Sandcastle

Polly Polo was a girl of maybe five or six; she travelled to the beach one day and gathered up some sticks.

She did not climb the sand dunes and she did not tread the water, she dug her sticks into the ground and used the sand as mortar.

The sun rose high into the sky as Polly Polo built; she made a little castle out of seaweed, salt and silt.

Once inside the little house she turned and closed the door, she crawled into the middle and then lay down on the floor.

She shut her eyes and felt the sand, cool against her palms, then listened to the ocean and relaxed her weary arms.

She heard the distant crash of waves and whistling of the wind, she yawned inside her castle and then gave a little grin.

As she lay there quietly she slowly went to sleep, and as she dreamed the sun went down and the tide began to creep.

She snored a little longer till she finally awoke; she crawled out of her castle and then realized she was soaked.

She’d been asleep for hours and the sea had risen high, the moon between the darkest clouds was bright against the sky.

The tide was rising higher and was now around her knees, her feet were cold from water and her shoulders cold from breeze.

She’d built her little castle where the ocean meets the earth; all the work she’d done that day was totally immersed.

The castle she had built that day was on the ocean floor, she could not keep from crying as she waded to the shore.

Polly Polo walked back home and thought about her day, she thought about her parents and what they’d have to say.

She slowly strode in through the door as street lamps glowed outside; Dad at once put down the phone and Mum began to cry.

"Where have you been all afternoon? Why didn’t you come home?" Then Mum and Dad both hugged her tight and listened to her moan.

"I went down to the beach today, I guess I fell asleep, I built a giant castle, a great big sandy heap. I went into my sandy hut and lay down in the shade; I woke to find much water where not long ago I’d laid. I’m sorry I did not come home, I know that I’ve been bad, but my castles gone forever and that makes me very sad."

The little girl was crying, tears rolling down her face but she began to feel much better in her Mum and Dad’s embrace.

"The castles not important, you can always make another, the important thing is that your safe and we all still have each other. Storms may come and rains may fall and wash away your dreams but we are here to help you and its better than it seems."

The little girl then dried her eyes and wiped her little nose, she couldn’t look them in the eye, she stared down at her toes.

"How about tomorrow we go back down to the beach and build another castle where the tide will never reach. Together we could build it much higher than before, and because we’d be together we’d enjoy it even more."

Polly Polo smiled at this and hugged her parents tight, after all that she had done that day she was happier that night.