Chapter 2: From Death Glares to Pleading Eyes

A day has passed since I saw that man, but here I was, still thinking of what I saw. He was a siren, wasn't he?

Ever since I started college as a Marine Biology student, it has been planted in our minds that creatures like sirens and mermaids were just made by figments of people's imagination. There was no scientific proof they were real, and their phenotype (physical traits) could not coincide with the concepts of genetics and evolution.

Recalling what I learned in our speciation topic, only individuals of the same species can mate and reproduce. Although there were some instances wherein an interspecific sexual behavior could be observed between different species, their offspring usually becomes a hybrid that cannot reproduce and, in most cases, die immediately.

So, I kept thinking, how the hell were sirens real? A silly thought came to mind, perhaps people and fishes mated in the past? No, that certainly was not the case because, first of all, humans and fishes are two different species. They did not even come from the same ancestral descent.

Moreover, humans are warm-blooded organisms while fishes are cold-blooded. Meaning, the ways of reproduction are also different. So, saying that a fish and a human could mate to have a siren offspring was just so utterly impossible and ridiculous.

It's already morning, based on the sun's rays peaking at the curtains of my room, but I was still lying on the bed. I did not have a wink of sleep last night due to my new proposal, plus I kept on thinking about the unexpected encounter with that mythical creature. Also, I spent my daytime yesterday finding a job which made me exhausted, so I couldn't go to the beach at dawn earlier to see the vaquita again. As much as I wanted to close my eyes and try to sleep right now, but I still need to prepare for school.

The door of my room made a knocking sound three times. I rose from the bed, opened the door, and there, Mrs. Chester, the landlady, was standing in front of me. "So why are you still here? I thought I said yesterday was the last day I see you in my apartment?" Her monolid eyes squinting at me, lips frowning, her double chin inflating. She placed her stubby hands on her fat waist and waited for my response.

Oh, shoot! The thing about the vaquita and that handsome siren had completely clouded my mind that I forgot to pay my rent! Grabbing my bag from the bedside table, I quickly fished out my wallet and gave her the amount of my rent payment.

Luckily, I landed a job as a cashier at a nearby grocery store after kneeling and narrating my tragic life before the said establishment manager. She was such a lovely old lady willing to give me an advance salary when I told her about my predicament. In desperate times, people have to find ways to survive, and mine was to lower my pride and thicken my face. It was worth a shot.

My shift at her store is supposedly from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., but I insisted on making it 10 p.m. as my way of returning her favor. The downside was I only have one day off every week, but I will manage. This schedule might wear me down big time as I had research to work on, plus the fact that I have classes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, but I'll do my best. It's just a matter of making it or breaking it.

The landlady shot me a questioning look with one of her tattooed eyebrows raised. I remained to display a poker face. Does she doubt where did I get the money?

"I got a new part-time job yesterday. My boss was nice enough to give me an advance salary." I explained briefly. I am not a thief; no matter how my life hit rock bottom, I would never resort to crime. She harshly snatched the money from my hand, counted and scanned the bills as if making sure they were not fake, then shot me an I-will-let-you-go-this-time look.

She turned and started walking away from me but stopped suddenly. "You should be thankful I did not throw your things out when I did not receive anything from you yesterday."

I am, indeed. "Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. Chester," I bowed a little. She continued trudging the hallway until I couldn't see her figure anymore. I sighed in relief. I guess no person is born purely evil after all.

***

The sky was getting darker as blue hues started to cover the remaining orange hues in the sky. Street lights were beginning to light up, a sign that it was already night. I walked towards the area with the brightest lights and liveliest noises. A familiar scent of marine flesh and blood entered my nostrils. Yes, I was at a wet market, a seafood market, to be exact.

Today was Sunday, so I had no work to do at the grocery store. However, I had to take a remedial class in Evolutionary Biology earlier this afternoon for barely passing our quiz. It was the consequence of being absent during the discussion because of my job-hunting. Ugh, that damn subject was nerve-wracking!

After the class, I directly made my way here to buy snacks for the vaquita. Because tomorrow, at dawn, I'm going to visit it once more. I fervently hope I can still see her for my research, and if that scary siren man appears again, I'll just have to swallow my fear and beg for him to study his pet. I clenched my fist as determination reigned over me.

"No matter what, I will do anything to make my thesis a success! No human nor siren can stop me."

I passed along the stalls and saw a variety of marine species. I ran a hand on the gelatinous epidermis down to the red appendages of a Rhopilema esculentum or simply a flame jellyfish and felt a shudder. My eyes turned to focus on purple sea urchins, which I recall were from the Parechinidae family, gooey sea cucumbers from class Holothuroidea, some lionfish from genus Pterois, and humongous king crabs of the genus Lopholithodes that could snap a person's arm when alive. I saw that they seem to have a complete collection, for I spotted some cnidarians, arthropods, annelids, mollusks, echinoderms, and chordates, which were basically the six major phyla in animal classification.

But a particular stall made me stop my tracks when a hanged Totoaba macdonaldi fish greeted my vision. My heart suddenly clenched. Right, this fish was the reason why vaquitas were almost wiped out completely. The swim bladder of this fish has a ridiculously high market price of around $46,000 per kilogram in China. That's why fishermen in this area were so eager to catch totoaba fish, and since this fish was similar in size to vaquitas, the latter would always get entangled in gillnets which were supposedly for the totoaba. Now both species were on the brink of extinction.

I turned to look at the vendor, my eyes glaring daggers at him. "Did you know that totoaba fish are critically endangered? You could be sued for selling this!"

"I know, miss," the vendor replied nonchalantly. "No one here has the guts to report me, though. Do you?" He smirked while holding a big butcher knife. I gulped, but my anger was more than my fear of this old man.

I grabbed my phone from the pocket of my jeans and was about to dial the police station's number when a frail hand suddenly gripped my arm. My eyes angrily darted at a middle-aged woman who looked sickly, and when I saw her eyes, my glare softened.

"I'm sorry, dear. But c-could you please f-forget about this? M-My husband and I need funds for our daughter's h-heart operation..." Her gaze dropped to the floor. She then looked up to me again and firmly held my hands. "P-Please.."

The crowd was getting bigger as we became the center of their attention. Whispers filled with false accusations of me were reaching my ears. I cursed. This was wrong. How could people be so selfish? Just because humans were the most sentient creatures doesn't mean other animals can't be respected. How would they feel if they were in the poor animal's perspective? What would they think when they were trying their best to avoid extinction but were so hopeless against the more powerful species? But I know, no matter how I persuade these people, they would probably not listen to anything I say. That's the bitter truth I was forced to accept.

I sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, now let go of me." I removed her grip, then marched past the bunch of nosy people who witnessed the scene without looking back.

When I got farther from that wretched stall, I halted, inhaled deeply, then exhaled sharply. I let my eyes observe the place. Damn. While watching all these pitiful, lifeless creatures being displayed in this dirty, stinky place where flies and cockroaches live in swarm numbers as if it's their paradise, my heart was writhing with sympathy and guilt. As a marine biologist, it broke my heart to see marine animals like this being sold and consumed for the growing population of humans. It pained me knowing that these animals have a life too and deserve to live on this planet the same as people. But sadly, it can't be helped because the ecosystem is designed like this: a massive, complicated food web. That's why our job as biologists is to find ways to conserve as many species as possible before humanity ultimately drives them towards extinction.

If they don't want to save endangered species from dying, then I would.

"50% discount on all grubs! First five customers only!" I turned my head to the side and saw a stall I hadn't seen last time. A new vendor, perhaps.

Remembering my primary purpose of coming here, I walked fast towards the stall and bought 3 kilos of salmon, crabs, and squid. I was the fifth customer, so I got a discount, which was a little relief for my tight budget. Holding the bag of raw seafood, I scanned the contents to recheck it. From what I have read on the internet, vaquitas have a varied diet because they eat fish, crabs, squid, and other crustaceans. Well, this should be enough.

I went home afterward, placed the seafood on the fridge to prevent them from spoiling quickly, ate a quick dinner of spicy ramen, set a 3:00 a.m. alarm, then dozed myself to an early night's sleep.

***

The familiar coldness greeted me as I trudged along the rocky floor just a bit higher than the ocean's surface. This time, waves are splashing more calmly than before, as if it got tired from all the aggressive slamming, so it decided to rest.

I breathed in the chilly breeze of the sea and felt my body relaxing. I reached to untie my hair and let my brunette locks dance with the gentle wind. Removing my black jacket which exposed the maxi dress I wore underneath, I welcomed the icy temperature to course through my system. Doing so cleared my dark thoughts and consoled my weary heart.

This place I'm always visiting is the farthest side of Amor beach, a once-famous spot for local citizens and tourists due to the claim that the last remaining vaquita on the entire planet can be witnessed here. However, there were complaints about not seeing the creature in this place. Hence this beach has lost its popularity, and now it merely serves as a fishing port anymore.

Coming here in hopes of seeing the vaquita wasn't the main reason why I always come to this place. The truth is that whenever I'm here, I feel like I am the only alive person in the entire world. It feels like I'm in an apocalyptic setting, where monsters dominate every inch of the planet, and I am the protagonist whom the author wants to keep alive until the end of the story. Thinking that way, as I look at the dark ocean beyond me, makes me feel like I'm important in the midst of chaos. From that illusion, I could feel a sense of worth, contrary to what reality gives me. For, in reality, I was just nothing but a speck of dust. Abandoned, ignored, and unimportant.

But most of all, what I really look forward to coming here is seeing the dawn of the day, as the soft rays of the sun start peaking at the horizon. Because witnessing the sun rising is like a sign that the light will still come my way even if my life is dark.

And I'm yet to see that light.

I shook away my thoughts as I remembered what I was supposed to do. I walked towards the end of the shore and scanned my eyes on the ocean's surface. But no dorsal fin nor black circle patches of the eyes could be seen. Why isn't she here yet?

I bit my nails, a usual gesture every time I feel worried. What if that was the last time I would see the vaquita? What about my study?

I waited patiently for the creature to come again, however no sign of her until morning came.

Two days have passed, and I never got a glimpse of the vaquita again. I became uneasy, thinking that my research could not go on without its presence. Maybe it was threatened by fishermen, so it decided to not come on the surface anymore?

But more like her owner stopped her from seeing me again. I frowned. If that's the case, I would beg him to see his pet again. I could also bribe him with interesting human things if he refused to let me meet his pet freely.

So, I went to the place again. This time, I will look for that man and make him understand how vital her pet is for my overall survival.

I clutched onto my jacket as I went to the base of the shoreline. The waves were full of energy again, wildly thrashing on the rocks as the winds accompanied by them were spine-chilling as ever. Embracing my body, I inhaled a deep, icy breath then I screamed. "Hey! Siren man! Are you there?! I need to speak to you!"

I felt like a complete idiot shouting at a place with no soul to be seen. "I didn't harm your pet, okay? So, please! Let me see her!" I could hear the desperation in my voice. Even if my throat hurt because of the icy wind entering my mouth, I wouldn't give up until I saw that man.

I know I looked like a crazy woman shouting in thin air who escaped from an asylum, but I didn't have any choice. If it meant having a breakthrough study and saving the vaquita from extinction, I could even do more shameless acts than these.

"You're so noisy." An annoyed voice reverberated in my ears. I instantly swung my head to where the voice came from, and there, a pair of golden orbs shone through the darkness, and in the midst of the dark waters, something gold glistened as if an ichor had spilled in the water.

I held my breath as the golden view became enlarged in my vision. Now that I looked closely, I could say that he was the most handsome man I have ever seen. His wet, long, blond hair smoothed perfectly on his tanned, muscular shoulders. His aureate eyes screamed authority and power as if declaring the gods' favor. He has thick eyebrows that look curly on the tips, a pointed nose, naturally pinkish luscious lips, and a hot, chiseled jawline. I gulped when my eyes scanned lower and saw his broad, well-defined pecs, and oh my, his abs...

I wanted to see the features of his golden tail more, but it was submerged in the water, so all I could do was be fascinated with how it looked like melted gold in the ocean.

My mouth was still ajar when the man I was desperately calling earlier was now at my feet, looking up at me. The awkwardness of the situation brought me back to reality, and I immediately closed my mouth. I shut my eyes tight as I felt my face flushing red. Damn, that was embarrassing!

I slowly opened my eyes again and lowered my gaze to the man's face. His face was void of any emotion, but the moment I stared at his eyes, it felt like sadness was etched in them.

He finally spoke. "My Plume is dying. Help her, please." There was a crack in the tone of his voice; his eyes were desperately pleading like a father begging for his daughter to be spared from being killed.

He briefly swam underwater, and when he resurfaced, my heart almost dropped at what I saw.

My subject, the vaquita, the only remaining of its species in the entire world, was floating. Unconscious.