Treasure Shell of Old Orchard Beach

Part One

For Rand & Perrin

"Stop it, you're getting sand in my mouth!" Rand shrieked as sand grated against his face. He could feel it getting caught in his long brown hair. He spit out the gritty, crunchy grains.

Perrin, his younger brother, was burying him in the sand. So far, he was up to his shoulders, and Perrin showed no signs of stopping. "How's your SANDwich, Rand?" Perrin giggled. His spiky blonde hair glistening in the sun.

Rand could rest his chin on the sand now.

 "What the heck are you doing?" a voice called. It was their dad. The sun reflected off his rainbow framed glasses. Perrin looked down at the shovel in his hand.

 Rand looked up at his dad and struggled to move his arms. The weight of the sand was too much. "Don't just stand there, help me out!"

 His dad laughed as he shook his head. "But you look like you're on Easter Island now! Besides, you can't get into trouble this way." He winked at Perrin and started to turn to walk away.

Rand's hair flowed around him in the breeze. The smell of ocean salt stung his nose as he sniffed. Or was that the sand? Either way, all he wanted to do was cry. Sand started to creep into his shorts. "Just get me out, Dad!" he shouted. "It's getting into my butt crack!"
 Perrin fell over laughing. "He said butt crack!"
 Sighing as he turned around, their dad dug his hands into the sand around Rand. With a great big tug, Rand was freed from his sandy prison.
 Perrin stopped laughing and groaned. "Oh, man. It took me for-frickin-ever to get to his neck, Dad!"
 "Don't say frickin'!" Rand admonished.
 Their dad smiled. "And it'll take you less time to do it next time. Why don't you two go run off and splash around in the ocean?" Their dad glanced around at the nearly empty beach. "Maybe you'll find treasure. Or shark teeth. Lots of sharks live off the coast of Maine, you know."
 Rand's eyes grew wide with excitement. He couldn't hide it. "Shark teeth?! Oh, man, cool!" He locked eyes with Perrin, and they both played air guitar. It was adventure time.
 Rand grabbed Perrin's hand and tugged hard. "C'mon, Perrin! Let's go!" They both picked up their shovels and took off towards the shore. A flock of seagulls flew off as they approached. Their eyes scanned the wet sand as they walked. Rand kept an eye out for something large enough to stand out against the dark sand. "Do you think we'll find a Great White tooth?" Perrin asked.
 "Or a Porbeagle's tooth would be cool, too. We could make a necklace if we find enough!" Rand could almost picture how cool it would be to wear a necklace full of shark teeth. "Maybe even enough for two!

They stopped every few feet and dug a small hole. They mostly found sand dollars and shattered pieces of shells. The occasional crustacean, hiding away in the sand, hopped out at them and scurried off away.

"Not even a lousy candy wrapper," Rand grumbled. He was getting tired of searching. Sand flew up as he plopped onto his knees and sighed. "This is hopeless," he grumbled.
 "I really want some chocolate, dawg." Perrin licked his lips as he sat next to his brother. "Maybe some Reese's Pieces and M&Ms!"
 "That'd be awesome to find." Rand smiled. "Let's take a break."
 Both boys stretched out across the sand, threw their arms behind their heads and watched the clouds roll along for a few moments.

 "I love the beach," Rand heard Perrin say.

Rand sat up suddenly and looked over at a nearby tide pool. What looked like a pile of shells caught his attention. "Oh finally!" Rand exclaimed. "Let's check over there!"
 The shells were coated with sand. Rand saw one of them had some dark spots so he picked it up and washed it off in a tide pool. Once it was clean, he held it up to his face. It looked like something was drawn on it. "Perrin, come check this out!" He shoved it in Perrin's face, causing him to squint and back away. "Oh, sorry, too close." He pulled it back, allowing Perrin to get a better look.
 "Is that an x?" Perrin asked, pointing to a mark near the edge of the shell.
 Rand pulled it in for a closer look. "I think you're right." A light bulb went off in his mind. "Perrin, do you think this is a map?"