Forget about mermaid princesses and happy endings. These stories explore the allure and changing emotions of the ocean.
Travel to uncharted cities, meet feral mermaids, and discover undersea mysteries in this anthology of short stories and poems. Described by beta readers as “a love letter to the ocean,” Kyla Stan explores the turbulent relationship between humans and the ocean, representing varied emotions from grief to fear to seduction.
What happens when a simple Southern fisherman catches a vicious mermaid?
Can a young man dealing with grief allow the ocean to heal his wounds?
What inspired Jules Verne to write his deep-sea mysteries?
Can selkies ever fall in love with humans and shed their skin forever?
These are some of the questions readers will consider while exploring the darker depths of the ocean.
Stories and Poems Featured:
Tamed- featured in Elphame Realms E-Zine
Mermaid Hair
Charm of the Sea Folk
Family Cloak
Siren Song
Jellyfish
Chlorine and Salt
Orca: A Tale of Freedom
A Day of Fishing- Winner of Unbound Story Ink’s Spring Into Adventure writing contest
Siren’s Rage
The Adventure of Pompelli
The Mermaid’s Dream
Tempest In The Storm
Forget about mermaid princesses and happy endings. These stories explore the allure and changing emotions of the ocean.
Travel to uncharted cities, meet feral mermaids, and discover undersea mysteries in this anthology of short stories and poems. Described by beta readers as “a love letter to the ocean,” Kyla Stan explores the turbulent relationship between humans and the ocean, representing varied emotions from grief to fear to seduction.
What happens when a simple Southern fisherman catches a vicious mermaid?
Can a young man dealing with grief allow the ocean to heal his wounds?
What inspired Jules Verne to write his deep-sea mysteries?
Can selkies ever fall in love with humans and shed their skin forever?
These are some of the questions readers will consider while exploring the darker depths of the ocean.
Stories and Poems Featured:
Tamed- featured in Elphame Realms E-Zine
Mermaid Hair
Charm of the Sea Folk
Family Cloak
Siren Song
Jellyfish
Chlorine and Salt
Orca: A Tale of Freedom
A Day of Fishing- Winner of Unbound Story Ink’s Spring Into Adventure writing contest
Siren’s Rage
The Adventure of Pompelli
The Mermaid’s Dream
Tempest In The Storm
Elphame Realms Magazine, out of print.
Pain turns us into monsters. Love is what keeps us human.
.~.
1180 B.C.
Wild winds broke free and tangled princess Calliope’s black hair as she stood at the bow of King Pierus’s finest ship. With the figurehead of a bull, the ship signified strength, conquering one’s destiny, and was a tribute to Zeus, the almighty and powerful. Pierus had made it clear to his daughter that he loved her and would miss her, but Calliope was now questioning if love really existed. The ship crashed through the waves as it headed toward a part of the world she had never heard of before. Calliope’s nails dug into the salt-encrusted wood of the vessel as she thought about her father’s betrayal; marrying her off to some foreigner to settle the bloody war that plagued her people. Her long white gown, made of the most expensive materials, tickled her ankles as the wind continued to charge along like Poseidon’s herd of horses.
The crashing waves gave her strength, and she drove her palm outward, bending the sea to her will. Blessed by Hera at a young age for denying Zeus’s advances, Calliope had the ability to manipulate water at her command. Along with her striking beauty, she was known as a muse, inspiring artists across the land. This made her the perfect bargaining piece. She’d thought her father loved and adored her, but now she saw through his deception. As anger boiled in her heart, the waves crested like mountains with snow and crashed into the side of the ship. Sweat creased the sailors’ brows as they pulled their oars to keep up with the tumultuous swells. Calliope’s eyes flashed with brilliant light as power surged through her hands. She would rather die at sea than become a slave to Paris of Troy, the most pathetic man in existence. Helen was brutally murdered when she had denied him love, and Calliope would not be next.
She thrust her palms skyward, then crashed them down onto the wood of the ship. The men screamed in their last moments of life as the sea devoured their souls like hungry demons. Calliope stood upon the waves as she watched King Pierus’s ship sink into the abyss. Just as she was about to take her own life, thunder clapped in the sky followed by piercing white lightning. A giant serpent, Hera’s trusted familiar, rose out of the depths. Its obsidian skin reminded her of burnt oil.
“You have defied me, daughter of the sea,” boomed the scolding voice of Hera. “The power bestowed unto you has been used for evil purposes. For this, you shall become part of the waves and swim amongst the vilest creatures, ever enchanting men with your beauty and voice for all eternity. Unless you find someone who can Tame you.”
Calliope screamed as the sea ripped away her dress like a pack of wild dogs. Scales of deep blue emerged from the flesh of her legs while they fused into a fish tail. The ocean, once her truest companion, dragged her away to an unknown destination far away from home.
.~.
April 2nd, 2016
Collin boarded the Peligroso and settled the packed equipment beside him. He kept a protective eye on the expensive equipment while eyeing the captain, who nodded.
“The island, yes?”
“Yeah, thank you.” Collin nodded and offered the man a few bills.
The tropical sun beat down upon his pale flesh, and sweat trickled down his temple. He had traveled to many equatorial countries and had become accustomed to the humidity, but the heat in the tropics of South America made his skin crawl. As the vessel chugged into open waters, Collin noticed the small uninhabited islands that speckled the horizon’s surface. A cool breeze calmed his pulsing headache, and he sighed with relief. He itched to get off the boat and set his inner biologist free.
Ever since the Fish and Wildlife Department had hired him two years ago, one-hundred seventy new species of plant and animal life had been discovered. At the young age of twenty- six, Dr. Collin Baxter was the scientist when it came to tropical botany, biology, and meteorology. There were rumors of strange weather and oceanic phenomena occurring in a targeted area, and everyone in the scientific community pointed at Collin to investigate.
What his colleagues decided to leave out was that the island was apparently cursed by the spirits of women who had drowned in the dangerous currents that surrounded the country. Collin was further annoyed by the fact he had to pay the captain of the Peligroso extra to take him to this forbidden place. As the old craft began to rock violently, he could faintly see the island in the distance.
The land was uncharted, unforgiving, and undeveloped, making Collin eager to explore the wilderness. He couldn’t forget the tales of unexplainable events happening around the island. Sailors and fishermen reported strange singing, and some vessels had been missing for weeks. Although the journey sounded dangerous, Collin wasn’t fazed by stories. He had been abandoned in a desert, had camped in the Congo of Africa, and was almost left out in the open ocean while exploring the devastating effects of overfishing on coral reefs.
Rip currents swirled around the slow-moving Peligroso. Collin gritted his teeth and hoped the captain would be able to maneuver out of the sea’s clutches. When he looked over the bow, Collin shook his head in disbelief. The currents moved in a circular pattern, parallel to the island. Out of the corner of his eye, he heard a splash and turned just in time to see a tremendous sapphire fluke pound the surface of the sea before returning to the abyss. The captain muttered to himself in his language.
“It’s a curse…it’s a curse… this island is cursed…”
Collin chuckled and slapped the man on the back. In the man’s language, he replied, “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“Sir, people sail through this part of the sea only if they want to die. They never leave! Something is wrong with this place!”
As they approached the shore, Collin gathered his equipment and helped the captain anchor the boat. Once the equipment and supplies were unloaded, the men bade each other farewell.
“I’ll see you in two weeks, my friend,” Collin nodded.
“Be careful,” the captain warned once more. “Hopefully you will still be alive when I come back.” The captain departed with the sign of luck in his culture as he slowly distanced himself from the shore. Collin wished the man prosperity. Being a fisherman was tough work, especially when he had seven children to feed.
Collin inhaled with a breath of excitement and pulled out a crudely drawn map that had been created by a man who’d moved to the village years ago. He was the only man who’d survived the island for one month after being shipwrecked. The old timer had a bit of a twinkle in his eye while drawing on a scrap of journal paper as if he knew the secret of the island. “Hope you find what you’re looking for, son,” he chuckled.
According to the topography, fresh water sources were located in the middle of the island, while a variety of fruits and other fibrous, edible plants were scattered. The island was about a mile long, and one could cover the entire perimeter in about forty-five minutes to an hour. Collin set up his campsite at the edge of the forest, the pristine sea just in his sight. By noon, he had completed his preparations and wanted to investigate his surroundings.
He first examined the soil and rubbed the grittiness between his fingers. The dirt had a reddish quality and was awfully moist despite the dry season. He put on a pair of disposable lab gloves, then contained the strange organic mixture into a specimen jar to study later. Mangoes, papayas, pears, oranges, lemons, and limes were just some of the fruits that grew on the island as well as a variety of berries and wild vegetables. Never had he been to a foreign land where so much edible flora was abundant. He searched for new species of birds or reptiles but found none. There was a strangeness to the air that made his skin prickle. In his soul, he knew something wasn’t right, but dismissed his feelings and told himself it was the combination of humidity and superstition. When he settled down with a bowl of fruit for dinner, he realized he hadn’t seen a single animal.
What was it about this marvelous land that frightened people away?
With the abundance of food and tropical atmosphere, it was hard to understand why people hadn’t inhabited the island already. He was reminded of the rip currents and couldn’t deny how strange they were. His thoughts made him weary, and he decided to extinguish the candle burning on a makeshift table. Just as he was about to fall asleep in his tent, he heard a beautiful sound; very distant but sweet, like a bird calling out to its mate. The sounds strung together like ethereal music.
“Aha! Finally! The birds here are nocturnal… interesting.”
With gentle breaths and limited movement, he listened, catching every minute movement in the darkness. The strange singing echoed in the jungle, bounced off cavern walls and dominated the sweet lullaby of the quiet night. There was something unnatural about the song, and he realized with apprehension that he wasn’t listening to a bird call. The song wrapped around him seductively, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. The islanders’ legends of spirits suddenly teased his imagination, but his scientific mind quickly pushed the silly idea aside.
Collin vowed that he wouldn’t allow fiction to become fact.
.~.
He awoke with a gasp and sat up in his sleeping bag, drenched in sweat. The song had summoned him from his dreams. His ears were attuned to every little sound from the rustle of leaves in the wind to the low croak of toads calling to one another.
Then he heard the song once more, like a soft breeze tickling a palm leaf until the sound crescendoed into a loud operetta that pounded his eardrums.
Laughter.
A woman’s flirtatious giggle.
He gripped his sheets tighter as the laughter boomed around his campsite.
“No. Get it together, Collin. This silly superstition needs to end now.” He set off inland with his backpack over his shoulder, desperately trying to find the elusive creature that teased him. The sun had made the jungle a lush paradise. Now with darkness consuming the island, Collin could hardly make out the compass’s direction, but was able to find the other side of the island.
Just as he was about to break out of the vegetation’s grasp and into the warm tropical breeze that caressed the white sands of the beach, he spotted a woman lying on the sand. Collin quickly ducked into the brush and grabbed his binoculars, his hands shaking uncontrollably. The woman raised her nose to the wind like a hound sniffing for prey.
“I can smell you,” she murmured. “A young man… not like the older, salty men that pass my territory. Come out of hiding,” she purred with a silken voice. Collin realized it was no use. He slowly left the safety of his cover. The woman rolled over in the sand as if emerging from a deep sleep. With the moonlight as his guide, he studied her carefully. Though his mind swore a long fish tail replaced her legs, he assumed the delusion was a trick of the night.
“Come, stranger. You are quite handsome,” she smiled seductively. “Those muscles, those eyes, that chest…”
Although he was a striking young man, Collin had never focused much on his appearance. He flushed with embarrassment, but fear replaced his pride.
“Come…” she hissed seductively. Her eyes glowed with a supernatural blue light.
Collin knew he had to get away, but he was frozen in shock. Everything his scientific mind told him this was just an optical illusion. There was no way a tailfin was flicking about in the shallows, but his primal instincts told him to evade the danger and run away. He disappeared into the jungle and tried to outrun the horrible images that plagued his mind. Nearly tripping over the dense vines and roots more than once, he heard the wild laughter of the creature that taunted him.
Collin managed to stumble into camp unscathed, breathless, and shaking. He zipped up the tent and sat on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. He tried to brush it off as a silly mirage of moonlight, but the sinister laughter taunted him, made him want to scream in fright and frustration.
.~.
An indescribable feeling rolled in her belly, like a storm on the sea. As the night passed on, Calliope tried to occupy her mind with preening her tail and swimming, but the handsome stranger’s face remained in her mind. She had drowned and devoured men without a second thought, but to put a finger of harm on this stranger strangled her painfully. She gasped, and suddenly remembered Hera’s curse.
Unless you find someone who can Tame you.
Could she have finally found someone to break the cold lock on her heart?
Someone who could make her human once again?
The tips of her fins curled in excitement as she considered the stranger’s eyes, which had reminded her of the lagoons of her distant home. She couldn’t deny the feeling any longer. She was falling in love.
She was becoming Tamed.
.~.
Collin gasped for breath, trying to restore oxygen to his starving lungs. He sat on his sleeping bag, head deep in his palms, struggling to keep his sanity and scientific mind intact as one.
How could a creature of legend and fiction come to life and actually communicate with him? He tried to deny what he saw, but there were no animals that had ultramarine, silken tails, lovely and wild voices, and not to mention, the upper-half of a beautiful woman. He forced himself to remember that this creature was not the sweet angel who helped sailors as many writers portrayed. Ancient lore depicted mermaids as vicious demons who consumed the flesh of innocent men and laughed at their torture. He reached for his notebook and scribbled as many notes as he could dig out of his memory.
April 2nd, 2016
The creature is exactly what I would have imagined from a fairytale. Her tail reflects a dark shade of blue with scales and a membrane between the fluke just like any normal species of fish. She is slim and has the torso of a human woman, with small breasts and a tiny waist. Her skin and hair glisten more than a normal human's. Her demeanor, however, is alluring, but there is a hint of brutality—
The dreaded singing returned.
There were notes of sadness…longing…isolation. He decided to part from his camp and walked down to the shoreline. The mother Luna greeted his presence with a warm glow that stretched for miles. He was content to not think for a while and accept the reality that his doom must be close. Collin felt a strange sense of loneliness. The expanse of ocean had made him realize how insignificant and alone he was. The ache in his chest forced him to sigh in pain. He grabbed a handful of his auburn hair and studied the sea.
And then he saw her.
A figure swimming under the moonlight, presenting her song to the sky above. She dove under the surface of the sea, and her tail followed. Collin watched her, fascinated by her lithe form. He stayed hidden and watched for the slightest movement on the surface.
With the incoming waves, the creature washed ashore. She panted as she dragged her body through the sand. “I know you are there, stranger,” she called out in a strangled cry.
Collin cursed and moved slowly out of hiding. He gritted his teeth when he saw her tail. Patches of scales were falling off and littering the tides like tears of the moon. Blood swirled in the receding sea.
"I shall be part of the waves and swim amongst the vilest creatures, ever enchanting men with my beauty and voice for all eternity unless I can find someone who can Tame me.” She dug her nails into the sand as tears pooled in her eyes. “For so long, I have felt hopeless like there was no cure for my monstrous heart. I can see something within you. You made me realize it is possible to break the curse, but you have to be willing to accept me, tail and powers.”
Collin’s brows knitted together in concentration and he wiped a hand down his scruff in frustration. “I— I don’t understand. Who are you? What are you? And what does all that mean?”
“My name is Calliope. I was blessed by the goddess Hera with the ability to manipulate water. Long ago, when my father’s people were desperate to end a war, I was chosen to be the
bride of Paris, a vicious king who lived in a distant city known as Troy. I… misused my power and was cursed. The only way I can be a human again is if I find someone to Tame me.”
Collin was transfixed by the sound of her voice, like the waves crashing onto shore in a hypnotic ballad, full of pain and longing. She had a foreign accent that was hard to place and seemed to be thicker at one time, but faded long ago.
“Tame you? I don’t understand—”
“I need someone to fall in love with me, stranger. Someone to see past this tail and this grotesque fin!” She slapped her tail in self-loathing and winced in pain. More scales were swept away by the sea.
Collin kneeled by her side. “How long have you been trapped here?”
Calliope laughed bitterly and shook her head, sending long locks of ebony tresses across Collin’s arm. He longed to tangle his fingers in them. “Long ago, my father, King Pierus, ruled all of Greece. His most prized ship—”
“The Bull’s Thunder! Yes, it went missing hundreds of years ago!” Collin stopped, realizing the antiquity of Calliope’s story. “So you’re the lost princess of Greece?”
Time seemed to stand still as Calliope realized how long she had been trapped as an immortal man slayer. “Yes, and I am ready to be human again. Ready to love,” she paused and seemed to consider something of importance. “Why are you here, stranger? Don’t you know the curse of this island?”
“I’m studying the land here and trying to debunk the legends that surround this place. I guess they’re true. All of it’s true. My name’s Collin Baxter.”
“Collin…” His name rolled around her tongue. He blushed and turned away, admiring the way she called to him. “If you want to study the land, I can show you things only drowned men have discovered. Would you like to go swimming? It’s been ages since I’ve had any leisure with someone else besides a victim.”
Calliope dragged herself back toward the water. Seeing her struggle, Collin carried her into the surf. “Those wounds must be painful.” He hesitated as she waited for him farther out in the sea. With the lure of adventure and a mysterious woman, Collin stripped off his shirt and dove into the waves.
.~.
The world below the waves was dark and cold at first until Calliope took his hand. Endless coral reefs greeted them as they reached the bottom of the sea. Fish of a variety of colors darted amongst the reef like a bustling metropolis. Although Collin recognized some species, others were foreign to his knowledge. As they swam deeper into the reef, Collin spotted brain coral with its multiple folds and squiggles; fire coral that had a beautiful blazing color with a devastating sting; fan corals and anemone that gracefully swayed in search of plankton to eat.
Calliope smiled. Collin had adapted easily to her underwater home. Each stroke contracted lean muscles in his arms, and she watched curiously. She soon grew bored of the treasures she swam through every day, and her mischievous nature began to take over. She darted in front of him and smiled, brushed her tail in front of his face before charging forward and out of his sight. Collin propelled himself forward and pinched the tip of her tail then smiled. She laughed and sent a stream of bubbles to the surface. They continued their antics until the sea began to fade into light from the morning sun. She swam around him in circles, curious about the human who didn’t see her as a monster.
She’d seen herself as a heinous creature, forced to live the consequence of her mistake every day for an eternity. Here in her element, with her beautiful azure fins spread out in happiness, Collin saw her as nothing more than a beautiful girl having fun. He smiled and leaned down to meet her lips. Together, they swam to the surface of the sea, leaving their past behind. Hundreds of scales in rich shades of blue rained down into the deepest part of the ocean.
.~.
One Week Later
As Collin lugged the last of his equipment onto the Peligroso, he couldn’t stop watching Calliope. Her long legs had finally returned after centuries, and she couldn’t have looked happier.
“So uh… where did you find this girl again?” the captain questioned in his language.
“Don’t really know. Says she was shipwrecked a long time ago,” Collin replied nonchalantly.
With a dubious frown, the captain chose to mind his business and accept the young girl as his new passenger.
As the old boat chugged back to the mainland, Collin stole a glance at Calliope. Her wild, long black hair whipped around her as she studied the ocean, her home for so long, one last time. She smiled at him while her eyes faintly glowed blue. Calliope created a large wave with her open palm, in hopes they would reach their destination faster. The curse was broken, but there was no way the Lost Princess of Greece would ever be fully Tamed.
There is an evanescent quality to this collection. Its stories, some more, some less, feel like the water you try to capture and hold in the palms of your hands that quickly slips away between your fingers as you bring it up to your lips. Leaving you thirsty for more, never quite satisfied.
Most of them are well written, well edited (although, even if intentional, the sudden and sporadic change of narration from first to third person in Orca: A Tale of Freedom is off putting) and quite imaginative (albeit not particularly original), adult fantasy tales. Happening in or around a sea or an ocean, involving some of the most iconic, aquatic, mythic creatures of yore, they are not afraid of a bit, fitting gore (Tempest In The Storm), a narrator's self-confessed, toxic and abusive behaviour (Chlorine and Salt) and some good, old, pitch black, latent humour. Moreover, they are fearless when it comes to completely foregoing a happy end, or at least keeping it out of the pages (no spoilers!).
As a consequence, they tackle serious themes, like death and grief (the award winning A Day of Fishing), teenage angst in the search of identity and belonging (Family Cloak, Orca: A Tale of Freedom), greed and hubris (The Adventure of Pompelli), fear of the different Other, or the environmental crisis, in a surprising entertaining, comforting, tender and engaging way. Particularly for the nerdier readers among us.
But even some of the above, best stories, feel like incomplete as they end abruptly, often with a somewhat patronising opinion or advice as a punchline, instead of a full stop or an open -to the discretion of the reader- ending. It doesn't help that scattered among them are a handful of too small, too effervescent to make an impact poems that disrupt the balance and flow of this collection, instead of enhancing it. Especially since it all starts with the two most weak, unformed stories (Tamed, Charm of the Sea Folk), inexplicably speeding on the surface, and only the surface, of their heroes' character, motives and emotions, while attempting canon mythology subversion that is ultimately off-hand and meaningless (Paris of Troy was the bad guy and Helen was his prisoner? Why?).
Take heart. Even if they will leave you thirsty for more, the best are saved for last.