The Sea Sings a Song For Those Willing To Listen

Peppermint lives a boring life.
And he likes it that way.

He likes routines and simply cherishing the life around him.
He went to school and sat by the sea and helped his parents at home and played with his pet and then repeated it all again, a simple cycle.

But

A little bit too simple.

Every cookie had some type of quirk, there were cookies that were unnaturally good at weapon wielding , those who had magic powers of all kinds, those who could transform, the list went on.

And Peppermint had none of it.

Some cookies are not born with their power , it comes down the line but Peppermint couldn’t help but feel some kind of shame for being the only kid in his class who hadn’t discovered their power yet.

As he walked the ever so familiar path to the beach these thoughts circled around in his mind and he silently wished he had something that could make him fit in too.

The beach was empty as it usually was on weekdays in the fall, the wind toyed with the sand and. When he finally arrived to his usual spot he noticed something usual sitting near his spot in the rocks where he’d normally sit and watch the waves. He approached with caution, crouching down to see what it was wedged between the rocks.

On the sand was giant blue conch shell, it’s inner layer was striped white and blue oddly matching his hat. He grew closer and sniffed the shell, the smell of a mint flowed through his nostrils; that explained the similar color pallet.

Peppermint grabbed the shell after eying it, it wasn’t heavy in his palms and the shell wasn’t too large as if it was made to fit into his hands. He put his eye to the hole to see if any crabs inhabited this shell, it was empty. Peppermint has collected shells before, a whole shelf in his room is dedicated to shells that peaked his interest. Compared to all his other shells this one felt different when he held it in his hands. It seemed to hum as if it was alive and reacted to his hands, something in his chest felt comforted.

He took to the rocks near the edge closest to the water and sat cleaning off the tip of the shell, he didn’t know why but he felt the urge to blow it and see what wonderful sound it would make. He closed his lips around the seashell and blew. He jumped slightly. The noise kind of startled him, it was like a high pitched horn. He tried it once more, now used to the new sound and closed his eyes contently.

Peppermint was not one to play musical instruments like some of his peers in his class but he loved the sound the shell created, calm but powerful. Suddenly the waves near him got larger, crashing further and further up the beach. Peppermint squinted at the water as he saw a dark shadow approach in the water. He stood up preparing to run but he stopped when he saw what had appeared from out the water. A giant blue whale stuck its head out the water facing towards him. The smell on the beach shifted from salty to salty with a hint of mint peppermint, like him, like the shell.

Unable to look away he watched as it grew closer before stopping below his rock. Although he knew how dangerous it was for whales to be this close to shore because they had the chance of getting his stuck his astonishment took over his rationality. “Wow” he said as he stared into its eyes it. Curious, Peppermint reached his hand to pat it’s head, the whale lifted it’s head further to meet his hand. Seeing it’s action of friendliness Peppermint found himself sighing with relief, letting go of the breath he didn’t know he was hold. Scooting further on the rock to get closer the whale let out a noise of happiness when it saw this then switched to making more noises of unhappiness when Peppermint stopped moving.

“What brought you here..?”

The whale made a noise mimicking the shell.

Peppermint widened his eyes and looked down at the shell “This..?”

The whale made a gesture toward the ocean, it swam as if going away then pointed its tail at Peppermint.

“You want me to go out there?”

The whale made a noise of affirmation.

“I’m not sure I can swim that good.”

The whale splashed water on its back.

“On your back, are you sure?“

The whale hummed happily.

Pepprmint looked at the shore behind him then back at the ocean ahead of him, after nodding to himself he slowly climbed on the back of the whale, sitting the shell in one arm.

“I can’t hold on...” he said unsurely.

The whale let out a low hum of reinsurance and took off.

Despite what he thought, the ride wasn’t bumpy at all, it was smooth and the whale swam at a pace that prevented Peppermint from falling off. The waves that threatened to come too close we’re easily dealt with by the whale. Peppermint no longer was nervous and enjoyed the ride. The sea breeze made his lips tug up. He sat playing with the shell spinning it around. He brought it up to his ear and the waves sounded more alluring. The whale hummed but with the shell near his ear Peppermint heard words instead.

“The water is nice today.”

Pepper blinked oddly “Did you just speak ?!”

The whale replied, ”It’s the magic shell little one . It’s the messenger of the sea, all who hear it’s call will come and you’ll hear us as well.”

Peppermint took the shell away from his ear and stared at it shockingly.
“A treasure like this was just lying on the beach..?”

The whale let water out of his hole as a way of expressing his laughter.

Peppermint put the shell back to his ear.

“It has to be meant to be if you could use it so easily, not everyone can. Lady Sea Fairy must of felt you were worthy!”

“Sea fairy..”, he mumbled to himself.
“So you never visited anyone else before?!”

“No you’re the first, pretty special!”

Peppermint brought the shell back down and closed his eyes again blowing into the shell heart full of emotion.

If anyone can hear me , I’m happy to be the first for once. I’m happy I have a connection to my favorite thing in the world, I’m happy that I can be called special too!

He sat there for a second taking in the scenery until he heard squeaks in the water, his eyes widened.

Dozens of dolphins began to swim next to the whale , jumping out the water to catch a glimpse of peppermint, the one who called them. All types of fish swam in front of them like a guide.

Looking from side to side, Peppermint let out a laugh of disbelief; the feeling of happiness swelled up in his chest.

This was where he was meant to be, what he was meant to do, and the ocean welcomed him with open arms.