Stories by C.K.Gurin - A Day At The Beach

A Day At The Beach

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon. Madison and her friends Sofia and Noa had spent the whole day at the beach. It was getting close to sunset now, and as the three of them sat together, half in, half out of the water, putting the finishing touches on a great big sandcastle, they admired the changing colors of the sky.

"Woof!" went a happy bark.

Madison's three pets were playing together close to shore. They splashed about in the shallows, playing tag.

Each of her pets took turns, leaping into the air whenever one of the little waves rolled in to splash them with pearl colored seafoam.

Madison looked around, her glance taking in the entire area.

There weren't too many people walking along that part of the beach, and that's one reason why she liked this area so much.

You really can't be too careful, Madison thought, as she reached into the water to gently lift and admire a starfish that wandered by.

Somebody might happen to notice that her pets were...different, she considered. Madison smiled, carefully returned the wiggly little starfish to the water and watched it scamper away.

Well, her pets weren't all that different to Madison and her friends Sofia and Noa, of course.

They were used to them.

Madison's parents thought she was responsible enough to take care of them. So first they had adopted Sophie, who was only a pup. Then came Chloe when she was a mere kitten, and last came Coco, with her bright colors and her cheerful chattering that soon became words and eventually clever phrases.

Madison turned towards shore again and whistled for her pets. She then reached below the water's surface and untied Sophie's leash, the one that she had looped around her waist for safekeeping.

She hadn't wanted to just leave the leash sitting there on the sand. Somebody might think it had been lost and turn it into the Stardust Beach Lost and Found Department, which was located way, way over the dunes, on the farthest side of the big asphalt parking lot.

Yes. This was a much better idea.

She'd had the idea to wrap it around her waist when Sofia and Noa talked her into a spirited game of hide and seek earlier that day.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...Ready or not...here I come!!" the girls had taken turns calling.

The three of them had laughed and played for hours.

Madison and her friends had promised to be home before dark, and judging by the sky, that wasn't too far away now.

The girls were having a sleepover at Madison's and they were all going to catch an early movie.

Their local cinema, Theatre by the Sea, was showing Dr.Suess's "The Lorax." Madison and Sofia and Noa had already seen it, of course, but all three of them had decided that they wanted to see it again and Madison's Dad was a pretty good sport about that kind of thing. Besides, he liked the movie too.

Madison's big sister was going to the mall with their Mom, so while Samantha and their Mom shopped, her Dad had volunteered to take Madison and her friends to the movies. Provided that they shared their popcorn with him, he told them. Her Dad was a big tease.

"Sophie!" yelled Madison."Come ON!" A sopping wet, mischievous little dog face turned in her direction, a great clump of seaweed hanging out of her mouth. At that very moment a cat's paw burst from the water and snagged Sophie's seaweed prize in a classic game of "got-it."

Not to be outdone, as the seaweed trailed along the surface, now in Chloe's possession, it abruptly changed directions and went airborne, amidst a multi-colored flash and the triumphant shout from Coco, that parroted the name of the game, "Got-It."

All three girls burst out laughing. "Do we have time to stop by the playground on the way home?" Noa asked Madison.

"Ooh, yes," Sofia chimed in. "I call first up on the big slide!"

"Dibs on the waterfall swing set," hollered Noa.

Sophie's wet nose nudged Madison's hand as she snapped the leash onto the bright red collar.

Chloe started to say meow but sputtered and coughed when she caught an unexpected mouthful of salt water.

Coco fluttered excitedly around the three girls. Coco is VERY fond of popcorn.

"OK, everybody ready to go?" asked Madison, surrounded by her pets, Sophie, her Dogfish, Chloe, her Catfish, and Coco, her Parrotfish.

Now you know why Madison's pets might be thought by most people who visit that part of the beach to be a little... bit...unusual.

"Ready?" Madison asked again. Everybody nodded.

As Madison's excited pets led the way, Madison, Sofia and Noa turned towards the open sea, and with a giggle and a splash of their tails, the three little Mermaids happily swam away.

The End

About the Author:

Cynthia Gurin lives in South Florida Send Mail