The Fulton family was invited into one of her favorite spots, a sunroom decorated with baskets of beautiful seashells, wicker chairs and tables, and a ceiling fan rotating overhead. Three books rested on one table that filled up a corner of the room. Two titles caught Tammy Fulton's eye: "A Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. Tammy loved reading Rachel Carson's books, especially "The Edge of the Sea" and Under the Sea Wind".
[Stef has to smile whenever Mom's treasured copy of "Silent Spring" comes to mind. As a youngster, Stef imagined it was a very quiet slinky. After a visit to Silver Springs", the silent spring was a body of water which made no gurgling or flowing sounds. And, after an environmental symposium, which included a historical overview of Rachel Carson's powerful book "Silent Spring" and how she was verbally attacked relentlessly for daring to point out the dangers of DDT and chemical wastes, it slowly dawned on Stef how the book got its name. Rachel Carson described a springtime when no bird sounds or other signs of nature could be heard. All was lost to indiscriminate use of hazardous chemicals. Observations of such decline in natural habitats had been noted and reported. Her book was entirely true and not fantasy. But, it was an important warning. She gathered lots of data to drive home her point.]
A shallow oversized bowl held some of the most exquisite shells Mom had ever seen. She and Stef were invited to look them over, and use the shell book on the table to identify them. Some were local finds, but the most beautiful came from Sanibel and Captiva Islands down near Fort Myers. As the adults began to chat about local history and favorite recipes and enjoy the cookies and lemonade and lemon pound cake, Stef continued to look over the huge basket of shells. A fluffy cat came in to see what was going on and became playful with Stef, hopping up on chairs and tables with ease as though "Mr. Mistoffelees" owned the place. Everyone was having a good time and then it was time to go.
The Fulton family was descending the outside stairs, when suddenly they were called back and asked to step back inside. The old lady's eyes blazed with displeasure. "The leafy jewel box is gone. My most beautiful shell was on display, on the tray next to the basket and it is no longer in its special place! I think Stef has taken it!" Stef was being accused of thievery!
BINABASA MO ANG
Stealth Journeys with the Steam Mapper
AdventureA 2019 Wattys entry deeply into climate change, global warming, and environmental destruction, especially the nuclear kind! A lot of true facts are embedded in this story which has both true and fictional characters. Who is to be believed is for y...
