Walking on the sand There was Shells 🐚 Bottles 🍾 Trash 🗑️ And sticks 🪵

I walked towards the sea And saw a shine I looked at it And picked it up Gently Carefully

I couldn’t tell what it was Covered in sand Dirt And goopy stuff

I washed in the ocean It shimmered in the sunlight A soft green jewel Metal circling it

A pendent perhaps? I took it home And kept it It sat on a shelf With shells Rocks And carved wood sculptures

If you go down to the beach today, you will be in for a surprise. You will see lots of crabs and knitting and lots of weeds to your liking shells scattered all over the place seagulls eating scraps of rubbish lying around. If you go down to the beach today, you’ll be in for a surprise as the tide and the tide will gather you up all of the detritus of the human rubbish into the water onto the beach

When the the Beach Washing up buy the sand bar when you can find something really gross in the water or the sand like glass and Cans because they are really bad and dirty he can how clean at the beach somebody will help you or get a partner help you out just keep it nice and tidy and spotless

I’ve been at this shoreline for hours. The air has cooled and the sun is slowly hiding away. There are no more children running about, or adults relaxing upon soft towels.

The ocean now deposits debris and other miscellaneous items onto the sand as if running a routine cleanup. I haven’t moved from my crouched position, and my muscles ache when I adjust myself and get back on my feet. I do not know what awaits me when I return home.

But then, my toes touch something cool and smooth. A glass bottle with a letter trapped inside gleamed in the leftover rays. I reach down and pull off the cork. The raised label brings me Deja vu. Coka Cola was a staple in my family before my father died. We’d reuse them so we wouldn’t have to spend money on cups. I unfolded the note within its fragile containment and reread the handwriting of my six-year-old self. It was almost illegible, but I had hoped it would reach him. I held it up in front of me as if praising an excellent work of art when I see something strange through the thin parchment. Large lettering much different from mine. Each stroke was penned in black, swoops. I turn it over and gasp.

**I’m alive, Ellie. **

My heart leaps in my chest. How long has this bottle been searching for me? Is my father on an island? Living his life on a boat? Laying on the beaches of another country awaiting his daughter’s return? How did he survive the crash? I take each corner and fold it with care for fear of the information being destroyed and becoming false. I slip it into the left cup of my bra and venture home.

The television blasts on the news, and almost all lights are off. My mother is fast asleep on the recliner, her jaw slack as she snores. A bottle of beer slips from her relaxed fingers, adding onto the pile next to her. Her black ashtray reeks of smoke on the coffee table.

I tiptoe in my room and decide to keep the note to myself. At least for a little bit will my Dad’s words belong to me.

Debris With a story Not written on paper sourced through energy and our eyes Old items With mud Just a beautiful disguise Shirts labeled with names That lasted through rain No signs of pain organized thinking A glass for Sunday night drinking A net I bet an animal couldn’t escape from Promising signs the animal did escape A mess that looks distressed Bound with beautiful memories at best

Beach detritus. You always hope you’ll find Aladdin’s lamp or the corner of a buried treasure chest when you comb the beach. But there is always just beach detritus. And people’s garbage. People can be so disgusting. That’s when I saw it. Lying there amongst the mostly empty food containers and wrappers. A gold ring with a diamond.

The diamond ring glinted in the sunlight. A special ray of sunshine had hit it just right so that I was the only one who could see it. I walked, nay ran, to it. After all these years of beach combing, had I finally found a treasure worth keeping? I moved the wrappers and food containers (Did they have food in them?) away from my prize. “Come to me, my precious.”

I was just about to grab it when I realized that there was something inside the ring. A finger! Oh no. A detached finger! The horror. But then, it moved. And I saw my great folly. The finger was attached to a hand, which was attached to an arm, which was attached to a body. And the food containers were not garbage, which was why many of them still had food in them. It was somebody’s picnic. I had stumbled upon somebody’s messy picnic. And somebody lying amongst her own garbage. Or perhaps she had just been resting her hand on the ground near the wrappings. Leaning on her arm as she talked.

She noticed how close I was to her hand. She shouted, “Joey! Get that crab away from me!”

Joey laughed as he shooed me away. “It looked like he wanted your ring, Sophie.”

I obliged Joey and slinked away. He thwarted me this time, but he would be back. And I would be waiting. Waiting amongst the beach detritus.

[Note: There is a sequel called Again Amongst the Beach Detritus.]

Aleila dug through the rubble, hoping to find something. Anything. Why did this happen? She didn't know. The hurricane had come so unexpectedly. Thousands had died. But it was her fault. She had let down her guard. She heard someone yelling her name behind her. Percy. His beach shirt was unbuttoned from lifeguard training, and his black hair blew in all directions from the wind. He was tan with dimples… and also adorable. “What,” Aleila yelled loudly, her voice drowning out from the wind. She had black hair as well, but rosier skin and a blue beach dress on. They were both barefoot. He ran over to her. “Are you okay?” She could hear his voice more clearly now. “Fine.” The wind was so ferocious, it pulled her in every direction, and she felt as if someone was screaming in her ear. Finally, she couldn't take it. Aleila knelt and put her hands over her ears. Until the wind stopped. It was painfully quiet. Percy spoke again. “Aleila you have some explaining to do.” She stood, turning her head in every direction. Piles of rubble lay around her as the sunset. “Aleila please, what can I do?” “Help me.” She began digging through the rubble. Without a question, Percy began digging too. There were broken picture frames, bottles, and bits and pieces of soggy wallpaper. But most strange were the empty bullet shells, everywhere. The powder must have simply been washed out in the storm. Finally, Aleila found what she was looking for. She stood. “What is that?” asked Percy. Aleila smiled sadly. He could never understand. She brought out the large orchid that had, (somehow), survived the storm. What was she thinking? Of course it survived.

It was magic.

The sun was beating down and my skin was on fire. The sand was stuck on my skin and was in my long dark blonde hair. as I struggled to get up to my feet I noticed there was peices of wood on the shore.

I managed to prop myself up I didnt see the ship anymore. I dont remeber the day prior and I didnt see the rest of the crew that was on the ship. “Im finally free” I uttered to myself. I had been locked up under the boat for months. This was the first glance of sunlight since I left my home. and I am unsure how I got to this island alone.

The only thing that I had with me was my pack. maybe I mangaed to grab someting before I mangaed to escape. I clapsed to my knees to take a look. as I rubbed my necalace I looked. in my pack I manged to grab a pocket of gold coins and jewels, a jar of rum that they kept in barrels next to my cell. and my loves dagger and pocket compass.

“what happened” I asked myself. I looked back at the sea, I saw the ship that has been the baine of my existance sinking. it was silent. normally when ship goes down you see movement as the crew abandons ship but there was nothing as if there was not a living soal left, which lead my to my next question my secret invloved and how did I escape.

People always say ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ ,but they don’t live by it.

I was only lived by this saying. When I was young I remember me, my brother, and my parents going to the local landfill to look around for anything of use/value. Always came out empty handed for anything of value, but always came out with something that was useful. Until we did find something.

It was just another day we went to the landfill. Then me and my brother were just playing around and looking around every once in awhile, but where mostly playing. Then I saw a small shiny object in one of the landfills.

“What the heck is that?” I said softly

As I got closer it looked like a ring with a huge diamond that was a really vivid red color. I picked up the ring then I ran to my parents.

“MOM! DAD! LOOK I FOUND SOMETHING!”

As I got to them they had a skeptical look to them but they looked and were amazed that the ring.

We left the landfill in rush and went to a jeweler to get the price of the ring. Then we’re in shock because of the price difference of the ring

“Your telling me that the price of the ring is all most 2 million dollars!” Mom said shock and out of breath.

Jewler with a really layed back voice like he dealt with something everyday “Yes ma’am that is how much this ring is worth.”

“How much will you buy it for!” Mom said excitedly basically shouting every word at the man.

“It’s only right to pay you what the ring is worth. Here a check for 1.7 million dollars.”

That’s how my family got out of poverty.

“Today you will be cleaning up the beach as punishment. I expect it to be cleared by the end of the week.” Mr. Tyr unfolded a chair with his remaining hand and sat down to watch us clean the dirty beach as our community service. I had been caught underage drinking and I stepped on a policeman’s foot so I was punished with cleaning up the beach. I had started to clean it up, picking the less dirtier of items to put in the trashbag, when I came across a golden braclet. “Can I keep this?” I showed Tyr the wristband and he nodded. I proceeded to pick up the trash finding more and more valuables. A wristwatch, a slightly wet leather notebook, a necklace. I wondered how such beutiful items had washed up all in the same place. The wierdest part was that the others weren’t finding anything of value. Only me. I looked over to Tyr. He caught my eye and winked. I looked back at the ocean and the was a woman on a small rowboat. the woman looked like she was around sixty. She had long grey hair that flew behind her in the wind. _I want my ring. _I heard a raspy voice in my head. Did it say ring? I had picked up a pearl ring that I had found next to a plank of wood. I was. a slight shade of blue and it fit perfectly on my index finger. Give me my ring. Did no one see this? Some lady was floating right in front of us staring directly at me! _Who are you? I though loadly. _It was a long shot but if this lady was real and speaking through my thoughts it was worth a shot. _I am Ran. Goddess of the sea. That’s my wedding ring. Give me my ring. _I looked at the peice of jewelry sparkling on my finger. It no longer looked like a pearl but a small golden and blue sphere. _Give me my ring. Your lucky Tyr is with you or you’d be dead by now. _Tyr. I looked behind me yet again and the man was standing five feet behind me. “God of war, at you service.” I looked back and forth between the two dieties. _Give me the ring. NOW! _“You might want to give her the ring.” The god behind me eyed the peice of jewelry on my finger. I tried to slip off the ring but it remained on my finger. “It’s stuck,” I whimpered, “I can’t take it off!” And just like that the goddess lunged. I swore she would justt fall into the water but she appered right in frount of me with a knife to my chest and a hand around my throat. “Please—“ I closed my eyes. The last thing I saw was the face of a woman with sharp teeth lusting over a ring I found on the beach. Over a Norse treasure belonging to a goddess.