Coralie loops the bright ribbon once, twice around her waist, tucking the long flowing end behind her hips like a tail. She pulls it tight and steps forward into the salt breeze. Ahead, the wet shore glistens under the low sun, and a long row of tide pools shimmers, waiting.
She takes one big, dramatic mermaid stride across the damp sand, her feet crunching deep into the glistening wet grain. The ribbon whips and swishes against her ankles with every heavy step. Mermaids don't tiptoe, she thinks, planting her chin high.
The row of tide pools stretches out in a long, shimmering line, each one a small copper-mirrored pool catching the low morning sun. The water laps, licks, and settles gently against the wet sand. Smooth pebbles glint at every pool's edge. The whole wide shore waits, glittering and still.
Coralie leaps over the little streams of water, one arm outstretched and steady as a fin. She twirls, the ribbon flinging wide, catching the salt wind. The most beautiful mermaid, of course, she thinks, nodding at the flat grey rocks. They know it too.
A rogue splash — sploosh! — soaks her bare toes in cold brine. The ribbon slides crooked, dragging sideways instead of straight behind her. She tugs it back, grinning wide. Mermaids don't mind a splash, she thinks, and sways on with more swagger than before.
At the very edge where the sand surrenders to the wide blue ocean, Coralie strikes her grandest pose. One palm rises, flat and open, pressed toward the sky. The ribbon streams far behind her, whipping in the salt wind. Look at me, she thinks. Look at me, ocean.
Beneath the shallow water at her feet, a tiny sea turtle drifts into view. It blinks up at her — slow, round, steady. Her raised hand drops. The ribbon stops mid-whip. Oh, she whispers, and her face softens into a small, quiet smile.
Coralie kneels. Her knees sink into the cool, wet grain. The little turtle turns, slides, and disappears beneath the glistening waves. She doesn't untie the ribbon — she just lets it trail, swaying gently with the tide. She leans back on her palms and watches the ocean stretch silver to the horizon, shimmering, humming, endless.
