helped everyone she could throughout her life and was familiar with the expression of a relived person, she was sure she never saw someone as relieved as this siren:- My beautiful queen, there isnt any words to describe my gratitude to you, said the siren, as grateful as she can ever be.- It is my duty to help a being as in need as you, creature of oddity, said Astarte scrutinizing the siren.- Let me thank you the way my people do, my queen. But first, I need to know your name.- It is Astarte, I am from the 9th district of this lagoon, my duty is to save my people from the cruelty of these nets, said the breathtaking mermaid, swaying her fishtail alongside the stream.- And I am mother of all sirens, called Rhea, and most likely the last one. Who has the intentions as cruel as this one, my jolly Astarte, I am asking to you? Cried siren, with tears falling down from her cheeks.Astarte realized she felt like a goddess while she was cursing the sirens, but now she felt less than the weak fish she helped. She was ashamed, but she still wanted to be right, so she asked:- But dear Rhea, why would you want to drown those sailors, those innocent human beings? Wouldnt it occur to you that one day someone would want to take revenge?- We are doing, or better were doing what we were told to do. We were raised in a way not even the gods and goddesses alike would understand. The sailors, they are not innocent. Nobody can ever be innocent. The sailors who were drawn by our singing were already the most corrupted ones. The innocent ones you talk about do not spend time drinking rum all day and raping the women. We were given this task by gods in the dawn of time, and since then we try to do our job best, explained the siren to Astarte.Astarte thought what she said. She was right. Despite all her efforts to be good, in that moment, she couldnt say she was good. She was innocent maybe before, but after all the sirens she killed, she could not say she was innocent and good. Suddenly, when she looked at Rhea and her baby, she knew what to do. She was attracted to the siren the moment she saw her struggling to give her baby a chance at life. She always thought she would die alone, but now she realized she wouldnt have to, also she had to give the broken soul before her another chance. But first, she needed to hear from Rhea that she also deserved another chance so she asked:- Rhea, if I told you I was the one who did this to you and your friends, what would you say?The siren was speechless for a moment. Then she turned around herself and said to the mermaid:- All around me I see no one of my race survived. I am in agony. I have never suffered like this before. But my feelings would do enough to your conscience than anything I can do, as I see in your eyes that you care about me and my little baby. I cannot say anything to make you feel better, or worse. It is your own feelings that you have to listen, and if they make you confess, then I am ready to be open to you. I believe, as the mother of the sirens, that our friendship would help our wounds heal.- There is nothing in the world right now that I want to do more. I want to help you, helping you means I can help myself. I am ashamed of what I did, and I can only imagine what you are feeling. I want to know you, said Astarte. There was no living being around them right now. The warm stream was giving them both an assurance, like it knew they were going the right way. Astarte didnt realize it that moment clearly, but her instinct to protect others was going to make her fall in love with a siren, without even hearing her sing.