As much as disappearing without a trace seemed to appeal to the wilder side of herself, she just couldn't do that to the people she loved. She decided she had to at least tell someone, her boyfriend Nate.
Marina pulled herself back into the boat and grabbed a towel to dry herself off with. To her relief, as she dried off, her tail turned back into two human legs. She quickly got dressed, pulling on an old t-shirt and jean cut offs she had stashed in her bag. She pulled on a pair of sneakers as well. She tossed the damp towel aside and started up the boat motor. She drove the boat back to her home. Once she arrived, she grabbed her bag of diving equipment, monofin and tank and walked inside. She noticed her parents weren't home. She wavered whether or not to say goodbye or if they would even believe it. Regardless, she knew they'd never let her go.
One person she knew she had to tell was her boyfriend Nate. He shared her love of all things aquatic and had an affinity for mythological creatures. Lucky for her, he happened to live next door. Their love was one that had started out as friendship but as they grew closer, they couldn't deny their love for one another extended beyond the platonic.
Marina walked outside and was walking over to Nate's house to see him coming out of his house. He smiled from ear to ear when he saw her.
"I'd been waiting for you to get home..." Nate walked towards her. "How was your dive?"
"It was amazing. You will never believe what happened to me," said Marina.
"What? What did you find?"
"This," replied Marina, holding out the medallion. "It's magic."
"Yeah, right. It's beautiful though." Nate looked over the markings.
"No really, it is. It turned me into a mermaid."
Nate couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. A mermaid, seriously?
"You don't believe me?" asked Marina.
"Well, it is a bit much."
"All right, I'll prove it. Come on."
Marina grabbed Nate's hand and walked down to the dock, dragging him behind her. Marina kicked off her sneakers and pulled off the jean cutoffs. She leaped into the water, submerging under the surface with a big splash. A moment after hitting the water, she felt her legs grow together into her mermaid tail. Marina swam back to the surface to the sight of a stunned Nate.
"You're...you're a mermaid!" exclaimed Nate, checking out her light blue tail. He sat down on the side of the dock. Marina swan over to him and propped herself on the side. "What are you going to do now?"
"Well, I thought about just swimming away, living as a mermaid. But I couldn't do it, just disappearing on you and my folks..."
"I appreciate that." Nate gave Marina a smile.
"Do you want to come with me?" she asked.
"How?" asked Nate.
"If the medallion worked for me, it should work for you."
"I don't know" Nate was weary of trying it. "I don't really want to be a mermaid"
"Not a mermaid, a merman. My merman."
Nate let out a deep sigh. "Okay, let me try it."
He hesitated for a second and then put on the medallion. "Here goes nothing..."
Nate pulled off his shoes and his shorts and dove into the water. As he was submerged he felt a strange sensation as his legs stretched, reformed and grew together into a tail. He resurfaced to find to his surprise that he was now a merman, with a royal blue scaled tail. He couldn't quite believe it. Both he and Marina were smiling ear to ear. Marina grabbed Nate's hand and they dove underwater to go exploring.