The autumn breeze blew off the Atlantic Ocean, carrying the salty scent of the sea across the rocky shoreline of coastal Massachusetts. Ten-year-old Leo zipped up his red jacket and trotted down the granite steps leading to the beach. Behind him, his cousin Maya carried a small wooden bucket and a magnifying glass. They were spending the weekend at their grandmother's home near Cape Ann, eager to explore the shoreline before the tide rolled back in.
"Look at this one, Leo!" Maya called out, pointing toward a shallow depression in the giant grey rocks.
Leo clambered over the slick stones covered in dark seaweed and tiny white barnacles. In front of them lay a clear tide pool, left behind by the receding ocean. Sunlight bounced off the water, revealing a miniature underwater world. A small hermit crab scrambled across the sandy bottom, tugging its heavy snail-shell home behind it. Nearby, two bright orange sea stars clung tightly to the submerged rock.
Maya carefully lowered her magnifying glass over the surface. "Grandma said people have been exploring these same shores for hundreds of years, from early fishermen to famous artists," she whispered, as if talking too loudly might startle the creatures.
Leo leaned closer and noticed a glint of deep blue hidden among the pebbles. He reached into the chilly water and pulled out a smooth, frost-colored piece of cobalt sea glass. It had been tumbled by waves against the Massachusetts coast for decades until its sharp edges were completely rounded off.
"It looks like a tiny blue crescent moon," Leo said, holding it up to the autumn sun.
Maya smiled, placing a smooth grey pebble into her bucket. As the distant lighthouse began to glow against the fading afternoon sky, the waves began to lap gently against the lower rocks, signaling that the tide was returning. The cousins carefully backed away, leaving the tide pool safe beneath the rising waters. Walking back up the hill toward Grandma's warm porch, Leo slipped the smooth sea glass into his pocket, keeping a little piece of the bay with him.
