The Last Song of the Evening Water

The evening water of Crescent Bay carried a peculiar glow on nights when the tide rose higher than usual. Locals whispered that the sea itself remembered certain voices and that sometimes it echoed songs long after the singers had left the shore. Most people dismissed this as a charming legend but Arlen had always felt something different whenever he stood near the edge of the bay. It was as if the waves knew his name. As if they waited for him.

For many years he avoided the sea entirely. It reminded him too painfully of Lyra the woman whose voice once drew half the city to the bay and whose sudden disappearance shattered the man he used to be. Arlen had spent the past three years rebuilding himself piece by piece but some parts refused to return no matter how much he willed them to. Some wounds lingered like the echo of a forgotten melody.

On the day the story began Arlen found himself walking toward Crescent Bay without consciously choosing to do so. His feet followed the faint hum that drifted across the wind a sound too gentle to be called singing yet too deliberate to be natural. He paused on the rocky path overlooking the glistening stretch of water. The evening sun had not yet set but the waves shimmered with soft silver light.

That is when he saw her.

A woman stood near the shoreline her back turned toward him her hair catching the breeze like strands of liquid sunlight. She wore a simple white dress that moved in rhythm with the tide. For a moment Arlen thought his mind had betrayed him recreating the shape of a woman he had spent years trying to release. But when she turned he realized she was not Lyra. Her face was unfamiliar yet something in her eyes held the same inexplicable pull.

Her gaze met his and she smiled with a gentle warmth that disarmed him. You came she said as if she had been expecting him all along.

Arlen blinked startled. I am sorry do I know you

Not yet she replied softly. But you will.

She looked out at the glowing water as though she were reading something written upon its surface. Without turning she asked Would you like to hear the sea

Arlen frowned. The sea

She nodded. It sings on certain nights. Tonight is one of them. You can hear it if you listen with your heart instead of your ears.

Arlen stared at her wondering if she was jesting. But her expression remained serene almost reverent. The breeze shifted and carried with it a soft resonance like distant chimes. Arlen felt a shiver run down his spine.

What is your name he asked quietly.

Seren she replied. And yours is Arlen.

He inhaled sharply. How do you

She turned finally meeting his gaze with eyes of deep amber. The sea remembers you Arlen. And it remembers the one you lost.

The world seemed to tilt. Arlen stumbled a step backward as though struck. Do not talk about her he said struggling to keep his voice steady. Please.

Seren stepped closer though her movement was gentle like the slow drift of water. I am not here to reopen your wounds Arlen. I am here because the sea called both of us tonight. There is something you need to hear.

Arlen almost turned away. He did not want to listen to old grief. He did not want to return to the ache he had barely learned to survive. But something in Seren’s voice held the same haunting softness Lyra once carried. It was not the same but it was familiar enough to keep him rooted in place.

Seren extended her hand. Walk with me.

Arlen hesitated then took her hand. Her touch was warm but strangely grounding as if the world steadied itself beneath his feet.

They walked along the shoreline as the waves lapped gently at the sand. The water shimmered with an ethereal glow that brightened as the sun sank lower. Seren led him to a small tide pool sheltered by smooth stones. She knelt beside it and gestured for him to do the same.

Look closely she whispered.

Arlen leaned over the pool expecting to see nothing more than water and reflected sky. Instead he saw light swirling beneath the surface like a soft luminous current. It pulsed gently like a heartbeat.

What is that he whispered.

A memory Seren replied. The sea collects the emotions of those who sing to it. Their joy and sorrow their longing and hope. Everything becomes part of the tide. Tonight it has something to show you.

Arlen felt his chest tighten. I cannot do this. I cannot relive everything again.

Seren placed a hand on his shoulder. You will not relive it. You will understand it.

Before he could respond the water rippled and a soft sound rose from the pool. It was faint at first but grew clearer with each pulse of light. Arlen froze as he recognized the voice.

Lyra.

Her voice flowed through the air like warm honey smooth radiant haunting. Arlen squeezed his eyes shut as memories rushed through him.

Lyra standing on the rocks singing toward the horizon.
Lyra laughing as she ran along the shore.
Lyra whispering promises beneath the starlit night.
Lyra disappearing without explanation vanishing like a fading note.

The melody drifted gently between them. Seren’s hand remained steady on his shoulder.

Arlen had spent years searching for answers. The authorities called it an accident. Some said Lyra left willingly. Others believed she drowned in a sudden current. But no one found a trace. No remains no clues. Nothing but the lingering echo of her voice.

Why is the sea singing her song he whispered voice cracking.

Seren’s eyes softened. Because she sang it here on the night she vanished. She left something behind.

Arlen looked at her desperate. Do you know what happened to her

Seren exhaled slowly. To answer that you must hear the entire song.

Arlen felt the melody shift weaving into a deeper resonance. The water in the pool brightened and the tide around them responded with a gentle surge. The entire bay seemed to breathe in unison with the song.

Seren’s expression grew solemn. On the night Lyra disappeared something awakened in this bay. A current unlike any other one that appears only a few times in a century. It carries the souls of those whose hearts resonate deeply with the sea. Lyra stepped into it believing she could call forth a forgotten realm a place where lost voices gather.

Arlen shook his head. That sounds impossible.

Seren nodded. And yet here you are listening to her voice carried by the tide long after she is gone. Some truths exist beyond the laws of this world.

Arlen felt a tremor in his chest. What happened to her Did the sea take her

Seren looked into the luminous pool. She crossed into another realm Arlen. One connected to this sea yet separate from our own. She believed she could return but the current closed too quickly. She has been trapped between worlds ever since.

Arlen stared at her stunned. That is crazy. That is

But even as he spoke he felt the undeniable persuasion in the melody. The sea was singing and he could feel Lyra’s emotion in every note. It was not sorrow. It was longing. The ache of someone reaching across an impossible distance.

Seren turned to him. She has been trying to reach you. She has been trying to come home. But she cannot cross alone.

Arlen felt a wave of dizziness. What do you mean

Seren placed her hand over the tide pool. The water swirled around her fingers and the light responded.

The realm she is in opens only when the sea hears the call of two voices in harmony. Two hearts bound by love or destiny. She crossed with her own voice but returned alone. She needs another voice to complete the passage. That is why the sea called you.

Arlen felt an ache twist through him. She wants me to help her return

Seren nodded. But the decision is not simple. Opening the passage requires an enormous emotional cost. You must sing the song of return with your entire heart. Every memory every longing every wound must be offered to the sea. If your resolve falters for even a moment the sea will take what remains of you instead.

Arlen’s breath caught. You mean I could die.

Seren looked at him with sad honest eyes. Yes. Or worse you could become trapped in the realm she now occupies unable to return.

The waves murmured around them as if waiting for his decision.

Arlen stared at the tide pool listening to the fading echoes of Lyra’s voice. He felt both love and fear twisting inside him. After a long moment he whispered Why me Why not someone else Why not you

Seren hesitated then spoke with quiet truth. Because you loved her in a way no one else ever could. And because she loved you in a way that tied her spirit to this sea forever. The realm responds to the depth of a bond not the presence of a person. As for me I am only a guide. I help those who are called. But I cannot step into the current.

Arlen realized something then. Seren did not simply know about the sea. She was connected to it. Her presence felt like part of the waves themselves.

He studied her carefully. What are you really

Seren smiled faintly. I am someone who once made the same choice you now face. I chose not to cross. And the sea turned me into what I am now. A voice that guides others toward closure or toward passage.

Arlen swallowed hard. Did you lose someone too

Seren looked out at the bay her expression filled with ancient sorrow. Yes. And he waits for me still. But I could not face the realm that took him so I remained here trapped between worlds. This is the price of refusing the call.

Arlen felt the weight of her confession settle heavily in his chest.

Seren stepped closer her voice tender. You must decide Arlen. Will you open the passage and risk everything to bring Lyra home Or will you choose to let her go and free yourself from the ache that has held you prisoner for years

Arlen felt torn. The love he held for Lyra remained deep and real. But part of him had already changed. Lyra had been his past. But Seren her quiet warmth and gentle wisdom stirred something new in him. Something alive.

Seren seemed to sense his thoughts. If you choose to let Lyra go I can help you release the bond that ties her to this sea. She will move on and so will you.

Arlen met her gaze. And what about you What happens to you if I make that choice

Seren’s expression softened with something like fragile hope. If you release Lyra the sea will also release me. I will return to the life I lost long ago. I will no longer be bound to this place.

He stared at her silently. She had guided countless hearts but never received closure herself. He realized he wanted that for her. He wanted her to be free.

But he also remembered Lyra’s laugh. Her dreams. Her light. Could he truly let her go forever

The water in the pool began to dim signaling that the moment of passage was slipping away.

Seren whispered Arlen what do you choose

Arlen closed his eyes and listened to his heart. He felt the love he held for Lyra. A love filled with beauty but also pain. A love that belonged to another time. And he felt something else. A quiet new warmth that flowed gently toward the future. A warmth that pointed toward Seren.

He opened his eyes.

I choose to let her go.

Seren’s breath trembled though she smiled. Then place your hands on the water and release her name.

Arlen knelt before the tide pool. He whispered Lyra and touched the water.

A soft light rose from the pool then brightened into a radiant column that stretched toward the sky. A melodic cry filled the air one of beauty and heartbreak. Arlen felt a gentle warmth brush against his cheek like a final farewell. The light swirled then dissolved into a thousand shimmering fragments that drifted across the bay.

The sea fell silent.

Seren watched with tears in her eyes. She is free now Arlen. And so are you.

Arlen looked at her. What about you

Seren placed a hand over her heart. I feel it. The bond is breaking. I can return. For the first time in so long I feel the world calling me back.

A soft glow began to surround her.

Arlen reached out and took her hand. Will we meet again

Seren smiled with a radiance that rivaled the dawn. Yes Arlen. This time in the real world. This time as two souls who choose each other freely.

The glow enveloped her and she vanished in a swirl of gentle light leaving the scent of salt and morning air behind.

Arlen remained by the bay until the first rays of sunlight touched the waves. The sea felt calm for the first time in years as if it too had found peace.

Weeks later while walking through the busy market street Arlen caught sight of a familiar face. Seren stood near a stall examining flowers her eyes bright and alive with human warmth. No glow no mystic presence just a woman living in the world again.

Their eyes met.

She smiled.

So did he.

He walked toward her with a renewed heart knowing that some endings are only beginnings disguised in the light of a new dawn.

And so began the next chapter of their story formed not from loss but from the gentle rising song of the evening water now at peace at last.