Rustic Stars - Turmoil

As you guys know, or don't know (but you know now!), I finished the first draft of my current novel RUSTIC STARS a few weeks ago.

I let it simmer and went over the ideas in it. Now it is time to revise it and make it pretty, which is turning out to be not as bad as when I revised T. R. Orbs (my very first novel which I'm still editing).

Since I am a writer who rarely lets anyone read anything I write, because no one ever reads anything I write, honestly, I wanted to share instead a snip with you all. I'm hoping it is a quick read, and not as bad as I think it is.

It basically explains a lot of what the story is about.

I hope you guys read it, and can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!

SAMONE

Turmoil

“I didn’t know I could do it,” I tell East, who is laying on the sand next to me, looking at the black sky, counting the stars. “I can take the Viccio Potion if anything goes wrong.”

He sits up, and looks at me. “I will be here to make sure nothing bad happens to you, okay?” his voice is sweet, and I feel his gentle hand touching my back, making me believe I am safe.

I think about it—about the sea, about being a monster again, a siren.

It’s not working. It worked a few hours ago when I was swimming in the sea, now it doesn’t work anymore. Maybe I should take some more of the Potion.

“Is everything okay?” East asks, not moving an inch away from me.

I nod, and close my eyes. I think about my tail. Then it happens. The pain returns; it crawls on me—I can feel its cold fingers scratch my legs, and then my back. I shiver, and moan in pain, run out of breath. East wraps his arms around me and holds me, whispers things I can’t hear. He should be afraid of me, but he isn’t.

A wave runs up to us and washes away some of the mucus from my tail, which is shiny green. I look at East, and read his expressions. He isn’t afraid or disgusted by the sight of my tail.

It is good, I can tell.

“Now I’m ugly again,” I tell him. He wanted to see my tail and now he has. I know now that I can turn into a siren upon will. Maybe it’s just because of the Viccio Potion, who knows.

I miss the water. Something in it just makes me feel strong, like I belong here, as if I am meant to live in the water. I also like being normal, a human. I also feel fitted as a human, but I have felt absent, as if a part of me was sick and needed soothing by the water to keep me alive and well.

“You are beautiful,” he tells me, and hugs me tighter. “Why would you ever want to change who you are for something as simple as being a boring human girl?”

“I don’t know. I want to be normal. I want to be able to hear and speak, not just speak during the day and hear during the night,” I answer, and smile, because being able to hear and speak as a siren is a great gift that makes me feel warm and fuzzy, too.

“Normal is overrated,” he says, smiling.

I move my tail and slap a wave that comes our way. I splash water on East, and he laughs. I apologize, and hold my tail still.

“I just don’t think it’s fair that I have to live with a curse,” I add.

“Do you think that some things are just meant to be, without having to be explained?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if you were meant to be a siren during the day and fully human during the night? What if someone of greater power than us made us the way we are? What if I was meant to fall in love with Innis? What if we were meant to be here right now?”

No, no. It cannot be happening. When I’m a siren, I’m drawn to wounded hearts—East is just falling in love with my charm because I’m a siren right now.

I cannot let him, but I am weak to fight.

His arms around me make me feel right, like I belong in them.

What if, yes, what if we are meant to be here?

I look up to him as I slowly bend my tail, and he looks down at me, tilting his head.

The next thing I do is close my eyes.

For a moment, it feels wrong, but for a minute, it feels right.

We are kissing.

His tongue explores my mouth, and I can tell he’s had a lot of practice at kissing, because all I’m able to do at this point is separate my lips and press them against his lips. I keep my eyes shut. I embrace this moment that seems to last forever, yet slips away so fast.

I open my eyes, and think I made a mistake, because instead of East, I see Vinci.

I bite him, and East jerks his head back, groaning in pain.

“I’m sorry,” I say, frantically. His arms let me go. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re fine, Samone,” he says sweetly, still hypnotized by the power I have over him as a siren.

I pull out the Viccio Potion and take three drops, just in case my body needs more, not that I really need it. I force myself to think about my legs. I think about running, anywhere—preferable to Vinci so I can ask for forgiveness for having kissed his brother. I think about being human. Just human. Before I notice, my legs return, and my tail vanishes. Blood and mucus remain on my skin, so I stand up and walk to the water, away from East, who’s starting to shake off the spell my tail had put on him. I feel sorry. I’m really sorry. I wash, and scrub my skin with sand.

I don’t think that after this incident East will look at me the same way.

I hope I don’t look at him the same way either, because even though he could never love me, kissing him was kind of amazing.