"This is the end. There's nowhere to hide. Too much light, too many people, not enough space. All this sand but I am too big to bury myself. So big! I cannot run-- I am too slow and I have so many legs. Always too many legs. Why so many legs? There's nowhere to hide. They are coming. It's all over. I'm so cold. Oh God. I can't-"
The girl dips her hand into the icy water and trembling fingers lightly examine the object of her fascination. She does not know its name by touching. "Pisaster ochraceus," I tell her. "The ochre sea star." She knows now, and she is fascinated by its tiny, soft body: so cold and so foreign. The girl is all sea salt and wonder. The star slowly extends one arm towards her, but I think she misunderstands the gesture. "It doesn't want to be friends," I remind her. "It just wants to hold on to something, and all those little suckers can be a real pain."
"What is this soft, warm surface? It's squishy like me. Squishy and young. Can I eat it? I think I'll try to eat it. If I can just reach it-"
The girl-- eyes wide-- curls her little fingers around the sea star's waving arm. Her parents smile and look on, but I can't help but feel concern. We have a procedure for this-- should the star's feet get stuck onto a guest's hand, we need to carefully scrape them off so as to not damage the animal. I keep this in the back of my mind and a plastic card in my back pocket.
"The squishy creature has arms too. Five of them. Maybe it's a sea star like me. I'm not sure if I can eat that. Maybe I can climb on it!"
Soon, the girl's palm is flat against the underside of the animal. Nervously, I make small talk with the parents, but my eyes are on the girl with her hand submerged to the forearm. No one else sees my concern. Perhaps I'm worried for nothing.
"This is a good spot for resting. It's warm and soft. I think I'll attach to it for a while."
The girl grows uneasy. Maybe the water is too cold, or the sensation of all those little suction feet is too strange. She pulls away. I am slow to react because I didn't think it had grabbed her, and before I could stop her-
"What are you doing? Okay, I'll let go. Just give me a second. No, STOP-"
The star shivers limply, torn from its perch, and the girl bounces away, all sea salt and wonder.