A Short Story : The Story Of The Seashells

“Bye, Charlie! See you next week!” Emily waved goodbye to Charles as he pulled out his little old shrimp boat out of the dock. Charles smiled and waved back to his girlfriend. He continued on. The taste of seaweed filled his nose and mouth. The winds were extremely calm. It was a little unusual as it was the ocean, but Charles didn’t seem to mind. But this was his life. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a premature seagull floating on the water. Two adults flew in next to it. They must be their parents. He yawned and closed his eyes. He only got four hours of sleep that night. When he looked at the seagulls again, the premature seagull was attempting to fly away with a leg missing. Blood flowed through the water. It screamed in pain. It started to sink. Charles watched the drowning seagull submerge. POW! A figure that appeared to be twenty feet long rammed into the seagull at about 20 miles an hour. Seconds later, just a down feather remained.

To begin with, the narrator’s emotional bond that grew with her grandmother was slow but impactful. One day she was sick and her grandmother had taken care of her, using homemade balm she describes as “sun shining through the darkness of your eyelids” (Viramontes 33). As a result of this feeling of care and warmth she became fond of her time with her grandmother. Out of all her sibling, she was the one that chose to visit her and help with chores. On the contrary to the beliefs of her sisters, the

In Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Anne depicts her experiences during her vacation on a beach. She uses aspects of the beach as metaphors that relates back to humanity. These personifications can also be related to similarities between humans and the environment. Throughout the book, there are lessons to be learned from the sea, which are essentially the “gifts” from the sea. The narrator uses shells or different features of the beach to describe how humans can learn from the sea and how the relationship between humans and nature has changed.

Grey, the sea stretched for acres. Beneath the oceans topography, shoals of fish swam through and around the ship wrecks in a frenzied motion. Here, all stood still. Only slightly did my rowing boat rock, creaking in the tide. We rolled to and fro slightly; the seaweed twisted and writhed beneath the hull. Like a snake, it squirmed away, coming to rest only after we had passed. The oars made long, slow and deliberate wakes through the lagoon. I stopped sculling; the boat glided silently towards the stony, promontory beach. We had landed.

After traveling for 3-hours, my family arrived at our beach house in Ocean City Maryland. After making a quick trip for groceries, we decided to go to bed and set alarm clocks for early in the morning. After a good nights sleep, I woke up to the pleasant smell of bacon and eggs. After feasting on a delightful breakfast, my brothers and I began to get ready for the beach. We went down the creaky wooden stairs of our beach house and unlocked the storage room located beneath the home. I decided to carry both of the floral umbrellas while my brothers took the portable beach chairs. After grabbing all of our gear, we headed back up the weathered stairs and towards the distant sand dunes. As we approached the entrance of the sand dunes, the satisfying sounds of the ocean's waves started to become closer and closer. Once we traveled closer, the vivid orange sun began to ascend from the deep sea. At this early point in the morning, the sand walkway enclosed by

“She had wonderful fables of mythological creatures from Scottish folklore. They were called Selkie’s—I’m sure you’ve heard of them, you being from

Meanwhile in the house, fourteen year old Aaliyah was hurriedly slicing tomatoes into a pot when… “Aaliyah!” called the housewife. “I need you to run quickly down to the stream and fill a pail with water. We have traders here. We will serve them dinner and let them clean up with the water you're getting.”

She started studying all about the whales and worked so hard. She started taking classes to get into the company and kept talking about how she was going to do that. Her teacher told her,” You’re going to do great on the exam soon, you are going to join those kids who are working with whales right now.”

Jonah was driving down the old road one late night when he experienced one of the most terrifying events in his life. He probably should have listened to his roommates stories. If he did, none of this would have happened. He would have realized that his roommate isn’t all that crazy after all.

Lost for a moment, you wonder where you are. The bark of the aimlessly wondering dog brings you back to reality causing your surroundings become clearer. Underneath the ocean floor, small rocks sparkle like tiny gems. Each of them bring a beauty of their own, making you feel part of the ocean. The first whiff is particularly salty that soon dims into an intoxicatingly sweet smell. By inhaling the fresh air into your lungs, you somehow manage to reach paradise. Exploring underwater, the wonders of the ocean are screaming for your attention. The blue and red corals are so uniquely shaped that you cant help but wonder how under-appreciated the ocean is. Everything is perfect, and your mind is open. Thoughts are floating into the stillness of the ocean and the air as time passes by. When sunset reaches, you unwillingly leave the ocean and return to the boardwalk to your family. Look back one last time, the silent beach and the lifeless sand seem washed up from all of the movement of the day. Even the ocean seems desperate for company, but until tomorrow the beach will settle into a colorless

In actuality, I leisurely stroll down the shore. Crabs skitter by and then burrow in the sand at the sound of footsteps. I cling to my bucket, so it doesn’t fly away in the breeze. My dad holds my hand to keep me steady on my wobbly legs. The tide comes and goes, washing over us and depositing new shells at our feet. Each one different from than the last. Slowly, I bend down to survey all of the glistening shells. There are so many choices, and I just stare blankly at them all. Overwhelmed with all the options, I have no idea what to do except. I pick all the shells up and dump them in my bucket.

After settling in and having a light lunch we discussed our plan for the day. For our first day in paradise, we had decided to spend it on the beach. After seeing what it had to offer earlier that morning no one objected. The warm, salty air streamed through the open windows of the car as we cruised to the water. Eager to wade into the calm, soft, waves, I plucked my snorkel and goggles from my bag. No matter how deep I went, I could still see straight to the bottom. On the bottom, I found dozens of colorful shells, one starfish that had submerged itself under the sand, and a few schools of shimmering fish that would dart away when I attempted to catch them with a net.

Swimming against the tide, further from her pod now alone without family or friends. Diving in and out of waves as they splash against other waves. Moving faster and further from shore, before dipping under and found herself in the middle of a sea turtle clan. Nearly a million of them and she wondered how they stayed together so easily. the turtles swam slow yet graceful like a dance.

Serena glanced up at the ceiling as her feet dangled below the freezing, cold water below her. She spun in circles, jumping up from the water while the bright, beautiful blue dolphins circled around her. Serena jumps up one last time, falling on her back as she hits the water. “I can not believe I am here,” she thinks to herself. “It’s a wonderland, a paradise in fact. I love it here.” Serena still facing the ceiling begins to slowly stray away from her previous spot in the water as the dolphins follow along side her. Her head turns towards the football field on her right and then turns to the soccer field on her left. She admires the fields and begins to hear band music over powering the loud noises coming from the active games going on. Serena’s eyes start to close as she drifts into the deep end of the pool. She continues to take in the band music as it the pace starts to slow. The dolphins form around her to keep in away from the sidelines. Serena now in a trance falls into her dream. “She is back in the city following the signs that lead her to the swimming pool. The signs all pointed to it; everywhere in town there was a sign aiming towards the new sensory swimming pool that had been placed in the middle of town. For days people have been waiting in long lines in order to experience this new way of swimming including, Serena. She stood in line for hours along with many others in hopes to experience this adventure. After hours of waiting it was finally her turn to go

“Look at that sunset,” proclaimed Charles. It was the moment when the sun cast a hazy red and orange across the horizon of the dark blue ocean. We made our way to the sandy beach. It was embedded with thousands of footprints from both visiting campers, as well as the snow white seagulls. We walked along the beach with the waves nearly get us wet, passing drift wood and heaps of seaweed. The only sounds heard were the crashing wave of the ocean and occasional cawing of seagulls.