Aria had never seen waters so clear and blue.
She stood on the beach, the waves rushing over her bare toes. Her feet sank into the sand as the cool water receded. The sun was warm on her tanned skin, even through the sheer fabric of the swimsuit cover-up she wore.
“I hope we see some turtles,” Joel, her boyfriend, said as he plunked down the mesh bag of snorkel gear and beach stuff. He rolled out his stiff elbow, looking out to the blue horizon. “That’s my only goal for this whole vacation.”
“There’ll be turtles,” Aria told him with a smile. “And hopefully none of those keuppia octopuses.” The concierge at the hotel had warned them about the rare creatures when they had said they were headed to this beach. They had been thought to be extinct, but a few had been found in the wild. A local agency had been breeding them, and had recently begun reintroducing them to the ocean– though since many had been raised in captivity, they had no fear of humans, and would often try to touch or interact with swimmers. They weren’t supposed to be dangerous, but the thought of being grabbed by a tentacle freaked Aria out.