The siren that took Charles

"Charles, don't wonder off too far now." Janice, Charles's mother, says to him as she prepares dinner on the hot stove.

Charles giggles as he slips on his running shoes. "Yes momma." he responds.

She poured in the vegetables to cook, "I mean it. No futher than the sign."

Charles jumped onto his feet. "I won't momma. Only to the sign. I promise."

Janice smiles, "Off you go then. Have fun."

Charles rushed out the door for the beach that's full of beautiful golden sand. He brought along his favorite toy, the pirate because he wanted to play pretend about the myth of the lost siren. His mother told him the story of the 'siren curse'.

Long ago, ten pirates were aboard a huge mighty ship to sail across the sky blue seas. Each member of the crew had a different job on the ship, besides the captain-who obviously bossed around his men with great pride.

One man hailed the anchor on the ship.

One man steered the ship on the sea.

One man controlled the sails.

One man served the captain.

One man watched the stolen jewels under the deck.

One man watched out for any obstacles in the way.

One man cooked the meals.

One man kept a close eye on the victims aboard the ship.

One man cleaned the ship.

And, the last man was the caretaker of any injuries.

Janice told Charles about how each man vanished off the ship one by one. The captain was sparred to fall into her fatal trap in the ocean. It is said that the siren only preys on land people she is interested in, and will eliminate the ones she doesn't like.

The ship never was seen again. Nor was either of the crewmen.

Charles wanted to play out the tale with his pirate toy. He is always fascinated by the tale every time he hears it.

Charles played in the sand for a few minutes before the sky turned into a beautiful pink and blue-ish color. His mother was about to call him in for dinner soon, so he collected his pirate to head back inside. When he heard a gentle, calm, yet satisfying singing voice coming from the distance. It was enchanting.

The singing seems to come from the waters, but Charles isn't allowed past the sign. Mother said so.

The voice wasn't going away, and it made Charles feel weak-his body started to move on its own. To the ocean.

He walked, walked, walked, walked, walked, and walked till a female arose from the waters with a beautiful scaley tail. She was the source of the beautiful voice. Charles wanted to join her in the waters. He needed to.

So he did.

He accepted the mermaid's hand to allow her to pull him into the ocean. He dropped his toy on the sand close to the ocean waters as he walked deeper into the waters with his casual clothing on. He didn't mind. The nice mermaid will take care of him. Charles felt protected by her.

Once his head was under the water, the mermaid put her mouth on his to give him the ability to breathe underwater. They swam to the deepest part of the ocean together, where no land person in the entire world could reach. It was freezing, but Charles's body seemed to be immune to the cold water. He was gone from the land world to live his life beside the mermaid. She is interested in Charles, so she will have him.

On land, Janice desperately calls out for Charles in a panic. He had been gone for hours without a trace except his toy sitting away from where he should be.

The land police and water police searched for days. The young boy was never found. Not even a hint of him except the pirate toy was enough to help them find him.

Sailors allegedly said he was pulled underwater by a mermaid. Everyone gave them the cold shoulder as if they were making up a tall tale. No one believed them.

In a blink of an eye, Charles is gone.

Years later, the corner lady on the lonely street by the harbor sold the newspaper. The newspaper headline was 'Will the boy appear soon?' again. Everyone stayed away from the waters - except for the sailors who sailed their ship to catch fish. The mother of the missing boy continued to mourn over her poor lost baby boy. Thinking he is dead or lost for good, she locked his room to keep everyone from going in. She barely ate or slept. No one tried to pressure her for answers knowing her answer will be the same.

"I have no time for your useless questions. Goodbye."

She sat on her porch in her chair to pray that one day - her boy will come back safely in her arms.

She wasn't the young mother he might remember her as. She was an old woman with long silver hair.

The mother held his pirate toy in her hand as a way to keep herself alive. Alive long enough to see her son once again.

"Mornin' Janice!" The paper man waves to her with a bright smile.

She nods to him with a forceful smile, "Mornin' Mr. Young."

"Janice, call me Larry. I don't bite." He says handing her the newspaper. "These people still stick with newspapers. We have phones and other technology. Everyone is stuck in the past."

"They might love doing it as a way to get by."

He tipped his hat to her, "You are right in a way." he rides off to continue his work. "Don't forget to eat!"

Janice tossed the paper in the pile with the others. "Eat? There's no point."

Fourteen years since her little baby left her side. If only she kept her eye on him. He wouldn't have left this earth so soon.

On the other side of the town, a local retail was opening just as a tall male in his early twenties stepped inside. The store manager-Serenia-smiled to greet the young man.

"Welcome to Serenia's Fashion! Anything in your interest?"

He looked at her causing her to feel chills down her spine.

His eyes... they weren't... no they can't be... they were pure white. Like he's not alive.

"Clothes. Need clothes." The man says in a voice that sounded off. She pretended to not notice and guided him to the men clothes. He didn't hesitate to pick up one pair of jean pants, one shirt, and sneakers. He slammed them on the counter for check out causing the manager to let out a squeal. Luckily, she was the only person in the store for now. She didn't need any attention to be drawn in here.

Serenia rings up his things, and never looked back up at his eyes. The creepy eyes were lifeless.

Thirty-five-fifty-six." she says.

He digs into his filthy tight pants for some crumpled up money, and hands it to her-he didn't count the money nor look at how much he pulled out.

She accepted it and counted the money.

"Keep change," The man says as he grabs his clothes and walks out of the store.

As soon as he leaves the store - Serenia collapsed onto the ground in relief. Her heart couldn't stand another minute in front of him. Who is he? She had never seen a man like him before. Is he new? Should she call security?

Serenia placed the change into the money tray without standing up to give herself some breathing time. His face did look slightly familiar. She doesn't know from where.

She doesn't care either. She is just glad he is gone.

Back over where Janice is quietly enjoying her time alone laying down. She hears a knock on the door, she ignores it for a while. Then after knowing they will not go away-she gets up to answer the door.

"Hello?" she says to the small child wearing a uniform.

"Hi! My name is Violet. I am the child you were supposed to watch for five hours. Mom says you said yes."

"When was this?"

"Last Sunday, you said yes to her question, so she can work overtime to pay the bills this month."

Janice sighed, "Come in. Take your shoes off at the door way. Food is in th fridge. Take whatever you want to eat. I don't care. The room upstairs to the right is forbidden. That's all."

Janice went back to her room, and Violet did as she said. The girl wasn't supposed to talk to Janice if she doesn't want to. Because Janice lost all hope in life. She stopped helping her mom, she didn't cook anymore, and she didn't come outside. She was the rumored lady of the missing child that everyone talked about. I never heard of the boy except from people's mouths. Violet wondered what the boy could look like. Janice took down every picture of the son, so where could she find one photo of him?

Violet looked down to the floor to see a newspaper that Janice left. She picked it up to see a faded picture of a boy.

She realized that was Charles. She finally knew what he looked like, but wondered if he would ever return home.

She might be eight, but her dream to solve a mystery like her father is her dream. She wants to find out where Charles is to crack the case of the missing boy.

The boy who allegedly got snatched by a mermaid.