Free Emerge by Tobie Easton

tail to return, but those were definitely legs.
    “Ah!” Now I’m the one squealing. I throw my arms around Amy and let go just in time to see her legs flicker into existence again. My whole family cheers.
    “My baby cousin has legs!” Before I can stop myself, I’m squeezing her into another hug.
    “Not a baby anymore,” my mom says, giving Amy a smile.
    “Sure isn’t. Those are some damn sexy legs you got there, Aims.”
    “Lapis!” Emeraldine admonishes, beating my mom to the punch.
    “All Lapis means is we better watch out. Amy’ll be beating the boys off with a coral rod soon enough.” Amy blushes at Lazuli’s words.
    “Of course she will. She’s a Nautilus woman,” my dad says with a wink.
    “She certainly is,” my mother adds.
    “Can I go upstairs, Aunt Nerissa? I want to take a walk.”
    My mother smiles warmly at her but shakes her head. “Let’s wait until you can maintain all your limbs for a few minutes, shall we?”
    Amy’s legs are still morphing into a tail and back again every few seconds.
    “How do I keep my legs?” Amy asks.
    The twins share a knowing look. My father scratches the back of his head where his hair is still thick and glances at my mother, who gives a tiny nod.
    “I’ll go get dinner ready and leave you ladies to … talk,” he says before swimming to the door. “Congratulations, Amy.”
    Once he’s out of earshot, my mother sits on the bed and strokes a hand through Amy’s long, strawberry blond hair. “Amethyst, maintaining your legs can be a challenge. Walking doesn’t come naturally to us. Until the wars drove us to learn how to survive on land, trips above water were rare. Even the most accomplished Mer had never kept their legs for more than a few hours for such a visit. Most only ever used their legs at all for … the obvious purpose.”
    “Sex,” Lapis clarifies. Even Below, Mer need legs to have sex. Our reproductive systems are built like humans’, but our tails cover up … the necessary body parts. That’s why getting legs is part of puberty.
    “For mating, yes,” my mother says. “Of course, we considered this when we first decided to live on land. That’s how we discovered the key to maintaining legs, at least at first, is to contemplate their original purpose. This won’t be necessary after some practice, but for right now, a certain level of maturity and self-awareness will go a long way.”
    Amy tries to follow this, but she looks confused.
    “What you want to do,” Em interjects, “is embrace your natural impulses. You don’t need to act on those urges—thinking about them will be enough. You’ll see.”
    “Does that make sense, sweetheart?” my mother asks.
    “Um … yeah. Thanks.” When my mother leans in to hug her, Amy shoots me a puzzled look, and I smile reassuringly. When Mom gave me this same talk about self-awareness and natural urges, I had no clue what she meant. Until Lapis and Lazuli gave me a talk of their own afterwards. I remember lying on my bed, the way Amy is now, watching my new legs melt into familiar golden scales every few seconds. I willed with all my might for the legs to just … stay. I closed my eyes and visualized it, thinking maybe that’s what my mom had meant, but nothing happened. Then, the twins came into my grotto bedroom.
    “Any luck, little sis?” Lazuli had asked.
    “No,” I pouted.
    “Let me guess. Mom’s little heart-to-heart left a lot to be desired.”
    “It … helped. Kind of.”
    “Lucky for you,” Lapis chimed in, “we’re going to help a lot more. It’s actually simple. What are your legs for?”
    “Walking,” I said like it was a no-brainer.
    “Urrr!” Lapis made the sound of a game show buzzer. “Wrong. But thanks for playing.”
    Lazuli sat on my bed. “As usual, you’re thinking like a human. You’re a Mermaid, Lia.”
    “Gee, thanks for the update,” I said sarcastically.
    “As a Mermaid who’s supposed to live in the ocean and would never need to