Dear Risa,

  I.

  Have.

  Sand.

  Everywhere.

  This is not an exaggeration. Risa, my friend, it’s E V E R Y W H E R E.

  I will say, getting it everywhere was absolutely worth the annoyance of having it everywhere now. If you ever get a boyfriend who suggests spending the night on a beach, I would recommend it, but I’d also recommend having access to clean running water within a ten-minute walking distance of that beach.

  As I write, it is about three in the afternoon, on the day following our beach day. I managed to brush the worst of the sand out, but there’s sand in places it’s not medically advisable to put brushes. Like way down in my ears. I’m going to have to spend a good while flushing my ears out; the amount of clean water I was willing to waste on it this morning was not enough. I wonder how people in all the towns we pass don't get ear infections from having sand get in there all the time.

  Oh, Echo had never seen how nekos clean their ears. I think it kinda freaked her out a little, seeing me shove a squirt bottle halfway into my skull. She said fairies have teeny tiny ears that don't get crap in them all the time, so the most she’s ever done is gone to a doctor to get earwax sucked out once. Which sounds way worse than just swooshing water around in them every time you shower.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Anyhow, we’ve decided that we’re stopping in the next town we come to. We made ourselves presentable enough we didn't feel bad about dropping mail and whatnot off in the last two towns, but yeah, we all need showers.

  Oh, in case I still need to say it at this point, the bikini was a success. Luke was impressed. And it didn't move out of place or untie itself, which some tend to do. It did a good job of staying on when I needed it to and coming off exactly when I wanted it to.

  Meanwhile, Cali was making friends with crabs, and Maki was becoming very friendly with Echo.

  I don't think they’ve kissed yet. But if how much time they spent watching each other yesterday is any indication, I’d give it… five days. I’ll keep you updated.

  In other news, I understand why surfing is a popular sport now. It’s good exercise, but in batches. Like, I’d say every muscle I have is sore today, but in the moment I didn't notice that I was using them all that much. Getting into place was hard, but then you have to wait for the wave, which is just nice and relaxing, then suddenly it’s paddling and jumping up and using every muscle to balance. Even my tail got a workout.

  Maki was better than me at timing everything. If we end up spending a week in a city on the beach, I’m absolutely going to work on that until I’m at his level.

  Or better. Ideally better.

  Aha, there’s buildings in the distance. My shower approaches.

  Sandy Regards,

  Maeve Zee