Friday Fictioneer Challenge: Write a 100-word story based on the photo prompt.
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“What’s all this?” Sheila asked. “Oh, Tim started his collection when we drove to the California coast. He always had bulging pockets while we were there,” Nancy said. Sheila grew up in Montana, never traveled past the mountains and considered the oceans part of a parallel universe, but not hers.
She slipped the striped shell into her pocket, not knowing why she didn’t ask for it; Nancy would have given it to her, she knew that. At home, Sheila put the seashell up to her ear, gasping when she heard the ocean’s roar calling her name.
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To read other stories based on this photo, select the smiley blue frog.

Vivid sense of a moment when she had a vision of something she’d never had – Well written.
I like the idea that mountains and the ocean are of parallel universes. I imagine it might seem that way for someone living in Montana. And that she didn’t ask for the seashell makes it a very special shell for her, important enough for her to take! Great story.
Dear Tresha,
There’s a lot of story between the lines. Well layered and intriguing. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Well, she may not have encountered the ocean, but the ocean seems to know about her. Nice story.
What a great insight: ocean knowing about her.
Dear Tresha, Great story and spooky! She should have asked Nancy for the seashell and not had sticky fingers. Seems like creepy stuff always happens to the people who do things they morally shouldn’t do. Nan 🙂
Tresha, It could have been her guilty conscience calling her name and not the ocean. Well written. 🙂 — Susan
Having lived 6 hours from the coast for 27 years, I can relate to the ‘parallel universe’ idea. It was the ocean smell that always got to me – I’d have my nose out the car window checking for that first whiff as we arrived for seaside holidays. A nice story. I like the way you’ve used the shell.
Marg