Mermaids in Bottles

Among the curios and oddities that could be found in the back room of the dusty antiquities shop, none drew the eye and ears more than the mermaids kept in glass bottles. As you get closer the hums of their sweet melody that barely reached your ears through the thick glass, but enough to draw you closer and witness their breathless beauty.

They float in crystal clear waters, voluminous hair wrapping around them as their shimmering tails curl restlessly within their confinement. The faint glow of their flawless body and slender figure was laid bare with neither cloth or jewelry to adorn them, though such additions would do little to enhance their beauty and a crime to conceal.

Drawing closer, sweet promises are whispered in exchange for their release. They sing of all the wealth buried beneath the waves that you could wish for, held within ancient triremes and Viking longships, U-boats and corsair raiders laden with plunder, oriental junks and Spanish galleons filled with the wealth of empires. 

Or a simple kiss.

It doesn’t occur for you to ask why they were kept there in the first place. Were they unwilling captives of a selfish collector, or malevolent sirens kept away from luring others to their demise?

This was my 18th Inktober artwork of 2018, based on the prompt "Bottle". And, similar to genies, some stories have mermaids being able to grant wishes in exchange for helping them.

Like most of my Inktober works that featured a mermaid, it took the longer time but were also the most enjoyable to do.

What do you think? Anybody inspired by this? Should I do and share more like this stuff?