Gorric the Morric & The Fate of Spume

Chapter 8: Gorric the Morric from the land of Zorric

Andy ventured out and about and throughout the beach for the next couple of days but did not

see any trace of the reflective creatures. Andy was as confused as a tricycle at a unicycle

convention. What were those things in my sandcastle? Andy thought.

After a couple of rainy thundering days, the sun came out and Andy wanted to build another

sandcastle. As Andy built this particular castle he couldn't help smiling because secretly he was

using this castle as bait. Andy planned to leave his rake in the sand but make it look like an

accident. He wanted to sneak out later that night to try to catch another glimpse of the sleek,

sneaky, slithery creatures. As he made the last pat and the last spray from his bottle to secure

the last tower of his castle, he tried hard to hide his grinning. He packed up his sandcastle kit

and stood back to admire his creation. On this day he made two circular walls that protected

three tall cubed turrets. Andy even took the time to carve out little windows all the way up each

side; this was a fortress. It was almost dusk and his mother's amazing dinner was waiting for

him. Eating quickly and slurping down some water he made his way to his bed. His parents were

slightly confused but were glad he was going to bed. (Parents like when a kid doesn't have to be

told to go to bed. Keep that in mind.) Andy waited about thirty minutes and ran down stairs,

faking an emergency. Now I write this knowing full well that you will never ever fake an

emergency. Crying wolf does not always pan out. Do you know that story? The boy who cried

wolf? Well if you don't, I highly recommend reading it. It will teach you to never howl like a wolf

unless you actually see one. Wait; that's not right. Hmm. Anyway, Andy did recount later that he

felt bad, but in all seriousness, he did leave his rake out there again.

Andy tiptoed off the back porch and slid off his flip flops in the sand and jogged over to where he

had built his fortress. As he approached, the moon was shining so brightly, it was as if he had his

own flash light. The sea was rowdy and the breeze was boisterous, but none of those things

discouraged Andy from spying on his sandcastle. As he came close, he saw his once tall pillars a

slight mound in the sand, and the tide was swirling all around the circular walls. He stayed down

on his belly for what seemed like forever, but it was more like five minutes; hey, I am not judging.

Have you ever crouched behind a thin bush in bare feet with itchy bugs around? I hope not; it is

quite uncomfortable. Just as the tide pulled the last pillar into the ocean, something caught

Andy's attention. He saw a sleek black mushy thing swimming or crawling through the sand and

then it disappeared. Craning his head to get a better look he saw it resurface on the other side of

his castle; this time it was completely reflecting the moon. It looked like a metal pot had been

melted in the sand, then seeped into the sand as one big puddle. Andy plucked up his courage

and crawled a bit closer. The tide grew closer to him with each passing second, but he had to see

the creatures again. He was no more than five feet from the now mound of sand when

something incredible happened.

"Excuse me." The voice was sharp, squeaky and cheerful. It also sounded liquidized and grainy, if

that makes sense. Andy froze yet again and looked down. Right in front of his chest was a big

pair of orange eyes that were once again slightly uneven, staring right up at him out of the sand.

"Excuse me, sir. What are you doing in the bushes?" the creature asked politely. Still stunned by

this creature speaking to him, Andy couldn't utter a word or move. "Didn't your mother ever tell

you it isn't polite to stare?" The creature was now trying to teach him manners. It blinked its big

orange uneven eyes but instead of up and down they closed in from the sides.

Andy took a deep breath, and cleared his throat. "Ehh hmm. Yes, hello there. I was." Andy

stammered. "Rather, I am spying." Andy said feeling strangely guilty.

"Spying on whom!" the creature said most excited. It spun around quickly spraying sand onto

Andy. "Is it shiny?" the creature was wiggling in the sand beneath Andy's elbows, but he could

still only see the creature's large uneven eyes.

"Well, I was spying on you. What exactly are you?" Andy said now feeling a bit more comfortable

with this creature.

"On me! What on seaweed for?" the creature backed away and hid its eyes.

"I have never seen anything like you before. I am not sure any human has." Andy said, sitting

with his legs crossed.

"Well, I don't think any human has ever heard of me, but then again I am not supposed to be

talking to you." The creature giggled and wiggled in the sand so rapidly, Andy couldn't see its

eyes anymore.

"Hey, wait." Andy whispered. "What are you?" he started moving the sand around with his hands

trying to get a better look. It didn't work.

"Psst." The creature's voice was now behind him and its eyes appeared once again. Andy twisted

around shocked to see it behind him. "Hello. I am Andy Carter. I live just over there." Andy

pointed to his house. He looked back down and the creature wiggled and waggled again,

disappearing. It popped back up to his left.

"Hello. Human Andy. I am Gorric! Gorric the Morric from the land of Zorric." Gorric bowed his

eyes slightly. Andy laughed because the creatures laugh was contagious. (Have you ever met a

person like that? I have, and it's simply brilliant; up until you laugh so hard you pee your pants).

After Andy stopped laughing, he looked back down at the creature and asked the most

important question of this tale, "What is a Morric?"