excerpt

She picked up the shells that were buried beneath the vines of sea weed, still baring the heavy clumps of leaves that had grown from the stems. The cool, grainy sand rubbed on her skin and stuck to her damp feet. She had always found it interesting that sand never stuck to her nails, covered in an iridescent pink film from when she had painted them several nights before. The ocean’s breeze made her flaxen hair dance as it whipped around her neck and cheeks, sticking to her eye lashes and lips. She leaned down, discovering a blue pebble on the beach. Picking it up, she held it to the sky. The glass had been broken long ago, sucked into the tumbling waves until all that was left was a small orb of azure blue. She looked thoughtfully at the tiny treasure that she had found buried in the sand.