Souls
The human poet says that we of the sea have no souls. That all we are is air and salt, water and wind, cold and dark. That souls belong only to those who sing and dance on land. That when we die we turn into sea foam, to drift upon the waves, and perhaps one day land on human shores, to dry up beneath the sun.
He says that only human love can give us immortal souls.
He says this as my sister sings, as he places his lips against her quivering neck.
I could tell him of our youngest sister, who begged a sea-witch for mortal breath and legs, who danced before a human prince, and wept as that prince chose another. I could tell him of the choice she made: to die instead of slicing his throat, to die instead of sucking his blood, the blood that would have returned her to the sea and fetched his soul to the sea, to drift upon the waves.
I could tell him of how we wept and wept, to lose our sister to the air. Of how even now we send our cries soaring to that palace by the sea, to ensure that he and his bride sleep uneasily, though they have been buried more than one hundred years. If they have souls, we will not let them rest.
Enjoying this story? Don't miss the next one!
SUBSCRIBE TO DSF
I could ask him how, if we have no souls, I can still hear her voice in the air, hear other voices in the sea.
Instead I rise from the waves, and sing my sister back to the cold. For I have looked into this poet's eyes, and oh, my sisters, I would not have his soul mingled with ours in the salt and foam.
The End
This story was first published on Monday, October 24th, 2016
We hope you're enjoying
Souls by
Mari Ness.
Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.
Daily Science Fiction does not have a paywall, but we do have expenses—more than 95% of which are direct payments to authors for their stories. With your $15 membership, less than 6 cents per story, we can continue to provide genre fiction every weekday by email and on the website to thousands of readers for many years to come. You may also choose to support us via patreon.
Tell me more!
Support Daily Science Fiction
Please click to rate this story from 1 (ho-hum) to 7 (excellent!):
Please don't read too much into these ratings. For many reasons, a superior story may not get a superior score.
4.9 Rocket Dragons Average
Please join our mailing list and
receive free daily sci-fi (your email address will be kept
100% private):