Tom

—Mom, will you tell me a story, please? —begged the boy with golden hair and big, bright eyes.

"Okay, just one, and then off to sleep," she replied, stroking his head with a tender smile.

Back to the present

It was the last story I heard before everything changed forever. My mother told me then how she had seen, from afar, a mysterious woman with fish-like features emerge from the depths and take with her a pirate who was prowling along the coast.

What began as a simple story became my obsession, my reason for living. After she left, I sank into a deep sadness; only the hope of one day finding that figure she spoke of kept me afloat.

Years passed. He lived on an old, dirty, and disorderly ship, sailing lonely seas without rest… until that night.

The sea began to churn violently, the wood creaked beneath my feet, and the water lifted the ship. I ran to the deck, terrified, and gasped: emerging from the waves was a beautiful woman, her skin pale and smooth, with a fish tail covered in scales, but her smile was unique, revealing her sharp fangs.

—Hello —she said in a sweet voice.

Her eyes shone with a unique, hypnotic light that captivated me instantly. She looked at me curiously and added with a kind smile:

—I could drag you down with me… but, to be honest with you, it seems too sweet to hurt you.

"Are you the one I've been looking for all this time?" I managed to ask in a trembling voice, without taking my eyes off her. "I've sailed for years just to see you once."