THE SEA BABY

It was raining the night she was found. The sea screamed and howled at the island, throwing the water and all it contained on to shore in a rage of wind and rain. Melody slowly walked up to the steps leading up to the small cottage at the top of the hill. The storm made the narrow stones dangerously slippery, and she did not want to risk falling. She wiped a strand of her long red hair out of her wet face and looked down. She carefully placed each of her delicate feet down on each step and held on to the railing her grandparents put alongside the stone walkway.

That day, Melody walked along the shore with her small blue picnic basket full of cheese, melon balls, and strawberries. She loved the small beach that was directly under the hill she lived on. No one came to this area as it was blocked off by cliffs and huge boulders so it left her a tiny private beach of her own. to the right of her little beach, laid a small island where seals came to sit in the sun. She would sit far away from them so she would not scare them and watch them play and sunbathe. Seals made her happy.

She pulled a blanket out of her basket and sat down near a large rock to rest.

She had fallen asleep and now regrets that decision. As she reached the top step, there was a whiling sound below that sounded like a baby. She turned on her heels and looked down. A baby was lying near the store line. Panicked, Melody ran down the steps, forgetting all danger to the infant. She looked around wilding and saw no one. ′Where had the baby come from?′ She wondered as she gently picked the screaming child up. The babe twisted in anguish in her arms causing her to nearly drop it a few times before she got a good hold. Looking around the storm covered beach she yelling out, ‘HELLO?’ and waited. There was no answer. she tried again and nothing happened. She decided the child would be safer indoors than out