9 - Friends

"Hi," she said, her green tail swishing in the water behind her.

Theresa sighed in relief when she saw Maris, "I thought you'd never come."

Maris folded her arms over each other on the grassy shore and placed her chin on it. "I always keep to my promise. Sorry, I'm late, I had to rescue a baby porpoise from the tentacles of a nuisance giant squid."

Theresa's eyes brightened. "A giant squid? And you went unscathed?"

"Yea," Maris smiled proudly, "I'm pretty used to it. So did you save that friend of yours?"

Theresa smiled and said, "Actually, I brought it along with me," she nudged Berry out from behind the rock who had hidden when Maris's head had appeared from the sea.

Berry tentatively stood closer to Theresa blinking its big eyes as it tilted its head from one side to the other to curiously observe Maris.

Maris's expression was a mixture of a frown and a smile. "It sure has a large head for its size."

Berry hissed and scurried back to hide behind the rock, mumbling its displeasure.