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My Dead Grandma Spat Pearls—and My Family Begged for More
Novelix
Completed
"My grandmother, Evelyn, died in the old fishing shed in our backyard. My father, Dean, wouldn't even give her a funeral. He planned to call the funeral home first thing the next morning and have her cremated using the cheapest option available. At midnight, I sneaked into the shed and lit a memorial candle for Evelyn. That's when I saw her sitting motionless on the floor. Her mouth opened and closed, mechanically spitting things out. Milky-white, perfectly round objects fell one after another, clattering against the old wooden floor. They were all pearls. The next morning, a blind old man stood outside our house, shouting at the top of his lungs. ""The Siren has taken over a dead woman's body! The dead are spitting pearls! That old woman isn't human anymore!"" Dean grabbed the baseball bat by the door and chased him out of the yard. Then he spun around, rushed into the shed, and dropped to his knees in front of Evelyn. ""Mom! Please, give me more! I'll do anything you want from now on!"" The whole family crowded around Evelyn, clutching her hands and begging her to spit out a few more pearls. I was the only one hiding behind the door, staring at the pearls scattered across the floor. They weren't jewels. They were Siren eggs that would drain the life out of the living."
Chapters (3)
Chapter 1
My grandmother, Evelyn, died in the old fishing shed in our backyard.
My father, Dean, wouldn't even give her a funeral. He planned to call the funeral home first thing the next morning and have her cremated using the cheapest option available.
At midnight, I sneaked into the shed and lit a memorial candle for Evelyn.
That's when I saw her sitting motionless on the floor.
Her mouth opened and closed, mechanically spitting things out.
Milky-white, perfectly round objects fell one after another, clattering against the old wooden floor.
They were all pearls.
The next morning, a blind old man stood outside our house, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"The Siren has taken over a dead woman's body! The dead are spitting pearls! That old woman isn't human anymore!"
Dean grabbed the baseball bat by the door and chased him out of the yard.
Then he spun around, rushed into the shed, and dropped to his knees in front of Evelyn.
"Mom! Please, give me more! I'll do anything you want from now on!"
The whole family crowded around Evelyn, clutching her hands and begging her to spit out a few more pearls.
I was the only one hiding behind the door, staring at the pearls scattered across the floor.
They weren't jewels. They were Siren eggs that would drain the life out of the living.
……
"Mara."
Evelyn suddenly turned her head and stared straight at me.
Her mouth continued opening and closing mechanically.
"You didn't come closer."
"Don't you want the pearls?"
I shook my head frantically, pressing my back against the doorframe.
Evelyn smiled. Her stiff lips slowly split wider and wider until the corners nearly reached her ears.
"Good girl."
"These pearls cost lives."
"If you don't want them, you won't die."
As she turned her head away, I saw the skin at the back of her neck split open.
Beneath it lay layer upon layer of silver-black scales.
I stayed behind the door, not daring to make a sound.
Dean and my mother, Carla, scrambled toward the pearls.
They swept up the dirt and scraps of fishing net along with the pearls, then carefully picked out the dozen or so pearls.
Dean took one and rubbed it lightly against his teeth.
The rough texture made his eyes light up instantly.
He and Carla clutched the pearls and rushed out of the house, driving straight to the jewelry store in town.
By dusk, the front gate flew open with a violent kick.
Dean hauled two cases of expensive whiskey and several boxes of cigars out of the trunk.
Carla returned with several bags of groceries, packed with steaks, lobster, roasted chicken, and other foods they had never been willing to buy before.
Both of them were flushed with excitement as they rushed into the drafty fishing shed.
Dean scooped Evelyn up from the floor and carried her straight to the warmest recliner beside the living room fireplace.
"Mom, I've been a real bastard. From now on, this family is yours to run."
He crouched beside her, eagerly massaging her stiff lower legs.
Carla approached with a bowl of freshly made clam chowder, holding it up to Evelyn's mouth with a fawning smile.
"Mom, have some while it's hot. I made it with the freshest clams."
Evelyn sat rigidly in the recliner, her eyes closed. She wouldn't even open her mouth.
Carla grew impatient. Then she spotted me standing by the doorway.
The smile vanished from her face.
She grabbed me by the hair and slammed my head against the wall.
"Why do you always cause trouble for this family? Did you upset Grandma again? Get over there and apologize!"
My head struck the wall hard. Blood seeped from my temple, but I bit my lip and refused to make a sound.
Evelyn's eyes snapped open.
Her eerie green eyes, with their vertical-slit pupils, fixed on Carla.
"Don't touch her."
The voice didn't sound human at all. It was low and raspy, as if something else were speaking from inside her body.
Carla's hand trembled in terror, sending the entire bowl of clam chowder crashing to the floor.
Evelyn opened her mouth and mechanically spat out a pearl.
It rolled to a stop right at Carla's feet.
Carla immediately forgot her fear. She dropped to the floor and scrambled to grab it.
Then she cradled the pearl in her hands, grinning so widely that the corners of her eyes crinkled.
"Mom, please don't be mad. I won't hit Mara again."
Evelyn stared at her and spoke once more.
"You have to keep me happy if you want the pearls to grow."
Chapter 2
Watching Dean and Carla grovel on the floor like dogs over the pearls turned my stomach.
Before Evelyn died, they had treated her very differently.
Two weeks earlier, my younger brother, Nico, had set his heart on a new dirt bike that cost more than eight thousand dollars.
Dean and Carla didn't want to spend that much money, but they also couldn't stand the thought of disappointing their precious son. So they set their sights on Evelyn's savings instead.
For years, Evelyn had washed dishes at restaurants near the docks, collected scrap metal to sell for cash, and mended fishing nets for people in the neighborhood.
She had spent most of her life saving every penny she could, finally putting away more than ten thousand dollars.
That money was supposed to support her in old age and cover her funeral expenses.
Evelyn refused to hand it over.
Dean lost his temper. He kicked her to the ground, grabbed her by her graying hair, and dragged her straight into the backyard.
I had just come home from school when I saw it happen.
I rushed at him like a madwoman, sank my teeth into his arm, and threw both arms around Evelyn to protect her.
"Stop hitting Grandma! Don't touch her!"
I screamed and sobbed, but Dean kicked me hard enough to send me flying.
Carla rushed over, seized me by the hair, and dragged me off.
Then they locked Evelyn inside the drafty fishing shed and bolted the door.
"Leave her hungry for a few days. She'll hand over the money!" Dean spat viciously.
For three straight days, they didn't give Evelyn a single drop of water or a bite to eat.
They locked me in a small upstairs room, too, refusing to give me food or water.
In the middle of the third night, I smashed the window and climbed out. A shard of glass sliced my wrist so deeply that I could see the bone.
Ignoring my bleeding hand, I made my way around to the kitchen's back door. I stole half of a cold sandwich.
Then I pressed myself against the broken wooden door of the shed and slowly pushed the bloodstained bread through the narrow gap.
"Grandma, please eat a little. Just one bite..."
Evelyn's weak, ragged breathing came from inside. She didn't take the bread.
Instead, her withered fingers reached through the gap again and again, gently stroking the back of my hand, raw and blistered from the cold and streaked with blood.
"Mara, go back... Don't worry about me. They'll beat you to death..."
Nico got up in the middle of the night and spotted me. He immediately started shouting.
Dean and Carla came running out, dragged me away from the door, and pinned me to the frozen ground.
Carla took a sharp awl used for repairing heavy canvas out of the toolbox.
Then she drove it into the back of my hand, again and again, leaving hole after bloody hole.
Inside the shed, Evelyn heard my screams. She pounded on the door desperately until her voice was hoarse from crying.
When they finally opened the shed on the morning of the fourth day, Evelyn was already dead.
Dean was only worried that her dying in the house would cause trouble. He wouldn't even arrange a funeral.
He simply said he'd contact the funeral home the next day and have her cremated as cheaply as possible.
Now, that same old woman who had frozen to death inside the shed was being treated like a queen by the entire family.
Dean heard Evelyn say that the pearls could continue growing and hurriedly leaned toward her.
"Mom, what do I have to do to make you happy? Just tell me. I'll do whatever you say."
Evelyn's stiff neck slowly turned. Her gaze settled on Nico, who was playing on his phone nearby.
"Have your grandson keep the pearls against his skin all night."
The living room fell silent for a moment.
They had all heard what the blind man said that morning. A Siren had taken over a dead woman's body, and the creature was evil and dangerous.
But the temptation of the pearls was so great that it easily clouded their judgment.
When Nico heard that he had to keep the pearls warm, he kicked over the chair beside him.
"No way! Grandma reeks! The smell is making me gag!"
Dean walked over and slapped Nico across the face.
"You little bastard! A thousand dollars for one night. You in or not?"
Nico clutched his cheek, hesitated for a moment, and reluctantly nodded.
That evening, Carla found a red bandanna and carefully wrapped six pearls inside it. She tied the bundle tightly against Nico's belly.
Later that night, I sneaked downstairs again, hoping to light another candle for Evelyn in the backyard.
As I passed the front door, I heard a faint rustling outside.
I crept over to the window and peered out.
The blind man from that morning hadn't left.
He was crouched beneath our front porch, his shriveled nostrils twitching furiously.
His sightless eyes, rolled back until only the whites showed, were filled with greed and madness.
"Ten years, Siren. I've finally caught your scent again."
His deranged whisper sent a chill down my spine.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Carla's scream rang through the house.
I pushed open the door and saw Dean and Carla standing beside Nico's bed, their eyes wide with disbelief.
With trembling hands, Carla untied the red bandanna.
The six pearls, no bigger than ordinary pearls the night before, had grown to the size of grapes.
Dean snatched one up and weighed it in his palm, trembling with excitement.
"We're rich! We're really rich this time!"
He took the pearls into town and returned before noon with a huge stack of cash.
The whole family erupted into celebration.
Dean bought an enormous flat-screen TV, while Carla came home with bags full of steaks and seafood.
But a rash of tiny red bumps had broken out across Nico's belly.
The spots were dark red, and some had already turned a bluish black. Up close, they gave off a faint, fishy smell.
Carla rubbed his belly sympathetically, drove to the pharmacy in town, and bought a tube of anti-itch cream. She casually smeared some over the rash and thought nothing more of it.
Dean carried the new television into the living room and plugged it in.
Just then, someone began pounding violently on the front gate.
Annoyed, Dean yanked the door open.
The blind man stood outside.
The old man grabbed Dean's arm, his voice shrill and desperate.
"That money is going to get you all killed! Those aren't pearls! The Siren is using your greed to incubate her eggs! When they hatch, there won't be a single bone left of any of you!"
Dean's expression darkened instantly, and he violently wrenched his arm free.
"You blind bastard! I beat you up yesterday, and you still have the nerve to come back here and wish us dead?"
