Sirene (Wattys 2014 Entrant)

Dedicating the final chapter to joyofmusic15, thanks so much for your support, comments and votes :)

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Chapter 21

February 4th, 1903.

Dear Oceana,

Goodness me, so much has happened since you left the asylum I hardly know where to begin. It is almost a pity you weren’t here to see all that was taking place and be a part of it. I suppose I should start with the fact that I no longer live in the orphan asylum. Yes, you’ll never believe it, but Miss Patterson has adopted me and now I live with her in her large, beautiful house. She is very kind to me and I am very happy here. It’s like having a family again, different to be sure, but wonderful at the same time.

I no longer go to school, Miss Patterson has hired a tutor to come and teach me. In the evenings I read to her and we take long drives in the carriage. I’m learning to horseback ride and it’s a lot of fun, at the moment is my favorite pastime. Who would have ever thought Miss Patterson would want to make me her little companion? She is very affectionate and we have become very fond of each other.

I did get into some trouble because I helped you get away, but Miss Morgan was very lenient to me and there was no severe punishment. I’m not sure why, but I am glad. Maybe Miss Morgan understood my motives for helping you.

I suppose you are dying to know what became of Stephanie Alberna and Dr. Wilkens. Well, I suppose the best place to start would be to say that she is no longer Stephanie Alberna, but rather Mrs. Dr. Joseph Wilkens. Who would have thought you would have proved right after all? He started seriously courting her only about a week after you left. Stephanie’s mother was quite against the whole thing, in her opinion Dr. Wilkens isn’t rich enough for her daughter and the fact that he constantly hanging around sick inmates certainly didn’t help. She also wasn’t so fond of the idea that Stephanie began spending so much time at the orphanage and realized that Dr. Wilkens was probably behind the change in her daughter. You know what amazes me, Mrs. Alberna was so loudly complaining that Stephanie was destined to be an old maid, but now that her daughter is married, she’s still not happy. Oh well, I guess some people are beyond being pleased.. At least she gave her permission for Stephanie to marry Dr. Wilkens because Stephanie would never marry without it. Sadly Mrs. Alberna always makes it very clear that she is not happy with her son-in-law. Stephanie and Dr. Wilkens don’t seem to mind though, Dr. Wilkens even said something about a man’s foes being they of his own household. I think he meant it as a joke, but wasn't it you who once told me that even in every joke there is a hint of truth?

It is a real pity that you were not present at the wedding. It was actually a very small affair and took place on the 2nd of December, 1902, in a little church. The only people present at the ceremony itself where Dr. Wilkens, Stephanie and Stephanie’s eldest sister Priscilla and a friend of Dr. Wilkens who goes by the name Mr. Browne. Stephanie and Dr. Wilkens did visit the orphanage once they were married and we sang a song for them. It was a very fun affair. I wish you could have seen Stephanie in her white dress and veil, it wasn’t anything very fancy, but she looked so pretty and happy in it.

Here’s some news about Newgate, the jail in which Chandler was kept. It has been closed down and is being demolished. I’m not sure what they plan to do with it once it’s completely gone, but I’ll keep you posted when I find out. With Newgate no longer functioning as a prison, of course Dr. Wilkens doesn’t go there anymore, but that doesn’t stop him, there are plenty of prisons in London for him to visit and bring what relief he can to the inmates. He said once that he will continue to be a doctor and missionary to prisoners till the day he dies.

Stephanie is very happy in her marriage, you can tell by the way her face shines every day. She doesn’t seem to mind the fact that her mother doesn’t like Dr. Wilkens very much. I’m hoping in time Mrs. Alberna will come to understand what a good man Dr. Wilkens is. They live in a very small house and there isn’t much money, but since neither Dr. Wilkens nor Stephanie care much for money, it is all very well.

I was very sorry to hear about Chandler’s death, Miss Patterson informed me about it. I know how much you were attached to him and how much you loved him. I’m glad you were able to see him before he died. Did he make his peace with God? And what about Callum? Did you find out anything about him and his past?

I have to say, Oceana dear, you have caused a great stir for the orphanage. I don’t know if it will ever get over it. You will certainly be the talk of the asylum for years to come. Miss Morgan was very worried for you, but Miss Patterson calmed her down and said that you were living a good life up in Scotland, that you were going to school and communicating with other children. Cassandra really misses you, as do a lot of the other children there, I told them they are free to write you as well and I think you can expect to be flooded with letters within the next half year or so. Shirley still goes about saying that you made up the past you gave us and that of course you are really not at all half mermaid. Cassandra stubbornly sticks to the fact that you could have possibly been telling the truth. I’m not sure I can believe you, Oceana and so maybe you could be completely honest with me and tell me just how much of the story you made up and what is the truth in it and what is not. Are you really who you claim to be, or is it something you tell yourself because you think it makes you unique, or perhaps someone told it to you.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Much love,

Elizabeth (Miss Patterson likes for me to end my letters with my full name)

P.S. Miss Patterson told me to ask you if there is anything you should like for us to send to you that you cannot get in the village.

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February 27th, 1903.

Dear Beth,

I was so happy to receive you letter and read all the news that I have been dying to hear. Yes, dying, literally. I was sad that I was not able to keep in contact with you before due to the fact that Callum was afraid of me giving away my location, but now that it doesn’t have to be a secret anymore I am free to write you.

How glad I was to read that you have been adopted by Miss Patterson. I knew there was someone in that orphanage more suited to her and her way of life than I was, and how wonderful that it turned out to be you. Now you have a family. My prayers have been answered and I feel so much joy I can hardly contain it.

I was not at all surprised to hear that Dr. Wilkens and Stephanie have gotten married, I’m only terribly disappointed that I was not able to attend the wedding. To think that I was the one who set them up and I had to miss out on the great occasion. Calling it unfair doesn’t do the subject justice. Please tell Stephanie to write me and give me all the details. I would dearly like to hear from her and from Dr. Wilkens. I guess I should also add that I’m not surprised that Mrs. Alberna wasn’t so pleased with the marriage, but then, who cares, Mrs. Alberna is a lady hard to please and I never really liked her anyway. (oh dear, it was probably very wicked of me to say that, but I can’t help it). If Mrs. Alberna can’t come to terms with the fact that Stephanie married a wonderful man than that is her problem.

How strange to hear Newgate has been closed down and is being demolished. I wonder if they will build another prison in its place. If they do, I hope it will be better than Newgate was. I’d say the only good thing about Newgate was Dr. Wilkens.

Chandler passed away in the end of September. He died peacefully in his sleep and we buried him at sea just the way he wanted us too. Callum says that is the way sailors ought to be buried. It turns out Chandler was converted to Christ still back in the prison but his pride kept him from telling it to me, and to think I worried all that time because of it. Oh well, Callum says we must never speak ill of the dead, so I won’t be angry with him. I wish we had been able to find out some more about who Chandler was before he became a smuggler, but he took that mystery to the deep waters, and I suppose we’ll never find out now.

I was able to discover a little about Callum’s past, not much for now, but I’m hoping to get more out of him. We live in a house not far from a little village that Callum was born and raised in. His father was a fisherman and it is a trade that he took up himself when he got older. At one point he married and started a family of his own. Something happened to his family and he blames himself for it, but I haven’t been able to find out what exactly yet, it’s very hard for him to talk about it. He really feels a lot of guilt and thought that God was upset with him as well. He’s sort of like the prodigal son in the parable Jesus told. I told him the parable and urged him to go back to God, telling him God is waiting for Callum to come home. He said he would think about it and I know he has. A couple Sundays ago he went over and talked for a long, long time with the Reverend. Something tells me that it’s going to be a very long and maybe even difficult road home, but I pray for him every day and I know God will handle the rest. I hope to continue to find out more about just what happened to the family he no longer has and maybe help him forgive himself one day, but that will probably take a long time as well. Oh, and I probably should ask you not to go around telling others about it, I know I can trust you with such secrets, you never give me away.

Please thank Miss Patterson for her kind request. If it will not be too much trouble, I would appreciate if you could send me some French books. People mainly speak in Gaelic and English here and Callum is afraid I will lose my French. This is funny to me, seeing he hates the language. But he feels he owes it to Chandler, so he’s willing to bear my reading to him out loud in French. The only thing is try finding French books way out here. You can choose them out yourself; I trust your good judgment.

I now go by the surname McNeil. How strange is that, Oceana McNeil. I wish Callum’s surname was something different, but it isn’t and I’ll just have to learn to not mind so much when they call my name at roll call.

I laughed at the part when you said the asylum would never get over the one and a half years I spent there, who knows, maybe that is a good thing. I like to think of myself as a breath of fresh air in that orphanage, though perhaps Miss Morgan and the rest are of a different opinion. I am glad I was put there, because even though I didn’t enjoy a lot of it, I was able to meet you and Stephanie and Cassandra and I was able to find out about God, so it all worked together for good, just like Paul says in Romans.

I should have expected Shirley to go about saying things about me once I was gone, that girl always had a very loose tongue, she should learn to think before she speaks. Dear Cassandra was always very loyal to me, I hope she writes me, perhaps I should write her first.

Now, about my past, I can assure you that the second half of the story that I told is the absolute truth. Callum can vouch for me. He and Chandler did find me in a boat that was adrift and I was wrapped in nothing but a blanket, in the folds of which they found a necklace with a scrap of wood, a seashell and a lock of hair. The story of my parents I have no way of proving, though I didn’t make it up. Once I asked Chandler for my past and that was the story he told me. Perhaps he came up with it himself. Chandler was known to have an imagination; Callum always said it made him very pathetic. Also, Chandler was a firm believer in mermaids, so to him the story made perfect sense. Not having any other past and no way to explain the mystery of how I got in that boat and who gave me the necklace, I adopted it as my own and even went so far as to believe it to be true. I have told it to the children here at the village despite the fact that Callum says I’m attracting unwanted attention to myself. The children here were actually very enchanted by the story and though I don’t think anyone in the village believes it to be true, it does make for a good story. Just how much truth is there in that story I don’t know myself, I don’t even have the necklace anymore. It was confiscated along with the ship and smuggled goods when Chandler was arrested. So to answer your question, the story of my parents is as true as you want it to be. And anyway, Chandler once said it doesn’t really matter what you past is, it’s the future that counts.  

I look forward to hearing from you. Please pass on my best regards to Miss Patterson.

Your best and loving friend,

Oceana.

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Author's Note:

We have come to the end of the story Sirene. Thank you so much for reading my story, I hope you have enjoyed the adventures with Oceana, Beth, Callum and Chandler and other characters. Oceana is perhaps one of the most unique characters I ever came up with and I had a lot of fun writing about her in this story.

If you wish to find out more about more about Oceana, my sequel to Sirene, The Ocean's Daughter is currently being posted, you can find it if you go to my page :)

Once more, thank you all for taking the time to read, vote and comment. You are all so awesome and special to God, no one can take your place in this world, always remember that!

Looking forward to sharing more adventures with you

-Vlada Mari