The disturbance in the water was different from the unusual seagull plunge. It was something larger, and definitely had terrible form. Ina thought. Curious by the chaotic entrance, she investigated. The pre-dawn darkness only made it slightly more difficult to see but there was a figure suspended in the ocean. Ina swam faster as she noticed the limpness.

Rule #1 Don’t let the terrafolk see you

Ina thought about the it but didn’t stop. She was almost to the body when she felt the current pulling down. Managing to grab a wrist, she saw how close they were to the rocks. Low tide, how could she forget. In a panic, she rose to the surface. Terrafolk shouldn’t be underwater this long. I wonder how this idiot made it so far from the shore line. With that entrance he must have come from atop the bluff. She huffed. A guppy would know that a fall from that height would feel like a boat hitting you at full speed. Idiot. It wasn’t the weight that was slowing her down but her attempt to keep the boy’s head above water. She finally plopped the boy on the beach so his head was cleared from the waves.

Ina had watched many, too many, terrafolk be brought ashore by others of their kind and imitated the actions. Why go in the water if you can’t survive it? Her tail made it awkward to get the right angle on for the chest compressions and had to take several short breaks to submerge back into the water. I’m not going to die because of this.

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Rule #2 Stay off the dry lands

She wasn’t afraid of them but she didn’t care for them. During summer days she would see their predictable actions of bouncing in waves waiting to be drowned. She understood what she needed. Yet, as the boy spurted up some water, she began to observe him. He was covered up, more than the men normally wear to the beach. And these materials were not suitable for the water, too absorbent. This one makes no sense. When she went back to the water this time she swam a little further out. He was breathing but the tide would be coming in soon and he was still unconscious. I didn’t get him this far for him to drown in the incoming tide.She was speaking aloud but to no one as if to convince herself. She was curious. This one didn’t make sense.

She stayed close to the boy for six hours lugging his body slightly higher when she would come up to check his breath. He was now safe from the tide but Ina had an urge to pull him back but he twitched and she retreated. From the shore, she became indistinguishable from the glint of the sun off the water. She waited. Nothing to do today. Well, not anymore.

It was well past mid-day when he propped himself up on his arm. He checked his hands then patted them against his body. Ina had not seen anyone do this before, it was weird. He’s fine, I can go now. But she stayed. She watched him wrap his arms around his knees as he stared out into the ocean. And it was staring back at him. They both heard a shot of laughter pierce through the quiet. He ran to the forest line and she disappeared into the ocean.