“Kat, Brian, please stop fighting! You’re giving me and dad a headache!” I screamed at my five year old twins. My six kids, my husband Dennis and I were all crammed into our white van. We were all traveling from New York to Nova Scotia, Canada by car. This was a bad idea. I felt like my head was going to explode! All of the kids were screaming and fighting and wouldn’t stop. Finally, after about an hour more of driving we pulled up to our destination, Village de Poisson, a fishing village that has mythical creatures proven to be living in the ocean and itching to find mermaids.
All of my kids, even my oldest child Taylor, who is thirteen years old, were all super excited to see the creatures. They all convinced themselves that they would find mermaid.
We all hopped out of the car while Dennis grabbed our little eight month old, Alec, from his car seat. We then started our usual age order attendance routine.
“Taylor!” I yelled.
“Here!” I heard in response. This system went on for the rest of my other five kids Mason, Jade, Brian, Katherine and until Dennis let out a little “here” for Alec.
“Okay let’s go to the hotel!” I yelled getting a little excited myself. I began walking with all of the kids slowly walking behind me. Dennis said there was apparently no parking in the village so we had to park about a quarter mile from the village.
A few minutes later we saw an old, faded sign attached to an old door that said “Welcome to Village de Poisson” in obviously hand painted letters. We opened the door, which had small pieces of food chipping off of it as it went farther. As soon as we stepped into the village Katherine burst into tears and Mason began whining.
“This place is so small and old,” he whimpered.
“Mason, please don’t whine. You’re ten years old,” I sighed to him knowing it would be no use.
Dennis pulled me off to the side while clutching Alec so we could talk.
“Amber, I thought you said this place was nice!” he snapped rather quickly.
“I know, I know,” I replied. “I guess the brochure I had was a little old.”
After a few minutes of going back and forth like this my husband and I made our way back to the kids and walked to a small shop that we saw. I’m guessing it was the only one they had since I could see one side of the town and the other without out even moving my feet. It was really just a small group of old, small buildings.
Once we stepped inside the shop I instantly recognized that we were in the thrift shop that the brochure said was in this town, except it looked a little older and dirtier.
“Hello and how are you this fine evening?” A short man from behind the counter said to us as we walked in.
“Hi, my name is Jade, I’m eight years old, and these are my brothers and sisters named Brian…”
“Okay, that’s enough Jadie,” Dennis said, cutting her off before she could talk anymore. Jade has always been very talkative.
“Such a cute kid,” the man behind the counter mumbled. “Anyways, my name is Marcus Levin, the mayor of this magnificent town. Is there anything I can assist you with?
“Yes actually, we are just looking for our hotel,” I replied questioningly since I didn’t see any tall buildings or signs.
“Ah yes. Follow me,” Mr. Levin said as he cracked a sly smile.
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After a few minutes of walking we stopped in front of a small shack with a man in yellow raincoat and a woman wearing a long dress and with her hair in a long braid standing in front waving.
“Meet Bill and Ashley Hood! You will be staying with them during your visit,” Mr. Levin said to us as if it was no big deal.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Dennis replied slowly. “There are gonna be ten of us now and I don’t think we will all be able to fit in that house.”
“Don’t worry we got two rooms for you guys to sleep in and you can use the kitchen and bathroom at anytime,” Bill Hood interrupted.
“Well then, enjoy your stay!” Mr. Levin said cheerily, then walked away.
As we made our way inside we could see that this shack was not very well taken care of. Paint peeling off the wall, dust collecting in every corner, dishes not done and the list just keeps on going.
“Well look at the time! It’s already ten o’clock! The kids should be in bed by now! Amber help me get them ready. And thanks for letting us stay here Mr. and Mrs. Hood,” Dennis babbled as he walked out of the room quick as cheetah.
At around eleven o’clock we eventually figured out all of the sleeping arrangements and got the kids in bed. Once all of the kids were finally asleep, me and Dennis got into our beds or really just some blankets and pillows on the floor on opposite sides of the room. Once my head hit the pillow, all I could remember was Dennis’ soft, tired voice saying “goodnight Am.”
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I woke up to Dennis shaking me slightly and whispering my name. I looked over at my phone which read three thirty- seven in the morning.
“Hey,” he said quietly. I just groaned in return because he was waking me up so early. “I’m gonna go down to the ocean with Bill and try to catch the kids one of those animals.”
“Okay, have fun. Be back soon,” I managed to get out and with that he gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and left.
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I was woken up the next morning to the loud sound of children screaming and crying. I shot my head up and looked to the other side of the room to say something to Dennis, but he wasn’t there. He was probably just trying to calm the kids down. I was about to open the bedroom door until I heard what my children’s shrieks translated to.
“Daddy, Daddy’s gone!”
“He’s not here anymore.”
I heard Bill and Ashley cooing soft words to the kids in an attempt to calm them down. When this failed I heard them come to my door and slowly knock.
“Come in,” I said quietly fearing the worst.
“Hi Amber,” Ashley spoke.
“Is Dennis okay!” I immediately blurted out.
“That’s what we came to tell you,” Bill said to me in a whisper probably hoping I didn’t hear. “Your husband and I went fishing very, very early this morning. It was going great. I think he actually caught an Ashray.¨
“Please just tell me what happened,” I said loudly since he was obviously stalling.
“Well, he disappeared.”
“What! How!”
“We were just standing in the boat until we heard a soft song. I instantly recognised it. It was a mermaid, I guess my research paid off,” Bill said obviously proud of his work. “Dennis and I both looked over the side of the boat where we saw the beautiful creature. I turned away to get my camera and when I turned around, he was gone. I didn’t even hear a splash,¨ Bill said so quickly I barely heard him.
“No,” I said. “No, no, no,” I repeated to myself as I quickly walked out of the room, my  short pajama pants slapping my ankles as I did so. I heard a soft squeak come from the kids room and realized that none of the kids got Alec. I swiftly moved into that room and grabbed him then handed him to Ashley and walked outside to the little porch in the back not even hearing my kids as they screamed my name.
“He’s dead,” I said to myself. As soon as I said that I burst into tears. My husband of sixteen years fell off a boat and is gone. I can’t raise six kids on my own. I moved my wedding ring in small circles before I slowly took it off and placed it next to me.
I sat on the steps crying for only about five minutes until I heard the old screen door creak open. I immediately wiped my eyes with my shirt then turned around.  It was Taylor and Mason. They both had tears streaming down their faces. I could hear Bill and Ashley trying to calm the little kids who I guess had been eavesdropping on our earlier conversation. 
“Mom, he’s not dead,” Taylor whispered to me as if she knew what I was thinking.
“How do you know that hun,” I replied in a low voice not wanting to cry again in front of my kids.
“The day each of the younger kids was born, he made a promise to never leave us. He is not going to start now.”
This caused a single tear drop to roll down my cheek. She remembered. Dennis made a promise to each of our kids the day they were born that he would always be with them. He said the exact same things to all of the kids. I still remember his soft voice saying each of those words to each new baby’s forehead.
“I will love you forever. Forever and always. I promise to stay by your side forever. Forever and always. When you grow up you will have tough times, but I will be there for you. Forever and always.”
Mason sat down on the other side of me, but immediately jumped up with a loud scream.
“Ow, ‘momwy’” he said messing up his words since he was on the brim of crying again. I looked down and saw that he had sat on my wedding ring which was sitting face up.
I guess I had been staring at the ring for longer than I thought because Taylor suddenly snapped a “mom” at me.
“What? Yes? Mason are you okay?” I babbled.
“Mom, Mason went inside like five minutes ago. Are you okay?” She asked.
“Yes, yes. I’m fine. I’m just a little dazed…” Before I could finish a girl with short brown hair and rolled up jeans who looked about Taylor’s age sprinted past us with a quick flash of a smile.
“Forget about that,” Taylor said since I was apparently staring at her as she ran. At that moment Taylor picked up my wedding ring and placed it on my finger. A few tears started to roll down her cheeks. She was always so brave, being the oldest of six. She hardly ever cried.
“Don’t take the ring off again,” she whispered.
“We have to find him,” I said confidently. I pulled the ring all the way on my finger then grabbed Taylor’s hand and dragged her inside.  
“Everybody come here now!” I screeched. Jade, Kat, Brian and Mason all slowly limped in with red, puffy eyes while Bill and Ashley casually walked in holding Alec.
“We are going to find you father!” I yelled. “I will call the police and they will search for him and find an explanation for what happened. We will not leave this place until he is found.” I looked over at Bill who nodded so I knew he was okay with us living here longer than planned. My throat was starting to hurt from yelling so loudly.
“Dennis is not dead.” That last part I only mumbled so no one could hear me.
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It's been about three months since my husband disappeared. Nobody has done anything. The police searched for about a day then gave up since they couldn’t find any evidence of what had happened. I wasn’t going to let this happen. I wasn’t going to let these people let my husband die. I know he’s not dead. He can’t be. They will find him. No, I will find him. Not the police, not Bill and Ashley, not my kids, I will find Dennis.
“Taylor, I’m going to the thrift shop. Watch the kids please. Thanks, love you,” I said. I was already out the door before Taylor could complain.
I got to the store in about 30 seconds since I speed walked all the way there. As soon as I got inside I slammed my hands on the front desk and yelled “Where’s the snorkeling equipment!” I heard no response so I yelled it again. This time Mr. Levin strolled out from behind the curtain with a small net with a snorkel, a wetsuit, flippers and thick goggles inside of it.
¨It’s on the house. Good luck with your search,¨ he said. I wonder how he knew what I was doing? No, I don’t have time to think about this. I’m going.
¨Tell my kids I’ll be back in a few days.¨
I ran to the ocean and immediately slipped out of my clothes and put all of the gear on. Then I was off.
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I had been swimming for what felt like days when it had really been only an hour. I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to sit down. There was a large rock sitting about 4 feet above the water. I swam up to it and rested my arms on it. As soon as I placed my arm down a flash of blue light hit the sky. It was swirling in blue circles until it came down like lightning. It was heading straight for me so I began to swim away. But then, I heard a song. It wouldn’t let me move. I had to hear it. The voice was so beautiful I never wanted it to leave. The light then struck millimeters from my fingers and the song stopped. The stone where the light had struck was now forming into something. It was words.
The words read, ¨Stay away from the sirens. They are not mermaids.¨
This was confusing me. What does that mean? What sirens? I decided that maybe the light had left something on a lower part of the rock. I held my breath and dove under. As soon as I got to the bottom of the shallow ocean something grabbed me. It was a woman. She was beautiful. My eyes couldn’t leave her face. No actually, I couldn’t move my face at all. I moved my eyes a little bit lower and saw that she had a tail, a mermaid tail. Suddenly I was able to breath even though I was underwater.
¨Now you can breath,¨ the woman said with a voice as smooth as silk.
¨M-m-mermaid?¨ I said questioningly. That was a bad idea. Suddenly her eyes and tail turned red as a strawberry.
“I-I am not a mermaid!” She screamed so loud I bet the whole town could hear. “I am a siren. I am not one of those little clown fish with pink tails and braided hair!” As she spoke her size began to get larger and larger until she was almost at the surface of the water. At that moment she grabbed my waist and threw me. I felt myself streaming through the water. The siren wasn’t even in sight anymore. Before I even had time to turn my head back I realized that I couldn’t breath underwater anymore. Because of my inability to breath, I shot up and landed on the sand on the shore. She had thrown me underwater and it had taken only about seven seconds to get me back to the shore, which was miles away from that rock.
Before I could even lift my head I could feel my eyes closing and then everything went black.
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When I woke up I could feel myself moving. I opened my eyes fully and realized I was underwater… and breathing. I looked up and realized I was in a bag… made of seaweed? I guess so. Since seaweed is so thin it wasn’t to hard for me to shoot my head out of the top. It broke easily like a piece of paper. Then I got my arms out and stretched them above my head. As soon as my eyes really opened I realized that I was in some sort of backpack and was being carried by the same siren that I saw yesterday. Her black hair was slowly whipping in my face as if it were in slow motion. I guess she never noticed me since her head never turned around. I was wrong.
“Don’t worry Amber. You’re gonna be okay,” she said softly. “I’m just bringing you to meet my sisters.” I began to struggle to get out of the bag, but she began singing. It was the same voice and song that I had heard the night before. It was calling me. I couldn’t leave. The sound was beautiful.
In about ten minutes we stopped in front of a giant rock.
The siren (who I’m gonna call Milly) began swimming towards the rock at a very fast speed. As she did this she continued to sing just as perfectly as she was before. In my head I was screaming and terrified, but on the outside I was just staring in front of me and listening to the sweet melody. This had to be a suicide mission. She was going to run herself into a rock just so I could be dead. I guess I shouldn’t have called her a mermaid.
Right after I finished that thought we made impact with the rock. I closed my eyes preparing for the worst, but we just slid right through the rock as if it were made of jell-o.
Milly then dropped the bag and stopped singing causing me to topple on to the ground. As soon as I hit the ground I made a mad dash for the wall which was the way we came in. As I was preparing to slide through I hit my head on something hard as stone. I guess the wall had changed materials. I sat up dizzy but able to comprehend my surroundings. We were in a large dark cave with stones carved to make everyday objects. I saw a stone couch, table, bed, and a… throne?
I guess Milly saw me staring because she said “Ah yes. That is our king’s throne his name is King Sea Flower. We call him this because he was captured by one of my sisters and has blossomed like a flower to become the wonderful king that he is.”
The word “captured” made me cringe. Dennis was captured. Something wasn’t right here.
Before I could ponder this anymore, a flow of maybe one hundred sirens came out from another wall.
One stood in front of the crowd and began to talk to me. “Welcome, I’m glad Kelsie was able to drag you in here. You know, her and Silvia are the only ones to ever leave this cave. Oh what would we do without Silvia. She captured our king,” The mermaid rambled.
“H-h-how has nobody ever found this place?” I stuttered.
“Well my dear,” she chuckled. “This is a magic cave only sirens or those who have been enchanted by a siren can get in here.”
Before I could ask anymore questions I heard a soft tapping on the rocks and then they got louder and louder.
I heard a loud booming voice yell, “All swim to the top of the cave to greet King Sea Flower!”
The mermaid who I thought was Milly but was actually named Kelsie grabbed my hand and swam to the top of the cave she laid me on my back so I was looking down to the ground. She spun something around in her hand until I realized it was a ball of light. She threw the ball at me and it landed right on my stomach in which she had let go of at that very moment. Right then some sort of web formed around me and stuck me to the ceiling before I even had time to begin falling. She had used magic.
I saw the wall where the mermaids had come in begin to form into a door. Kelsie realized this and swam up the lay her back on the ceiling. As the transformation completed, I saw three figures, which I immediately realized were sirens, slowly made their way in. There were two small little boy sirens standing next to the large, muscular siren. The large one was wearing a crown and had the same crazy brown hair as Dennis.
“The one with the crown is our king. Silvia captured him off his sailboat,” Kelsie whispered to me. At the same time she said this everything clicked into place. The king had the same hair as Dennis and he was captured off a boat just like Dennis. I didn’t believe it so I just decided that it was all a coincidence. I was proven to be completely wrong when the king began to swim up and I saw that he was my husband, Dennis. 
As soon as I saw his face I began to struggle. Dennis or should I say King Sea Flower saw this and tapped my stomach and the web went away. I began to slowly float down.
As soon as I hit the ground I yelled for Dennis. He didn’t seem to respond.
“He’s been bitten by a siren!” One of the girls on the ceiling yelled. “He’s one of us now.”
Right then all of the sirens came down from the ceiling and began to circle around me chanting that phrase. “One of us. One of us. One of us.” As they did this their usual bright, innocent eyes turned dark. I looked over at Dennis and saw that he wasn’t chanting with them. He seemed to be debating something.
Before the circle of sirens reached me I heard Dennis yell “Stop!” I wanted to run over to Dennis and give him a hug, but he said something that immediately made me change my mind.
He yelled, “Let me get her!” He got into the middle of the circle with sirens surrounding us.
“What are you even trying to do!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“If he bites you’ll become one of us!” Some random siren yelled.
This caused them to start chanting again, “One of us! One of us! One of us!”
“No ,” I yelled. I then jumped up and swam above the sirens. I was on a complete rage. I swam at full speed over to that stone wall and took a single swing and a kick and the wall was broken. I swam out of the cave and began to swim to the surface of the ocean. I wasn’t doing this to get to Dennis, I wasn’t doing this to free myself, I was escaping so I could get to my kids and keep them safe.
As I was swimming to the surface of the ocean I looked back only once and saw a sight that disgusted me. Dennis my husband, or who used to be my husband was swimming back into the cave with his arm around Silvia. He was not my husband anymore. He was not a human anymore. He was one of them now.
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Right as my head broke through the surface I saw helicopters circling around me. They must have seen me somehow. A ladder came down with a woman at the bottom.
“Grab my hand,” she yelled over the loud noise of the beating helicopter. I was so weak from the swimming that I could barely lift my hand, but I did it.
The women pulled my entire body onto the ladder and held me close so I wouldn’t fall.
“I’m Nancy,” she whispered. “You’re safe now.” I was too weak to respond.
As soon as we got to the helicopter Nancy let me go and I realized my hand was gushing blood.
“You’re gonna be okay,” Nancy whispered to me.
“S-s-s-sirens!” I managed to croak out.
“What about them,” Nancy replied.
“In the rock, I made a hole.”
“We will find them,” Nancy said. “And we will kill those evil creatures.
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About a week passed since my encounter with the sirens. One by one more and more sirens had been caught. So many had been caught until there was a total of one hundred and eighteen.
I still hadn’t told my kids about Dennis being a siren, King Sea Flower. I wasn’t really planning on telling them until one day when I was sitting in the kitchen of Bill and Ashley Hood’s kitchen I got a heart dropping call.
They had caught the king. They had caught Dennis.
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Today was the day me and my kids would be leaving Village de Poisson. I had told my kids the story of what happened.  All seven of us walked up to the dock. We saw a net hanging from a large machine. Inside was Dennis with his crown and tail still there. He only had a few more minutes of life since sirens can’t stay out of the water for too long.
I walked up to the net with Alec in my hand and the five other kids behind me.
“I don’t love you anymore Daddy!” Jade yelled with tears streaming down her face.
“Amber please,” Dennis begged me.
“Goodbye,” I said tightly and walked to our car with the kids.
A few tears rolled down my cheeks, but that was all I was going to show.
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“Taylor, please calm Alec down! He’s giving me a headache!” I yelled.
“Okay,” I heard Taylor reply softly.
My six kids and I were all crammed into our white van heading home to New York from Nova Scotia, Canada. Everything was basically the same as always except for one thing. My husband wasn’t with us.
The baby wouldn’t stop crying. I felt like my head was going to explode! I pulled over to the side of the road and laid my head on the steering wheel. I began to cry not really caring about which of my kids saw me. I sobbed loudly, but nobody could hear me over the loud screams of the six kids that I had to raise on my own.