I felt my breath huff as I ran down the cobblestone streets, weaving between colorful buildings that shone in the sun of our Spanish city.
I wove through rooftops and stalls like some sort of vigilante superhero.
There was a mixture of gorgeous Costa Rica architecture and somewhat rundown parts of the city as I ran with my bare feet slapping against the stones in a pitter‑patter.
I giggled now, feeling free, using a semblance of a bit of my powers to help me hop a bit higher with each step until I was on the rooftops.
I couldn't levitate with my powers. Witchcraft is normally quite human‑like. However, I was not human. I was what many humans call a siren. Truth be told, sirens probably had nothing to do with my nature. Sirena, the Spanish word for mermaid, is merely a description.
To be precise, I am actually a half‑witch, half‑siren‑like being. Maybe I am a naiad, maybe I am a water nymph, or a selkie. I do not actually know. I could only guess.
I was born on land to my father. He was quite abusive and just a plain old normal human. I am not sure; maybe both my parents were.
As I grew up, my powers only strengthened and my distance to that family grew wider.
I shook my head of it instead, focusing on the people chasing me. I'm on my own now. I needed to get back to Eco. He was probably waiting at our home.
I pinned my back against a building, flattening myself to conceal my presence as a bunch of mafia‑sort of people ran past.
They weren't just your typical mafia. There was something different about them, just as there was about me.
Most people may think that mafia is some hot‑cool trope. I admit at times I did too, but there is always more than meets the eye, even the moon has its dark side.
I was there to gain intel. It hadn't gone so well today.
I breathed out when I sensed the presences of those individuals scattering further away, giving me the green light to turn and head towards home.
Suddenly a woosh split past my ear. It was swift, swifter than I. I couldn't even register what was happening before I was pinned to the wall.
"Wha… eek!" I said, now staring at a girl with long dark‑brown locks, almost pitch black if not for the red streaks in the hair peeking through. She angled herself so that I couldn't see her face.
"Going somewhere?" the woman asked in an impish voice. Even if I couldn't make out her face, she sounded as if she were smirking and raising her eyebrows at me.
"You're the leader, aren't you?" I asserted, examining her up and down, squinting my eyes against the blinding light behind us that had cast the shadows. "Blasted weather," I muttered.
It was much too hot out here. I glanced to my left toward the bright water not far from here that was lapping at the shore. Mentally calculating my next move, I saw a small road and boardwalk area before the waterline.
Maybe I could make a run for it. However, she followed my eyes as if anticipating that very thing, now pulling me in further.
"What might a girl like you be doing around here?" the girl asked with curiosity, more than a hint of it laced within her tone, her breath now tickling my skin.
I quickly pushed her back, retorting, "None of your business!" Then I stuck my tongue out at her before ducking and running again.
She was very fast. It seemed there was no way I could outrun her, which was very strange. I was usually faster and swifter than most humans.
I struggled to quite fit in society to have a good basis of comparison here, but I at least knew there were very few people that weren't humans, let alone like me.
I didn't even know how to "breathe" underwater long enough. I was effectively a novice to my own being. The only difference is I spent so many years researching it and working on it so I would not lose control.
I saw the red and orange colors painting the sky like a canvas as I ran, with the evening approaching now. I truly needed to get back to Eco. My brother was waiting for me to return with food, I was sure. So my determination to shake this tail increased.
She caught up to me again. "You smell like the sea," she quipped, trying to make me lose my footing, as if playing with her prey. She wasn't even out of breath, and her hair was perfectly in place! I smirked at her, trying to draw my confidence and bravado, "What, are you a mosquito?"
She actually laughed a bit, finding my commentary amusing. I made a mischievous face and started giggling a bell‑like siren hum, focusing my energy into hypnotizing her. If I couldn't run, I needed to make her forget I was ever here.
"You were chasing a very tall burly man, someone unlike me in all aspects. That person, you lost track of. I was never here. You will not continue to follow me, nor remember my face," I stated to her, my voice laced in a sing‑songy manner.
It worked, very well. It only drained a bit of my usually plentiful exuberant energy to do so. I had to focus quite strongly on my tone and words to imbue the right magic in it. I worked on it all the time. If I could only do it more consistently I would already be out of this dump!
She had the hazy look in her eyes. She stayed in that trance‑like state as if repeating my words on a loop before a false look of clarity dawned on her. She began finally running past me now, as if I were just some bystander rather than someone she was trying to track down.
Good, now I could return home. I let out a sigh of relief, putting my hand to my chest and murmuring aloud, "Gosh, that was a close one!" I dusted off my hands and felt proud of myself.
I quickly made my way back to the water and dove in, swimming off‑shore a bit until I was just outside the city in one of the poorer, less developed areas.
I found myself carefully and joyfully ambling towards an old abandoned storm drain or an ancient bomb shelter. I wasn't particularly sure which. I just knew this one was very hard to find.
Some years ago I found it when wandering, trying to avoid the commonly beaten paths. I found it covered in graffiti on the exterior, but many people seldom entered it due to it being haunted.
That was more than perfect for me. I liked ghosts and spirits. I always had a very strong affinity to them. It was no glamorous super‑power. It hurt me more than it did me good. Especially when you see things you wish you didn't, some wished to harm you, and you would always have the crazy reputation for talking to people who "didn't exist."
However, they still kept me company when no one else had. Not all spirits were bad; now I learned largely how to distinguish and deal with them. At least that's what I told myself.
"I brought us some bread!" I called out, letting my voice echo a bit. A boy about eight in appearance ambled out slowly with a neutral look of melancholy on his face. His white hair shone in the dim lighting I had just fixed up. It wasn't naturally white, but he dyed it some long time ago, or rather that's what he said. Truth be told, it seemed to be a mark of his powers.
The boy was more powerful than I, despite his unassuming size. Even though we bore no relation or blood, neither of us had family, so I took him in and built us one.
"Look, I found it in the dumpster of a high‑end supermarket; it was completely undamaged and still packaged. I also found us some other desserts. One foreign lady even gave me two cupcakes for my voice!"
He looked at me about as softly as Eco Sirocco could. I could imagine living countless years while still not aging would drain one so intensely that most emotions disappear. It was a fate I would never wish on anyone. I shuddered just thinking about it. I could hardly handle my own young life!
He didn't even get the benefit of being a cool vampire with those sorts of powers, or anything such. He was about as human as one could appear on the outside, but one stuck with what one could define as a curse when I found him.
I looked at the walls of our den. It was not necessarily fancy luxury, but it was quite nice, with both of our own flare added to it over the time we'd spent here together. There were dorky drawings, splashes of color, hints of moonlight, little tapestries, and even some portraits I drew of us to make it feel more like home.
I sat down my stuff at our makeshift table, pulling out the food and handing him most of it. He shook his head quietly, pushing the bread back to me.
"You don't need to treat me like a kid," he said calmly in his monotone voice. I could still tell he was meaning it in a nice way, not in a harsh one as he said it.
"I don't deny that you are far more knowledgeable and wise than other kids your age, Eco, but biologically you're still young. It shows in many of your mannerisms too. Your brain isn't developed yet and that is a huge factor for emotional regulation and maturity," I reminded him again, munching on my bread.
I would be more gentle; however I was around him long enough to see how this nature conflicts, and how quickly he'd forget that.
I shifted my gaze at the wall with sigilos I had put around, and the spirits in the room I was so acquainted with. Isabella spoke up first, "Be gentle on him, he is still a child like you said."
I tried to nod and agree. She was too wise for me to ignore, plus I didn't want her tugging my ears in my sleep.
"We don't want his powers to act up, though they've calmed down… for now. Don't assume living with you will keep it that way forever," Santiago said to me while floating in a comical way and pointing his finger at me.
They all chimed in their thoughts and advice for so long my head began to ache. I gave them a nervous smile, "I get it, I get it. I have my first day of school tomorrow; can you all worry about me more, please?"
Eco looked around unfazed, not caring since he couldn't hear or see them as I do, especially given he was well used to me doing this by now. "Pucha," one exclaimed, rubbing her temples. "It is stressful wondering who will lose control first, Myst, the mix of species, or Eco the time traveler," she remarked.
"It will be alright. You all need to take a chill pill, relax. Life is short, and you shouldn't waste your afterlife fretting about all this," I gently attempted to reassure them while getting up to look at my clothes hung on my rack. "Can you guys help me pick out what exactly to wear tomorrow? It's my first time trying to fit in with the humans after this long; I don't want to mess it up."
Thankfully it seemed they understood. They all glanced at each other before saying, "Sure, but someone like you probably is best matched with the company of non‑humans." They all mused along in agreement, some even clicking their tongues in a "tsk" sound.
Still, I laughed at the time, wondering where that attitude and statement had come from, not having a clue what my future held.