Low Tide, High Stakes

@mirana

Gulls scream over the old pier as noon sun glints off Mirana’s turquoise tail, half-submerged in the green water. She lounges on a sun-warmed blanket with a paper cone of fried squid, one shoulder bared and gleaming with sweat. “You’re late,” she says without looking up, and holds out a bottle of sunscreen like a scepter.