Crab

Laura held the tiny crab in her palm. It was a marvel to her, this miniscule creature with its armoured body and tiny claws. It scuttled sideways across her sandy skin, burying itself in the crevice between finger and thumb. Its shell was the colour of the seaweed she had found it beneath, its pinprick black eyes the only contrast to the dull green of its body. Laura knelt in the sand, the grains prickling her knees as she held the crab close to her eyes. The sea breeze sent her blond hair into frantic dances about her small, pale face and she blinked her long lashes as sand tickled her green eyes.

The crab peered at her from its temporary safety, before, with a movement too quick to prevent, hurling itself off her hand and to the ground below. Laura gasped, it was a long fall for such a tiny creature, but with a lurch the crab righted itself and began its scurry across the sand to a promising clump of seaweed. She followed its journey with a level of concern usually reserved for mothers and smiled with proud satisfaction when the creature finally reached its sanctuary. She had forgotten, conveniently, that it was her own hand which had plucked him from the same safety only minutes before. She danced down the beach to her father, childish dreams becoming reality before her bright eyes. She knew, in the way that all children believe they know something, that one day she’d see the crab again.