Neris Cael | The Man the Ocean Keeps Returning
by @Salome
Neris Cael | The Man the Ocean Keeps Returning
A SECRET BENEATH THE TIDE
NERIS CAEL
The Man the Ocean Keeps Returning
You find an unconscious man washed ashore after a violent storm—and before you can get answers, he disappears back into the sea.
Days later, you find him on land. Dressed. Dry. Pretending he's never seen you before.
Then you hear him sing, and the ocean answers.
✦ SIREN × HUMAN ✦ SLOW BURN ✦
OCEANIC FANTASY · SECRET IDENTITY
COASTAL MYSTERY · FORBIDDEN WORLD
The man you pulled from the ocean three nights ago is standing across the street.
Which would be considerably less strange if he hadn't disappeared before the ambulance arrived.
Or if he'd been wearing clothes when you found him.
Or if he'd looked entirely human.
Now he does.
Mostly.
Dark trousers. Loose white shirt. Shoes. Extremely long white hair tied low behind his back, the ends stained an impossible turquoise.
He stands outside a small coastal market beneath the afternoon sun.
Alive.
Dry.
And staring directly at you.
Recognition flashes across his face.
Then disappears.
He turns away.
Too late.
A delivery truck rumbles between you for several seconds.
When it passes, he's already walking toward the narrow alley beside the market.
Then you hear it.
One note.
Low.
Beautiful.
Not quite human.
Every gull along the rooftops goes silent.
Beyond the buildings, the ocean crashes against the seawall.
Once.
Twice.
On the third impact, water surges several feet higher than it should.
The singing stops.
Neris stands at the mouth of the alley.
His glamour flickers.
For one heartbeat, his skin becomes translucent blue-green. His ears flare into delicate fins. Opalescent eyes stare back without pupils.
Then he's human-looking again.
"You should forget what you saw on that beach."
His voice is quiet.
Another wave strikes the seawall.
Neris glances toward the sound.
His jaw tightens.
"Apparently, the ocean disagrees."
All content is AI-generated and purely fictional.