Anna was breathing heavily, her breaths coming in short and squeaky gasps, when she said, "Here!", and handed the coin and the rock back to Eric. Instantly, the starfish came off, and Anna plunged back into the water, so that only her head remained above the surface.
Anna massaged around the outside of her left breast, avoiding the nipple, which was now quite red from the constant stimulation. "This idea of mine does have one flaw," she said. "That starfish sucks. Like, literally. And it doesn't quit."
Eric was appalled, and worried. "Can you… handle that? After all, if you do use this magic to travel onto the land, you'll have to keep your wits about you. Hide your tail somehow, and avoid being discovered…"
Anna paused and thought. "…I think so," she concluded. "I'll just have to grin and bear it." Then she did grin, and she said, "It'll be just like the story of 'The Little Mermaid,' but in reverse! As long as I'm on land, instead of tortured feet, I'll have tortured boobs. I guess it's a fair trade-off for getting to see my family one last time—and one more reason I can promise I'll definitely come back to you!" She put her arms around Eric's neck and kissed him deeply.
"All right," said Eric. "I do trust you. So when the time is right, I'll help you visit dry land and make contact with your family. But we should plan, and prepare. We don't want to rush into this!"
"You're right," said Anna. "I can't even imagine what might happened if my—mermaidenhood somehow got discovered. That would be a living nightmare!"
And so they resolved to visit Eric's house.
But not before Anna made a little stop. She actually led Eric all the way back to the Tide Flats, and much to his surprise, she scooped up a second starfish.
"What's that for?" Eric asked. "I don't think I'll be able to follow you. There's no second coin."
"It's not for you, it's for me," said Anna. She pointed at her right boob and said, "If I'm gonna wear a starfish bra, I might as well give both 'girls' the same treatment. ¿Comprendes?"
"No, not really," said Eric. "But then, I don't really understand land-people."