(no subject)

Anne discovered, after going swimming with Ariel -- though she'd suspected it long before -- that she really liked to walk barefoot on the beach, to feel the sand between her toes and the waves lap up over her ankles when she walked close to the ocean. She might not go swimming in her underthings where anyone else could see, but she could go without her shoes and stockings, and no one would chide her for it.

"This is lovely," she said, splashing up a little water with one foot and laughing softly. "Oh, this is just what I needed, Ariel, thank you."