Secret Shells

I used to wonder why the burn of having a secret felt so good, but I don’t anymore.

Ellie and I sat on the deck watching the bright yellow sun slowly fade away into the purple and pink clouds that filled the sky. I sat swinging my legs tasting the salty ocean air as it blew my hair out of my face, reflecting on the amazing week I had just experienced. Our last day was zooming by, and I wanted to make the best of it. I wanted to run to the beach and lay in the warm flour like sand. At that same moment Ellie yelled, “Race you!” It was as if she was reading my mind. A split second later we were on the beach out of breath burying our toes in the soft sand.

At first it was silent with just the roar of the ocean waves crashing along the beach. It was a beautiful sound, but I wanted to begin a conversation. A lot, of ideas rushed through my head on what to talk about. School? Sports? Friends? T.V. shows? Music? Finally I decided on one. I asked her how swimming was going for her, and she asked me about my friends and how school was doing. As we were talking I found myself telling her everything, all of my secrets were being let out. Then, I thought absolutely nothing of it, but now I realize that I was telling her things nobody else knew. Even if they don’t seem so important now, when I was 10 they were a big deal, and I was telling her all about it.

While searching for to perfect shells to create into necklaces Ellie whispered, Wow! Look at that one.” As I walked closer my foot sunk in the silky sand. At first it startled me, but then the smooth, spongy texture of the sand felt great on my tiered feet. Although that shell was lovely, it wasn’t good enough, so we continued our search to find the perfect shells that would make memories flood into our head when we saw it.



We continued to stroll along the sand. Then, I saw it, gleaming from under a blanket of sand. The shell was a stunning cream color speckled with spots of pink, orange, and yellow. There was only one problem with the shell, it was huge. There was no way that it would fit on a necklace. So, we had to think of another idea with the shells so we could use this amazing one. I was clueless on what to do. I was trying to sort through my brain to think of an idea, but nothing was coming to me. Then the light bulb went off. I had the idea of a “secret shell”. The shells would be filled with drawings, inside jokes, and secrets. No one else would be allowed to read them, except of course each other. Once we found another stunning shell for ellie we sprinted back to the house to work on our projects.

Once we returned I snatched some Sharpies and climbed up to the loft where no one would disturb us. At first, I was stumped and didn’t know what to write, but then I looked up at Ellie and we both smiled at each other and I knew I could tell her everything. I started writing furiously. I had so many things to write. Everything from jokes like ROFL to more serious things like how much I hated someone, or how I was going to miss her. Some things were stupid, some funny, and some were deep and dark secrets that I had never told anyone. Once they were out from being trapped in my head I felt so much better. I didn’t even get nervous that she might tell someone. I didn’t want anyone else to know these things, but I trusted her. For some strange reason that I couldn’t figure out I felt completely comfortable letting her know everything. My 10 year old brain didn’t realize anything special about this, but now that I’m thirteen I do.

I used to wonder why I could remember this day; it was just another day at my beach house. Now I am realizing that this is when my trust with Ellie really got started. She is my true best friend, someone I can tell every little detail. She made me realize that the burn of having a secret feels so good because I know that I will have someone to tell. And knowing she will be there to listen is a lot more than other people have. Today, I still have the shell, and every time I look at it the memories flood into my head, just like we wanted them to!