The wind howled through the cliffs, the ocean a restless beast beneath the watchful eye of the lighthouse. Elias stood at his post, lantern in hand, the rhythmic sweep of the great beacon his only companion. He listened to the waves—his oldest friends—roaring against the jagged rocks below. Then, amidst the fury of the storm, something glimmered in the dark sea. A shape—thrashing, tangled—caught in a cruel net, fighting against the pull of fate.

A shape all tangled, and shadowed deep,

Was this some prize, unknown, to keep?

Lost in the storm and cruel sea foam,

What was trapped at this lighthouse home?

Without hesitation, Elias scrambled down the treacherous path, the salt spray stinging his skin. His breath caught as he reached the shore. There, bathed in the fractured moonlight, was a creature of legend—a merman, his scales glistening silver-blue, his eyes deep as the abyss.

“Help me,” the merman gasped, his voice raw with desperation.

Elias knelt beside him, fingers working swiftly to free the tangled net. His hands brushed against the cool, smooth skin of the merman’s arm—just a moment too long. When the last knot was undone, the merman exhaled, stretching his freed tail beneath the water.

“My name is Kael,” he said softly.

Before Elias could answer, Kael slid back into the waves, his form vanishing beneath the rolling tide. But his voice lingered—carried by the wind.

I'll come again,  to return to you,

And arise from the ocean depths, so blue.

Wait for the moon, when the white foam sings,

I’ll find you again, as the spring tide brings.

Elias waited. Every night, he walked the shore, his heart beating in time with the surf. The longing was unfamiliar, an ache like the pull of the tide. And then—on the night of the full moon—Kael returned, rising from the waves like a whispered promise. They sat together on the rocks, exchanging tales of their separate worlds. Kael spoke of glowing caverns beneath the sea, of ruins swallowed by time, of creatures that shimmered in the dark. Elias told him of books, of music, of love that defied reason.

Above, the stars shone clear and bright,

Below, the sea sang soft, as a sigh that night.

Two hearts adrift, two souls apart,

Yet still, something called into my heart.

But the sea was ever-changing, and the land was unyielding. Their worlds were never meant to merge. Then, Kael pressed something into Elias’s palm—a pearl, glowing faintly, alive with light.

“When you are lost,” Kael whispered, “hold this, and you will hear my song.”

The waves rose to claim him once more, his silhouette dissolving into the deep. Elias clutched the pearl, feeling the rhythm of the ocean thrumming inside it. Above him, the lighthouse turned, casting its beam over the endless dark. He watched, listened, waited—his heart forever bound to the tide.

Sing to me, oh silver sea,

Oh, bring my love back home to me.

When the moon was full, when the wind ran free,

I waited by the shore where he first found me.

When the moon was full, when the wind ran free,

I waited by the shore where he first found me.