Sand Dollar

The sand under her feet warmed with each step as she walked along the beach searching in vain for the elusive sand dollar that had littered the beaches when she was a child. How is it then that she has been unable to find even the smallest one just years later. Were had they gone? She was always intrigued by what she felt was one of the creators perfect creations. She still finds wonder today, as she had as a child, for the five little birds found inside the sand dollars. How perfect they are, who would have thought these treasures could be resting inside of a sea creature only to be found after that creatures life had ended.

She had arrived on this beautiful Island paradise early yesterday morning in hopes of leaving her busy everyday life behind long enough to revive her spirit, after all, her job was demanding, it had been 5 years since her last serious relationship, her biological clock was ticking and she felt as if life was passing her by, everyday seemed like the last as she struggled to keep up a pace that would make ends meet. Would her treasures be revealed only after her life ended she wondered?

It was then that she saw it. The perfectly round edges of the sand dollar peaking out from the sand, her step increased as she moved to pick it up. "You know they are purple when they are alive" the sound of another's voice startled her and she turned to see who spoke. He was the oddest man she had ever seen, straight out of a Hollywood movie she thought. "No I did not know that" she replied. She looked around and realized she had walked far from the beach of her resort and was now standing alone with a stranger and strange he was.

She stood silently looking him over from head to toe, he had the darkest skin she had ever seen on any man, his long silver deadlocks splayed about his head. In contrast to his dark skin his wide smile revealed the brilliant white of his teeth which made him appear to glow. His dark skin was tough and weathered, yet did not reveal his age. Around his neck hung a string of five sand dollars, they lay against his bare chest. He was quite intriguing if nothing else she thought to herself.

"Did you know there are no two that are alike?" he stated. Kind of like you and I she thought before she answered "why yes I did know that". Are you a local? she asked him. "Some days" was his odd reply. "And you?" he added. "I am not a local" she replied "I came here because I feel I have no life, well not one I find joy in any way" "I have no husband, no children, and even though I am engaged with others every day, still I am so very lonely". She hesitated, and then she added "I guess you could say I am seeking and when I find it I will know what for".

"Do you not find joy in the faces of other peoples children?" "Or find wonder in the snow capped mountains or comfort in a summer rain?" "Just look around you, can you not see the blessings?" He asked her "I guess I have taken those things for granted" she replied. "Ah", he said and she noticed his accent for the first time " I fear you have looked but not seen" he added. "I guess you could say that" she replied. The thought briefly crossed her mind as to why she was having this conversation with this stranger. "Maybe you have looked at others through out your life?" "You have looked, but you have not seen?" "Could that be?" She shrugged her shoulders at him and thought to herself, I will need to ponder that.

"Okay, he replied, you give that some thought eh?" Her grip on the sand dollar in her hand tightened, she wondered how he knew that was just what she would do. Raising her hand to look at her sand dollar she heard him say "look at the top, do you see the rings there?" "I have seen many sand dollars and yes I see the rings" she replied. "Each ring is a year in the life of the sand dollar, did you know that young woman?" She shook her head no and he went on "Eh, because you have looked but you did not see and therefore you did not seek the meaning of such things."

The strange twinge in her stomach told her something had changed that his words began to hit home. She took a deep breath and savored the smell of the ocean, the beach and all its surroundings. Realizing she had not noticed this before she wondered what else she had not seen through out the years?

She was sad, yet happy at the same time, she gave him a half smile, it was then she noticed his multi colored ties he had in his hair and the colorful braided bracelet on his wrist and ancle, and the sparkle in his eye, yes the sparkle in his eye. He flashed her a wide smile that lit up his face. Do you know about the birds that wait to be released from that sand dollar? He asked. "Yes, yes I do" she replied " as a child there where many on our beaches, we would break some open to see the birds, my father called them doves". "Now hold that up to your ear" he said, as she did this,. he asked "can you hear them?" "Yes" she replied and then he said to her

Now break the center open

And here you will release,

The five white doves awaiting

To spread Good Will and Peace.

"Oh no! I could never do that, she replied, you see I had to look very hard and long to find my sand dollar". "It's star is so beautiful I wish to keep it intact". "As long as you see the beauty in it then so it shall be" he replied. She looked out over the ocean at the ominous splendor of the sunset which had just appeared on the horizon, "look how beautiful that is" she stated aloud, "why it has every color ablaze". "Yes, yes it does" he agreed.

"I must be heading back now before the sunset fades. I am not sure how far the walk, so I shall be on my way". "It was a pleasure meeting you, young woman, please remember me and know that I see you and all your life can be", as he spoke these words he removed the sand dollars from his neck and placed one in her hand. "I shall give this to you, to do with what you wish, may this remind you and may you clearly see that where there was one there is two, you and me".

She walked along the beach cherishing the sand dollars in her hand, and for the first time in very long time she felt grateful, grateful for the sunset and the sand beneath her feet, grateful for the breeze that gently touched her cheek, grateful for the smells that reminded her of where she's at, grateful for this island paradise, and grateful, yes grateful, to have met that strange man.

Poem cited Kennedy, Jennifer. "What Is Inside a Sand Dollar?" ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/what-is-inside-a-sand-dollar-2291813.