The Sound in the Shell, page 1 of 12

High above a long dry shore, Pip stands beside a fallen leaf laid flat on the sand, measuring towards a thin far line of sea, small and patient.

The sea was two hundred and forty leaf-lengths out.

He measured it the first morning, and the second, and the ninth.

It was not coming back for its things.

© 2026 A.J.Sharpe