Have you ever wished to be in someone else's skin? Well, I lost mine once. How can you lose your skin, I hear you ask. Let me tell you the story. I suppose I should start by introducing myself. My name is Rahni and I'm not your average teenage girl. Why? Because I'm a Selkie. We're magical beings who've lived in the waters around Scotland for thousands of years, happily co-existing with all other life-forms.

So what does this have to do with me losing my skin? To the untrained eye, we Selkies are nothing more than seals, frolicking in the waves, but we're much more than that. We're able to shed our skins and come ashore as humans, but we take a risk by doing this, for we must leave our seal-skins on the beach. Over time many Selkies, mostly women and children, have had their skins stolen by heartless or misinformed humans. I, sadly, am one of them. Let me tell you what happened.

   It begins in August, the month of peace. My sister and I were preparing for the night of the full moon when we'd go upon the beach to dance in the moonlight. It was the only time our parents allowed us to leave the sea and it was something we always looked forward to.

Finally, the night of the full moon arrived and we were on our way. While I liked to swim at a gentle speed, Panina was her usual swift self.

"Hurry up, Rahni! The full moon rarely comes more than once a month! The quicker we get there, the better!"

I sighed, but quickened my pace, for Mother had told us to stay together and I didn't want Panina to stray too far ahead. At last the beach appeared, a long stretch of ivory sand and crushed seashells at the base of towering cliffs.

We stopped in the shallows, the water shining silver in the pale moonlight and schools of tiny pilchards swimming around the rocks. 

Panina dragged herself ashore and rolled onto her back, gazing at the clear sky that was dotted with millions of stars. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

I joined her. "It's always beautiful." We closed our eyes, lying quietly together, and it wasn't long before our skins loosened and fell away. Panina stood, now a tall and elegant woman with flowing golden hair and shining brown eyes. I followed, a graceful dark-haired, green-eyed maiden.

We placed our skins at the base of the cliffs, but I had a strange feeling that someone was watching us. It was a sensation that made me nervous, though I considered myself safe with my sister. As we danced, we sang our Partu-Canticum, a melodious ballad sung by our Mother at each of our births. It was wonderful to share the experience of a midnight dance on the beach with my sister, though it wasn't our first moonlit prance. However, when we'd finished and returned to the cliffs to collect our skins, it was clear that something wasn't quite right. Where there should have been two seal-skins, there was now only one.

"My skin's gone!" I looked around frantically. This couldn't possibly be happening! Someone had stolen my skin!