“The will left everything to someone no one in the family had ever met.”

The rich life of Renee was of no comparison to the accumulation of her physical treasures. With each adventure came with a trove of gold and jewels which she had no reason to use. On this day of her remembrance, family and friends gathered to learn of Jasmine. The heir none had ever even heard of.

Had they all been decieved? Was there some lurid, scandalous tale about to be revealed? No, the truth turned out to be much more mundane.

It was just a dang squid.

But, even the most observant student can be fooled. I peered closer and saw that what had once appeared to be tentacles was actually seaweed. I peeled off the tentacle-like detritus that lay discarded in the sand, and reached my hand down to unfurl the closest cluster of seaweed and bits of twig that had washed up on the shore, piece by piece. That’s when I saw it fully. There, in a hollow carved out by the rippling pulse of the tide, burrowed the most beautiful jellyfish I’d ever seen. The large opalescent head swam in the pocket of seawater, dragging its delicate tentacles behind it in a deliberate, flowy dance. I took out the net I’d brought with me and scooped it up. I’d keep it forever to remind me of the sea.