Charlotte's Beach Day

Sample story

The waves crash against the rocks with a sound like thunder, and Charlotte sighs. This is not the beach day she had in mind. The sky is pale, the sand is damp, and the big stretch of golden shore she imagined is nowhere to be found. She kicks at a pebble and watches it skitter toward a cluster of dark, wet rocks. That's when she sees it — a flash of violet, bright as a jewel, tucked into a crack between the stones. Charlotte crouches down. Her breath catches. There, hidden beneath a curtain of emerald seaweed, is a tide pool no bigger than a dinner plate, and it is alive. A tiny purple sea star clings to the rock's edge. A hermit crab shuffles sideways, its borrowed shell clicking against stone. The water is so clear she can see every grain of sand on the bottom, shimmering like gold dust. Something moves deeper in the pool — something she has never seen before. Charlotte leans closer, her fingers gripping the cool, rough rock, salt spray misting her cheeks. The water ripples, and two tiny eyes peer up at her from beneath a ribbon of kelp…