Maria and I watched the vessel being secured for storage until the next fishing season. Both of us fervently hoped that we would not be required to crew the Siren for another season. We wished to remain with our families, she with her partner and I with my daughter.
We shared our last human-cooked meal, chilli mussels in the restaurant with the curious human. He was not working this time, his duties undertaken by a human woman instead. She permitted us to eat in peace.
We drove to the car park at the airport and shared a beer as we waited for the small plane to arrive. We finished the beer and I wished I had thought to bring a bottle of whiskey, for one last fiery burn before all was cool water once more.
The sun was sinking in the sky when Vanessa’s plane landed. She walked slowly to the car, opened the rear door and sat behind me.
I made a polite enquiry. “Did you farewell the human properly?”
She replied in the affirmative, her smile dreamy.
I noticed a patch of white on her otherwise immaculate shirt. “You have some white fluid on your clothing,” I told her.
She looked at her clothing and shrugged. “Soon we will not need human clothing. Within the hour, we will be swimming home. Our people are calling.”