Romance with the Cursed Siren

CHAPTER 6. Discarded Fishing Net

Crystal was able to enter their house peacefully since her father was deeply asleep due to a tiring day he had all day. She silently sneaked inside her room and took off her still damp clothes and changed to a dry comfy one. She hid the bracelet that Gabriel gave her inside her closet making sure that her mother would not be seeing it and finally laid her body down on her not so soft bed.

She was gawking at the ceiling, smiling like a weirdo as she can't stop thinking about Gabriel. She pressed her cheeks gently feeling it heated while giggling silently remembering how alluring the man is with his topless body under the moon until her thoughts pulled her into a sweet slumber.

Early next morning, she went to the east side of the shore and dipped herself in the seawater. She is wearing the gold bracelet as she swims deeper down the water until it is time for her transformation. She winced in pain under the sea where only the water and its creatures can witness. And again, after a few moments of pain, a fascinating siren rose up above showing her shining and long fishtail.

She swayed her body gracefully and flipped her tail as she excitedly swam around the island to see Gabriel. Again, she silently moved from underwater and rose up exactly behind a big rock, glanced around secretly, and gasped when she heard her father's voice and quickly hid.

"You can start your journey tonight after we are done fixing this," Christian said referring to the propeller.

"Thank you so much for your help, sir. I actually don't have any idea about this kind of stuff, maybe I'll be stuck in here forever if I'm alone." Gabriel responded politely.

Suddenly, Aya also arrived.

"Christian, have you seen our Crystal?" She asked.

"No, sweetheart. Why?" Christian asked while Gabriel was secretly listening to their conversation while kicking the fine light brown sand underneath his feet.

But Aya being careful she gestures to her husband to get closer to her which he complies with.

"I've been calling her from the seashore but she's not responding, I was just worried about her, she might get caught by the guest." She whispers to him.

"No, sweetheart. Don't worry about her, she might just be playing around underwater. You know her, right?" He said, trying to make her feel better and she just nodded.

"Isn't he leaving yet?" She asked again while peeping at the young man behind her husband.

"Later, he will when the tide is up. Don't worry about it okay?" He said and gave her wife an assuring kiss on the lips in front of Gabriel who just looked down to avoid the intimate scene between the husband and wife.

Aya felt embarrassed by her husband's sudden action in front of their young guest and pushed him slightly.

"What?" Christian asked, confused by her unexpected refusal.

"I bet you forgot that we are not alone here," Aya whispers as she blushes and chuckles softly.

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry about that, sweetie. I'm just not used to having another person on the island. Anyway, see you later, I will just help him fix his boat and go home after, so be ready, okay?" Christian teases his wife and wink at her before he turns back to what he was doing earlier. But before going through, Christian turns his head again to see his beautiful wife walking away and smiling.

"You are so in love with your wife, sir. Aren't you?" Gabriel suddenly interrupted, breaking his stare.

"She's my everything," Christian responded shortly and continued.

Meanwhile, the playful siren continues on her peeking as she giggles. What she doesn't know is that her father already had a glimpse of her.

"Crystal," the siren almost jumped from the water when her human father appeared from behind with a deep voice and serious face. While he left Gabriel with a task to prevent from seeing them

.

"Father! You almost killed me!" Crystal complains, holding on to her chest as she breathes heavily.

"Oh really now? I thought you are courageous enough not to fear death after going here and keep on glancing around." He scolded her, but the siren only rolled her eyes and pouted her lips.

"He might see you Crystal and you clearly know that it's not good when it happens, right?" He reminded his daughter.

"But Dad, what if he is like you? You also saw mom in her siren form but you don't mind it, right? What if we are wrong about other people and that they could understand my situation?" Crystal argued and started to feel annoyed about her father's tough protection.

"Crystal, listen to me, not all people could understand. They thought that your kind is not true and just a tale, once they discover about you, they will hurt you and I don't want that to happen." Christian tried to explain again but the siren started to shed tiny pearls from her eyes.

"We never knew that because all my life, I'm stuck on this island." She said with a shaky voice and dipped in the water before she swam to get away from the area.

Christian sighed with his daughter's sudden behavior but he can't take any risk to know if there is still someone out there like him.

"I'm sorry, dear." He mumbled looking beyond the sea.

Crystal swims as she continues to cry while her pearl tears scatter around underwater. She was never a stubborn siren nor a persistent daughter ever, not until she met Gabriel. She wanted to explore the world, learn new things and have friends. She yearns for the new feelings that the guest made her feel.

She swam as far as she could until she didn't realize that a discarded fishing net was approaching her, she was caught in and trapped. She struggles to get away but as she keeps on moving the net tightens around her.

Sunset is coming and again, Aya is starting to be worried after not having sight of her siren daughter around the seashore. While Christian felt guilty and thought that Crystal might have a tantrum after they had spoken earlier and didn't want to show up. They called for her loudly, back and forth along the shore.

While back in their cabin, Gabriel arrived. He just wanted to say goodbye to the family and show them his gratitude for their amazing deed towards an unknown guest such as him before he left the island. Also, he badly wants to see their beautiful daughter after not showing up for the whole day.

But he was defeated to see when there was no one around. He sighed and about to leave the place when suddenly he heard furious yelling from a distance. He, even more, got curious when he heard that it was Crystal's name they are calling. He followed the voices and brought him to the other side of the shore. A surge of oddity runs through his curiosity when he sees Crystal's parent's uneasiness while calling her name and troubled thoughts push him to interfere with the current commotion.

"What happened?" He asked, worried as he hurriedly approached the couple.

Christian was wet from diving down the water, while Aya widened her eyes when their guest appeared. Fear of uncovering their secret about her daughter's curse.

"What are you doing here!?" Christian growled with a fierce face.

"I-I just want to say goodbye, but you guys are not at your home and then I heard you calling Crystal. Is something bad happening to her?" He inquired looking between the two.

But Christian was overwhelmed by fear when his daughter hadn't come out yet and had no time to argue. He sighed bending down his head.

"She-she's out there, under the water and we need to get her out of there before the sun fully sets." Christian let out in an almost whispering voice.

Aya was shocked by his confession and grip on his hand, but Christian only gave his wife a fierce and assuring look before he turned and got in the water again to hop on his boat. Gabriel wasted no time as he briefly moved to follow Christian.

"Let me help." He insisted as he jumped on the wooden boat as well.

The two men continue to row while Aya on the shore was trembling with so much anxiety because of the current situation wherein her daughter is still out there and might turn underwater and drown and there's Gabriel, a stranger who is about to witness her daughter's true identity.