In a small remote town named Tapisan, tales of a powerful mermaid are passed over the years.

Her name was Luna. She had long ebony hair that grew up to her waist, deep-set eyes that matched the blue ocean, crimson lips that wore a sweet and mysterious smile, and a scaled tail the same as that of a fish basked in iridescence that sparkles that glows at night.

Half-human and half-fish. People in this town believed they were Luna’s chosen ones because for the longest time, it was told that she always stayed close to their land, and apart from other many mermaid tails, Lunabore a silver circular mark on her forehead and as the years passed, it slowly filled with a pearly glow, resembling that of the moon above.

At particular nights, she would sit on a massive rock that poked in the middle of the ocean, and there, she would sing about yearning to explore the dry earth and being among fascinating humans.

Ang Hele ni Luna.

Luna’s lullaby.

They say she had a voice that can lure any man out of the comfort of their sleep. A voice that wraps them in a sense of belonging to the sea— to her, and though she wanted it or not, they join her, drowning themselves in the process.

Any fishermen who heard the enchanting lullaby and survived the night, were rewarded with bountiful catches the next time they ventured the waters. With thrilled hands that pulled the heavy net, they searched the calm waters and praised the siren’s name.

Decades have passed but her name remains in this town.

They revere her when the ocean is kind,

With Luna we are blessed.

They fear her when things heavily do not go as planned,

Luna has forsaken you!

They wish for her to sing when hopelessness fill their souls,

I seek your Luna’s lullaby.

But more than anything, Luna is of the past.

Stories speak of her falling in love with a being with only half the likeness of her; she fell in love with the one that walks, climbs, jumps, and runs— she fell in love with a human being. Luna yearned for the person so much that she traded her tail for two legs. At what cost, no one knew.

One night, Luna stopped singing and the town of Tapisan believed she began to walk amongst them from that point on. They tell stories of how she made a family with her beloved; they grew old watching the sea and in one summer night, she exhaled her last breath and all that’s left of her was a pearly moon on her forehead.

Luna never returned to the sea.