Finally, you could be alone.

With a click, you turned off your cellphone, your gaze staying a moment longer on its black surface before you turned towards the waves in front of you. The water seemed vast and cold, but it was your private kingdom. A place where you could let go without fear of judgment. Social media and life had a way of keeping you always on guard, but here, by the shore, you could forget about all of that for a brief time.

Already you could feel your skin tingling with the anticipation of taking that first step. How the chill shock would breathe life into your muscles and nerves, quickening your heart until your very being was full of action, reaction, and purpose. It would be tough, but you could do it.

You drew in a deep breath, goosebumps raising on your skin. It was a double-edged sword though. You would be separated from everything. What if something happened?

But you couldn't wait on the shore forever.

The water came as it always did, lapping around your ankles, sending shivers up your spine, then to your knees, then your hips, until finally the freezing surface met your chest and neck.

One...two...you watched the world beyond the shore, how its complexities both confused and inspired, tempting you to come out...

And then you dunked your head beneath the waves.

The entire world disappeared into the clear blues around you as the need to breath suddenly asserted itself in your lungs. But it was still too early for that. You needed to become you.

You pawed at the water, feeling it nestle around you as you slowly began to make forward momentum. Deeper you went, until your feet could no longer feel the bottom and you were left adrift.

It was like everything was captured in slow motion, your hair and swimsuit flapping with each motion of your body. The water wasn't so chilly anymore. You could feel how it was becoming more comfortable, your body adapting with each stroke. It was your home, and you were simply walking through the door once more.

Your hands seemed to capture more of the liquid between you and the deeps. The skin between your fingers stretching out, even as your toes seemed to gain a curious flexibility in a similar turn.

Huh.

You watched as the nails on your hand seemed to darken and curve out, the skin of your hands steadily becoming something different as an orange carpet captured your attention.

You had not been expecting this, but it was not entirely unwelcome either. It helped you to explore, to dip further into the peace that you craved.

Deeper and deeper you dove, the air in your lungs becoming a enger to your needs as your body adapted. Blue fins seemed to sprout along your arms, each slice through the water strengthening their purpose. Bubbles flowing around you, you could feel your legs slowly cricking as they changed into something more befitting a water creature like yourself.

Beneath your shorts, you could feel excitement rising as a yellow collar swelled around your neck, each miniscule movement aided by the inflation and dismissal of air from its being.

Soon you could feel your swimsuit beginning to slip off as you shrank out of them, the need for modesty no longer required as the beginnings of your tail slipped from their hem, the muscles naturally flowing along with your directives as it steadily grew out longer and longer, the ends becoming a split point that each helped to guide your efforts.

From your thick sheath, you could feel your manhood steadily rising as your blood continued to quicken, warmth suffusing your being as the chilly water became a faded memory.

Black nose pointing forward, you smiled to yourself as the beams of the sun drifted around you, the light cascading along your cream and orange body with a brilliant delight. You were finally you.

Your lungs finally hit their limit and though it had been but a brief time, you needed to return to the surface.

Body propelling forward, your tail and webbing aiding your motions effortlessly, you knew that things were different now.

But that was okay. Even as your muzzle broke the surface for the first time, your lungs taking in sweet gasps of air, you knew that this was what you wanted.

You were free.