We both sit there on the shore for a moment.

"I... I'm really... at a loss for words right now..." I stutter.

"Just.... How? How is... this," she gestures to my tail. "Actually... in existence?"

"I really don't know," I say. "You know how I've always been different?"

"Yeah," says Sasha.

"Like, how my hair just turned this color without me having to dye it?" I continue.

"Yeah," Sasha nods. "But, well.... I always kind of thought you really did dye it, and you told me it was natural just to impress me."

"Oh," I say, looking down. I feel a little betrayed. "Well, I don't think there's any way you'll be able to explain this tail, is there?"

"No, no. I believe you now. About the hair and everything." Sasha says quickly.

"Hmm, yeah, thanks for that." I pretty much spit the words at her.

"Do you really know anything about this tail, and why you have it?" She inquires.

"Well, I sort of know a little..." I start. I explain to her about how I thought I had a tail when I was sitting in bed, and about the dream where I got a tail.

After I'm finished, Sasha looks even more freaked out. "So, um, you do know how to get your legs back, right?"

"Yeah, of course.... I really hope this works...." I gulp.

Sasha looks at me, waiting.

"Okay, here it goes...." I close my eyes. "When on land, I need legs and hands." I feel a tingling sensation on my hands and tail. When I open my eyes, my body is back to its usual form.

Sasha stares at me, open-mouthed.

"That was pretty crazy!" I say to break the ice.

"Yeah, it sure was." Sasha says, as a grin starts to spread across her face.

"So, should I try it again?" I say, eager to see if I can still transform.

"But what if you get stuck with a tail?" Sasha says worriedly.

"I'm sure that won't happen," I say as I slide into the water. "So, you wanna see what it looks like when I transform? It looks pretty cool!"

"O-okay," Sasha stutters.

We both go to the deepest part of the basin and duck underwater.

"With a tail, I cannot fail." Once again, the sparkles rain down. Sasha reaches out to grab them, but they slide through her fingers. We both swim back up to the surface.

"Wow," Sasha gasps. "So you can breathe underwater, too?"

"Yeah, I think so." I say. I'm a bit curious myself. I hadn't even realized I was breathing in water. It just happened automatically.

"Hey, what happened to your head?" She asks, pointing to the left side of my forehead.

"Oh..." I had forgotten about that. "I fell asleep in the shower and hit my head."

"Ouch," she winces.

Our heads both snap towards the woods when we hear the crackling of someone walking towards us.

"Transform back!" Sasha whispers.

I duck underwater. "When on land, I need legs and hands!" I blurt out. I'm a human again, but I'm choking on water. I shoot up to the surface, coughing and sputtering.

"Renny!" Des calls.

"Crap," I whisper.

"It's time for sandwiches!" Des says.

"Okay! We're coming!" I say.

"That was close," says Sasha.

"Yeah," I say. "Um, would you mind not telling anyone about this?"

"Of course. I would never tell." She says.

Sasha may be bubbly and outgoing, but she can keep a secret.