The Shell | Teen Ink

The Shell

December 11, 2011
By TheSkyOwesMeRain GOLD, Irvine, California
TheSkyOwesMeRain GOLD, Irvine, California
13 articles 1 photo 299 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments which take your breath away.

You are only as strong as your weakest link.


It stands out among the smoothly undulating waves of sand, stormy gray and creamy white against the endless hills of tan. The first thing she notices as she picks it up is that it is a conch shell, mostly gray but with a few white and brown stripes, and spikes that have weathered down to a blunt tip. She brushes the sand off of its smooth surface, inspects the pearly insides, and determines that this shell seems different from all the others.

She turns around, brandishing the shell in the air, and shouts, “Look what I found!” to the other person following behind her. “Look Mom!”

Her mom bends down, and touches the ridges on the shell gently. “It’s very beautiful. I’ve never seen a conch shell like this one before.”

The girl smiles very slightly. She knows her mom is still a little sad because her dad had not come to visit yet, and she wants to cheer her up. “Can I keep it so I can show it to Dad when he comes?”

There is a small glimmer in her mother’s eyes, but she doesn’t pay any attention to it. “Keep it. I think this shell is special.” With that, her mom stands, and walks away, head turned towards the ocean. She’s been looking at the ocean for a long time now.

The shell lies in the little girl’s hand, heavy and cold. She clasps her hands to bring the shell to her ear; she can hear the soft breath of the sea.
***

She does not understand what they mean by suicide. It is such a harsh word, and it simply cannot be what has happened to her mom. She shakes her head furiously. Her mom had only gone down to the beach for a swim, promising to be back soon. But months had gone by, until she was all alone, like she is now.

Her thoughts wander to her dad. Perhaps her mom had only gone to search for him. She will be back soon, she thinks bitterly. I need her.

She doesn’t even realize she has the gray and white conch shell in her hand.

Someone knocks on the door. “Miss?” The officer with the funny-looking six-sided hat pokes his head through. “Are you alright?”

No, she wants to say. I’m not.

“I just came to tell you that Mrs. Katherine has agreed to adopt you…”

Who’s Mrs. Katherine? Oh right, she is her mom’s best friend.

“…to tell you that lives always go on, even after there are -”

“Where is my mom?” Her voice is quiet, hopeless.

The officer sighs. “I’m sorry, miss, but it’s been a year, and we don’t think we can find her. She’s gone.”

In the morning, she wakes up in her new home, one she doesn’t really want to live in. Sinking to the floor, she holds onto the shell for dear life. Everything around her is blindingly bright, and she can’t see through all the colors. Her face feels hot, until she is aware of the tears running from her eyes.

“…lives always go on…”

She instinctively raises the shell to her ear, and gasps in confusion.

She can no longer hear the breathing.
***

The sea breeze swept over the cliff, as she stood near the edge of the drop, eyes closed. It felt so peaceful here, standing above the ocean, yet she was about to do the unthinkable.

No. She’d been slowly dying ever since she’d last been here, with her husband. They had just celebrated their sixth anniversary, and were very proud of their daughter, who looked just like him. Being locked in a close embrace, the two of them had been unaware of the cliff they were standing upon, but their quiet words of love were cut short when the ground beneath her husband’s feet vanished. His feet had slipped, and although she tried to hold him, it was too late; she was forced to watch as his normally tender and loving expression changed into one of pure horror, and his body plummeted into the frothing sea below.

Afterwards, she had not been brave enough to tell her daughter of her father’s death. In her mind, she still refused to believe he was dead. Perhaps this was why she wanted to leave. Because of her cowardice, her daughter believed that she still had a father. Dimly, she wondered if her daughter would hate her for what she was about to do.

“Can I keep it so I can show it to Daddy when he comes?”

“Keep it. I think this shell is special.”

Her daughter would be better off living with somebody else. Yes, she still loved her, but she also loved another, someone she would have died for.

She opened her eyes. The sun was setting, the sky ablaze with fire.

“Look what I found! Look Mommy!”

“It’s very beautiful.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered into the wind. “Please forgive me.”

She hoped that her daughter would keep the shell in remembrance.

And then, the sea was rising up to envelop her, and she breathed one more time.

I’m coming.



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This article has 4 comments.


on Feb. 27 2013 at 9:11 pm
Mantequilla SILVER, Eagan, Minnesota
8 articles 0 photos 79 comments
Wow. So deep and heartwrenching... Suicide is such a horrible thing and you captured that perfectly. While that sounds negative, it's really positive-- a good thing that you're able to convey such emotion in a piece of writing. Nice work. 5/5

on Feb. 13 2013 at 9:55 am
mattisonteeter GOLD, Los Angeles, California
15 articles 0 photos 54 comments
Your piece was so beautiful. There was so much loss being experienced in this and being seen through a young vulnerable girls eyes made it that much more powerful. I felt very moved by this and thr part where it reads "she could no longer hear the breathing" made me tear up becauseI feel like I could feel what the girl was feeling in the poem.   Thank you so much for sharing this   -Mattison

on Jan. 5 2013 at 3:06 am
CoffeeandCuts BRONZE, Banks, Oregon
3 articles 0 photos 6 comments
This was incredible... and extremely touching. I love the beach more than any place on earth and you honestly are a fantastic writer.

on Dec. 2 2012 at 7:33 pm
mahliahing GOLD, Polk City, Iowa
17 articles 8 photos 12 comments
That was soooooo GOOD! :) deep! But so good! :) Woowww :)