Harley and the Pebble That Smiled

Harley found a pebble so shiny that it seemed to be smiling.

It lay in the middle of a small patch of sand, right where the sand met a ledge. Far above, dim light wandered down through the deep water. It slipped along the ledge and made the pebble shine like a tiny moon.

Harley, a young sea cucumber, gave it a careful nudge. The pebble rolled in a circle and stopped beside Harley’s belly.

“Hello,” Harley said. “I’m keeping you.”

Harley tucked the treasure close and scooted across the clearing. The sand puffed around them like flour around a baker’s toes. Harley tried to look very grand, but being a sea cucumber made grand scooting tricky. Their back end bumped a little ridge.

“Perfect,” Harley announced. “That was on purpose.”

Just then, Tessa the sea butterfly fluttered down from the ledge. She had a tiny shell tucked beneath one wing. When the dim light touched it, the shell caught a bright little gleam.

“Oh!” said Tessa. “Your pebble is lovely.”

“Thank you,” said Harley. “I found it, so I’m going to enjoy it.”

“Would you let me look at it for a moment?” Tessa asked. “I can show you my shell, too.”

Harley thought about this. Looking at a friend’s treasure sounded nice. Letting go of their own treasure sounded less nice.

“Just one moment,” Harley said, placing the pebble on the sand.

Tessa leaned close. Harley leaned close, too. Their noses nearly touched.

“Now it’s my turn to hold it,” said Tessa.

“But I haven’t had my turn yet,” said Harley.

“You just put it down,” Tessa said. “That seemed like the beginning of my turn.”

Harley tried to remember whose turn had begun. The pebble sat between them, looking pleased with all the attention.

“I’ll count,” Harley said. “One…two…wait. Was that my turn or yours?”

Tessa’s shell caught the light again. Harley looked from the shell to the pebble, then back at Tessa.

“Maybe we need a better plan,” Harley said.

The two friends settled onto the sand, each watching the treasures and neither quite sure what to do next.

Harley drew a little line in the sand with one tip. “We can take turns on each side of this line,” they said. “You hold the pebble first, then I hold your shell.”

Tessa placed her shell on the sand beside the line. Harley picked up the pebble and held it for a while. It felt smooth and cool, like a small, friendly lump of the moon.

“Your turn,” Harley said, and set it down.

Tessa lifted the pebble with her wings. Harley tried not to stare. They stared anyway.

“Now it’s my turn with the shell,” Harley said.

Tessa passed it over. Harley admired its curled edge. Then Harley gave it back and reached for the pebble.

“Is it my turn?”

“I think so,” said Tessa.

“Or is it yours?”

They looked at the sandy line. A little current had rubbed it away. The line was gone.

“Oh, bother,” said Harley. “The sand has forgotten the plan.”

Tessa gave a small laugh. “It forgets everything. Yesterday it forgot my footprint before I finished making it.”

They tried again. Tessa held the pebble, and Harley held the shell. Then they both set their treasures down at once. They each reached for the pebble. Their wings and arms gently bumped, and the pebble rolled away from the sand patch.

“After it!” cried Harley.

The pebble stopped against the ledge, right beneath the place where the dim light came through. Tessa’s shell, still in Harley’s hands, caught the same light. Its little gleam fell across the pebble.

Harley paused. The pebble’s shine and the shell’s bright fleck seemed to join together. Neither treasure looked lonely now. The ledge wore a lovely, quiet glow, and the two friends’ faces glowed along with it.

“Wait,” said Harley. “What if we don’t pass them back and forth? What if we put them side by side?”

Tessa fluttered over. “Then we can look at both at the same time.”

Harley nudged the pebble into place. Tessa set her shell beside it. The light gathered around the two treasures, making a cozy little spot on the ledge.

“We solved it,” Harley said.

“And nobody had to count,” said Tessa.

Harley smiled. “I was very good at counting, though.”

Harley and Tessa settled beside the treasures. The ledge was just wide enough for two friends, if one friend was a sea cucumber and the other was a sea butterfly.

Harley scooted close to the pebble. Tessa perched beside her shell. Together they watched the light pass over the ledge. The pebble held a pale shine along one edge, and the shell answered with its bright little fleck.

“It looks like the pebble is smiling at your shell,” Tessa whispered.

“Maybe they’re telling each other a joke,” Harley whispered back.

“What kind of joke?”

Harley considered. “Why did the pebble roll across the sand?”

Tessa tilted her head. “Why?”

“To get to the other ledge!” Harley said.

Tessa laughed so hard that she had to steady herself with one wing. Harley laughed, too, though the joke was so silly that even the pebble seemed to be holding back a chuckle.

They sat quietly again. The deep water moved around the clearing, slow as a sleepy turtle. No one needed to count turns. No one needed to hold a treasure all alone. Harley could enjoy the pebble while Tessa enjoyed her shell, and both could enjoy the little place their treasures made together.

After a while, Harley touched the pebble with one finger.

“I’d like to take it home now,” Harley said. “It’s still my special treasure.”

“Of course,” said Tessa. “And I’ll take my shell.”

Harley lifted the pebble. Tessa tucked her shell beneath her wing. The ledge looked a little less bright without them, but it still seemed to remember their shared light.

They traveled side by side across the sand. Harley’s scoot left a wiggly trail, and Tessa’s wings made little swishes in the water.

“Next time we find something special,” Tessa said, “we’ll know what to do.”

“Put it on the ledge?” asked Harley.

“Or share it.”

Harley carried the pebble home, holding it close. The small shine traveled with them, and so did the warm memory of the two treasures resting side by side. By the time Harley reached home, the clearing was quiet, and Harley was ready to curl up and rest, happy with a treasure of their own and a lovely moment they had made together.