After a night of swimming and fishing, followed by morning fishing with the vessel, Maria and I usually retired to the vessel’s bunks to sleep until the sun sank from view. Today, I wished to sit on the deck a little longer, so Maria descended to the bunks without me.
The humans were awake, too. Fishing vessels were returning to their jetties. I saw more humans in the early afternoon than any other time of day. They tied up and unloaded their vessels, called out between jetties and the island and went into their houses.
The Dolphin cruised along the anchorage. Skipper nodded and waved to me and I replied in kind. He did not smile, so I did not have to smile in response. The young human fisherman Vanessa liked so much stood on the deck of the Dolphin, but he did not see me as he watched the houses on the island. I suspected he looked for her, but she was not in sight. Like Maria, she slept.
I had not seen any of the other humans as entranced by her as this one was. It made him appear young and sweet, even though he was an adult human. I understood that she would enjoy his company. Last night, when her thoughts were saddened by a human long since dead, he brought a smile to her lips.
She worked hard for our people and she sought to help the humans, too. It hurt her when her efforts failed, but they did not diminish. She was perpetually worried for the future of our people and of the humans. If she could save us all, she would. If she could not, she would teach us to save ourselves.
I looked at the young human who was so mesmerised by her body. Would he be so eager for her if he knew that the last human man she had willingly touched was my father, more than 80 years in the past? At least this knowledge would crush his unrealistic hopes. Our kind do not willingly touch humans, except where duty requires it. She has borne two children for her people. She has no need to touch a human again.
I watched him assist Skipper in tying up the Dolphin and unloading their catch of the morning. Though not as practised in fishing as Skipper, the young human did not make mistakes. He was capable with his hands, carrying out his deckhand duties as Maria or I might. In six weeks, he had learned a considerable amount. I resolved to tell Vanessa this when she awoke. If she were required to return to land and fish with the Siren once more, she could employ him as a human deckhand, without the need for Maria or me.
As he stepped ashore from the vessel, he was addressed by a fisherman from one of the smaller islands. Roma Island, perhaps. He listened to the fisherman, looking concerned, then retrieved a heavy-looking bag from his veranda. Lifting the bag onto his shoulder, he followed the Roma fisherman to his vessel and was soon on his way south.