Alyssa Flynn sang softly to herself, standing on the deck of the boat that was taking her to America. Her curly golden blonde hair was being blown out of her face by the cool sea breeze. She leaned on the railing and looked down into the water.

“You shouldn’t stand that close to the edge,” a voice said from behind her. She spun around and found herself looking at a tall boy with rust colored hair and greenish-grey eyes, which were partially covered by his hair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Quite alright, I didn’t see you around here, otherwise I might not’ve been startled,” Alyssa said with a smile.

“You didn’t see me because I wasn’t over here,” the boy said. “I heard you singing and decided to come over and see who the angel was.”

“I’m no angel,” she said softly, blushing. “I didn’t realize I was singing that loudly, or I would’ve been quieter.”

“Don’t worry about being quieter, I can’t imagine anyone complaining,” he said, turning to leave. “Not an angel, eh? If you aren’t an angel, you must be a siren.”

Alyssa watched as the boy walked away. When he disappeared into the lower part of the ship she realized that she hadn’t asked him his name, nor had he asked hers.

“Who was that Trev?” The boy was asked when he rejoined a group of boys that had been up on the desk and had heard Alyssa singing. Trevor had been the one voted to go see who it was.

“A beautiful girl,” Trevor said, grinning at the fact that the rest of the guys hadn’t wanted to go see who it was.

“Really, what’s her name?” another asked eagerly. Trevor thought for a moment before groaning inwardly.

“I didn’t ask,” Trevor said. The rest of the boys smirked at his forgetfulness and went back to their previous conversations. Trevor, on the other hand, walked back up to the deck.

“Lys!” a little girl that looked to be about 9 called, running past him and over to Alyssa. Alyssa smiled at the girl and crouched down to be eye-to- eye with her. “When are you going to finish drawing that picture of me?”

“When you learn to sit still,” Alyssa said playfully. She tugged gently on the girl’s straight hair. “Can you sit still Lizzie?”

“Yes,” Lizzie said, her eyes lighting up. She grabbed Alyssa’s hand and pulled her across the deck. Alyssa followed her, not noticing Trevor as they disappeared into the passenger part of the ship.

“Done.” Alyssa said about a half an hour later, setting her pencil down. Lizzie jumped out of her seat and ran over to Alyssa.

“I wanna see,” Lizzie said, smiling as she climbed onto Alyssa’s lap. Alyssa had captured her perfectly in the picture, everything looked exactly the same as it actually was. “I look pretty!”

“That’s because you are,” Alyssa said softly. She softly kissed the top of Lizzie’s head before gently pushing her off her lap. She stood up and carefully put her sketchbook away.

“I’m gonna go explore the ship,” Lizzie announced before bouncing out of the room. Alyssa smiled and walked out into the small hallway.

“Trev, your lack of intuition amazes me,” one of the boys commented to Trevor. Trevor frowned and took a sip of his drink. “Ya normally ask a girl her name if you like her.”

“I wasn’t thinking straight, and if you’d seen her you would’ve forgotten to ask too.” Trevor said. Alyssa walked down the hallway, pausing outside the room Trevor was in, hearing the last of what he said.

“Trev, you’re never gonna get a girl if you keep this up.” A different boy said. “What’re we going to do with you?”

“Listen, if you’d been standing there, staring into her gorgeous green eyes, watching her hair float around her like a halo...” Trevor said, getting a dreamy look on his face. Alyssa smiled to herself and stepped into the doorway.

“Hey Trev,” she said, stepping into the room. She could feel all the eyes in the room shifting to her. Trevor was looking at her, a look of suprise on his face. She stepped towards him and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Can I talk to you?”

“Uh...um,” he stammered. He’d felt some sort of vibe run through his body when she’d touched him. “Sure.” Alyssa smiled and walked out of the room ,Trevor close behind her.

“I’m Alyssa Flynn,” Alyssa said softly when they were in the hallway.

“I’m Trevor McDuff,” Trevor said, kissing her hand softly. Alyssa smiled and turned to leave. “Will I see you again sweet siren?”

“Possibly,” Alyssa said, blushing slightly. “After all, we are on the same ship.” With that, she walked down the hallway and back into her room.

“Trevor McDuff,” she said with a sigh, laying on her bed and closing her eyes.

“Tell me a story.” A voice demanded, pulling Alyssa out of her peaceful sleep.

“What story do you want to hear?” Alyssa asked groggily, sitting up and opening her eyes to see Lizzie.

“The Merrows” Lizzie said, crawling up the bed and snuggling up against her. Alyssa sighed before beginning:

“The Merrows are Irish Faerie mermaids, gentle and very beautiful. They are a dreadful sight at sea though, for their presence foretells the advent of great storms. The Merrows often have great knowledge of the healing powers of herbs and plants, and can cure most and illness.”

“Tell about the children,” Lizzie mumbled, half asleep. Alyssa smiled at her, not seeing Trevor standing outside the doorway, listening.

“The Merrows have a fondness for human children, so those by the sea can ask a boon of them for a sick child. Sometimes, however, if the child is a handsome boy, the Merrows would consider the boy to be their own, and seduce him when he reached young manhood. The children of these matches, while slim and fair as their faerie mothers, often have scales covering the skin, or fish tails.”

“Lyssa?” Lizzie said softly, interrupting the story. “Did Mother love us?”

“Yes, she loved us very much.” Alyssa said softly, brushing Lizzie’s hair out of her face.

“Then why did she make us leave?” Lizzie asked, opening her eyes to look straight into Alyssa’s eyes.

“I think that’s a story for another day.” Alyssa said after a few moments of silence. “It’s time for bed” she added, laying back down.

“I’m not tired” Lizzie protested, trying to stifle a yawn.

“To bad, I am” Alyssa said, closing her eyes. She yawned and Lizzie wrapped her arms around her sister.

“Sing me a song” she said softly, resting her head on Alyssa’s shoulder. Alyssa sighed and sang:

“Nine planets around the sun
Only one does the sun embrace
Upon this watered one
So much we take for granted

So let us sleep outside tonight
Lay down in our mother’s arms
For here we can rest safely

If green should slip to grey
Would our hearts still bloodily beat
If the mountains crumble away
And the river dry
Would it stop the stepping feet

Take all that we can get
When it’s done
Nobody left to bury
Nobody left to dig the holes
And here we will rest safely

One sweet world
Around this star is spinning
One sweet world
And in her breath I’m swimming
And here we will rest in peace”

With the last word sung, both Alyssa and Lizzie fell asleep. Trevor glanced into the doorway and grinned at the sight of them before walking back to his own room.

Alyssa stood on the deck, sketching the rising sun. She glanced toward the sunrise before taking out her colored pencils and adding hints of color to the picture.

“That’s beautiful,” a voice said from close behind her. She quickly shut her sketchbook before turning to face him.

“Oh, hi Trevor” she said with a smile. “Thanks.” She started to walk across the deck.

“Alyssa?” Trevor called, walking over to her when she stopped and turned. He blushed slightly before speaking. “I was wondering if maybe we could be friends.”

“I’d like that,” Alyssa said with a nod.

“Lizzie, are you feeling better?” Alyssa asked softly one evening. Lizzie had been sick the past two weeks, and she was starting to worry. She stood in the doorway and sighed. “Good, she’s sleeping.” She meandered up onto the deck with her sketchbook and opened it to the picture of Lizzie that she’d drawn a while back.

Alyssa pulled out her colored pencils and began adding color to the eyes on the paper, starting with brown before adding specks of green and gold to make them hazel. She heard someone call her name, so she put her colored pencils away and turned to the voice.

“How’s Lizzie?” Trevor asked, coming up beside her.

“She isn’t any better, but she isn’t any worse.” She said with a shrug. She’s asleep right now.”

“That’s good,” Trevor said with a nod. He sighed and stared off into the ocean. “She’s going to get better.”

Alyssa nodded, watching the sun disappear into the horizon and within minutes everything had tumbled into darkness. They stood there silently for a long while.

“I should probably check on her” Alyssa said suddenly, breaking the silence. Trevor nodded.

“I need to get some sleep, I’ve been pretty busy lately,” he said. Alyssa nodded and Trevor walked door to his room, quickly falling asleep. Alyssa stood on the deck, staring into the water for a while before finally going back down to her room.

Before putting her colored pencils away, she colored Lizzie's hair brown, using the small lantern to see. She quietly put the sketchbook and colored pencils away.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Alyssa brushed Lizzie’s hair out of her face, slightly surprised at the coldness of Lizzie’s skin. Noticing that she was also more pale than usual, Alyssa laid her hand on Lizzie’s chest.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, not feeling a heartbeat, or a rise and fall to signal that her sister was breathing. Tears silently streamed down her face as she kissed Lizzie lightly on the forehead. She picked Lizzie’s teddy bear up off the bed and hugged it tightly as she walked down the hall.

Trevor woke up suddenly and was startled at the sight of Alyssa in his doorway, clutching a teddy bear.

“Lizzie’s---” Alyssa started before breaking off, tears flowing more freely down her face. Trevor went pale and got up, walking over to her. “I didn’t know where to go.”

“You came to the right place” Trevor said, cradling her in his arms, trying to soothe the tears that were soaking his shirt. “You’re safe here.”

Alyssa sobbed into his chest, the sobs racking her body as he gently stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. He pulled her over to his bed so that she could sit down, and she collapsed on the bed beside him.

Trevor forced himself to stay awake, he knew she need him to be there for her, especially at a time like this. She cried for hours before she fell asleep. He stayed awake a while longer in case she woke up, but eventually fell asleep.

“Alyssa, I brought you some breakfast from the galley,” Trevor said, gently shaking her to wake her up. She groggily looked up at him, her hair falling into her face. “Morning Lys.”

“Trev, thank you.” She said, sitting up. He sat beside her and brushed his lips against her cheek.

“No problem,” he said. He motioned to the tray of food that was sitting on the other side of her. “Eat.”

Alyssa complied and ate the food he had brought for her. Trevor left her for a few minutes before coming back in. “The captain says we’ll be in New York tomorrow” he said.

“What are you going to do once you get there?” Alyssa asked softly, looking over at him.

“Look for a job and a place to live” he said after a moment. “What about you?”

“The same as you” she said. “Let’s try to stay together, or at least live near each other, okay?”

“I was just about to suggest that” he said with a smile.

“Bay Ridge, Brooklyn” Trevor said, looking around the street. Alyssa was standing at his side and they were both holding their suitcase. “Seems like a nice place.”

“That it does” Alyssa said with a nod. “I wonder where we’d be able to stay the night before we start looking for jobs.”

“Maybe that place over there” Trevor said, pointing across the street. “It says it’s a lodging house.” They walked up to the house hesitantly and after a slight pause they walked up the steps to the wooden door. Alyssa knocked lightly on the door and they went inside. Walking through the door made a big change in their lives.