An early Christmas gift

On my way to Goff Island yesterday, I happened upon a family reunion. Tourists, probably, drinking in the winter sunshine after savoring a picnic lunch. The women wore modest clothes and hijabs, and the men wore ankle-length, cotton robes.  While the younger children built sand castles, replete with fancy turrets, a teenaged boy –positioned at a distance from his group–dug through the sand, examining and discarding tiny seashell fragments.

I lifted my sunglasses, smiled and waved. They waved back, generous smiles spread across open faces.

I thought I’d read the tide tables right, but Nature keeps her own timetable, doesn’t she? The Island was mostly submerged, so the harbor seals hadn’t yet hauled themselves onto the rocks where they typically congregate.

The ocean heaved and frothed. Seaweed floated in swirling eddies.  But while I sensed the seals’ presence, I didn’t see any bobbing heads.

However.

In the sheltered cove, where the turquoise waters deposit their treasures, I found a pearly white seashell–exquisitely shaped, perfectly whole.

I wandered toward the group of children, seashell cradled in my palm; and when I reached the spot where the older boy knelt, I slowly opened my hand.

I saw in his face a kindred soul, someone for whom simple things oftentimes bring about the greatest joy.

I spread my fingers wide, and the seashell spiraled downward. It landed gently in the boy’s lap, as if it were meant to be there, all along.

“Thank you,” he said softly, in beautifully accented English.

You’re so welcome, I thought, but I let my heart do the talking.

It was a quick exchange, no fanfare or fancy wrappings, but it felt to me like a Christmas blessing.