TITLE: "Fins"
AUTHOR: Aditi Shashidhara
ARTIST: Ara Djati
“You want legs? You want to become human?” Latrina asked, bright green eyes widening.
It was oddly hardto force out the little word, so Azura nodded instead. One quick jerk of her head. Down. Up.
The sea witch said nothing, looking quite intimidating with her brown hair fanned around her face, almost like a crown on her head.
Azura looked down, making a twister with her tail, swishing her fins back and forth, side to side. Back. Forth. Side. To. Side. It was a bad habit, a nervous habit, but one that she wouldn’t have soon. Her fishlike fins would be replaced by two brilliant, utterly human legs.
“Alright then… just one second…” Latrina turned and swam deeper into her cave, returning a few moments later with a tablet and a fancy device that looked a lot like a seashell. Latrina tapped the tablet with the seashell, and glittering words appeared on it.
I, _________________, HEREBY AGREE TO…
“The-there’s a contract?” Azura said, voice catching yet again. Why are you being so weird? You made a decision, Azura. Now swim with it.
“Of course there is! My license will be revoked if I perform a spell like that on you without a contract.”
“Right, sorry.”
Latrina nodded, still looking a little bit shaken. “Just sign here, then. Right where the blank is.” She handed Azura the seashell.
It should have been easy. She knew she wanted to do this. Just sign the name. Her name. And she would get those magical legs. It was easy. Right? Memories started playing in Azura’s mind, a show playing out without her permission. Her as a baby, learning how to maneuver her tail and work with her fins, learning how to swim. Her as a child, winning the swimming competition for the third year in a row, fins swishing furiously to the finish line before anyone else did. Her three years ago, trying to pull her fins out from between those rocks, gasping in horror at the Grrrrip! sound and the newly formed hole in her fins.
Get out of it, Azura. You’re trading those fins for legs now.
Legs. Legs. LEGS!
Legs, with which she could walk on the sandy beach. Legs, with which she could run around on land. Legs, with which she would be fully, completely whole again.
But were they worth the fins?
She took a deep breath, and she knew what she had to do.
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