Bewitched By the Siren

I don't want to be famous. I can't be.

When I sing at Memaw's Bar every weekend, there's one hard and fast rule: no recording of any kind. It's not a bar rule, it's a Hali rule.

Because if people were to post videos or audio clips of my performances, word would get out, and this tiny island off Georgia's coast would be overrun with people trying to meet me. To discover me and bring me into the limelight.

And that's not my ego talking. It's a fact. The crowds that come to see me aren't just captivated by my talent. They're enthralled by my magic.

Only my mother knows the truth--I'm not human. I'm a mermaid, and my siren's song is all-powerful. Mom found me on the beach when I was a toddler, and she took me in. Raised me. Loved me. Kept my secret.

And now that she's sick, it's my turn to take care of her. And that means risking my secret for tips every Friday and Saturday night. And even though no one has ever recorded me, word of mouth is a powerful thing. 

That's why he's here. Brendan Howser. Talent agent and temporary next door neighbor.

He thinks he can wear me down and get me to sign with his agency, but it's not going to happen. It can't. But Brendan doesn't give up easily. 

And neither does the stranger who's started following me and snapping pictures from behind bushes. When he shows up at Memaw's wearing noise-cancelling headphones and screaming about siren magic, I realize the truth--he knows.

And he's determined to prove it to the world.