Hero's Journey

On the Edge of the Sea

The first one was in a crowd. The second washed in on a wave. The third was half buried in the sand.

It was the smallest of the three. It moved the least, and didn’t struggle when it was picked up. There was no one to call, nowhere to take it, nothing to do but return it to the open ocean and hope it was the one in one thousand to live to adulthood.

The day had begun as normal as it could have- when half of your extended family is residing in one house on the beach, nothing is quite “normal”. We had gathered in Florida for my great-uncle’s wedding, and my grandmother had rented a massive vacation house by the sea for herself, her sister, and her two children’s families. Though the place was colossal, the three under-tens

My youngest cousin, Catherine, got their first. She nearly shrieked with excitement and grabbed for the turtle with her grubby little hands; for it was, indeed, another baby turtle. My aunt expertly blocked her daughter’s reach, waiting instead for my mother to get there to touch the

It was half-buried in the sand, its tiny head barely visible. Then, it moved- just the tiniest twitch of a flipper to let us know it was still fighting. It was smaller than the other two, slight and dark and completely pathetic. My mother and aunt exchanged glances- this hatchling did not look like it would survive to see the sunrise. My aunt went inside the house to call the beach patrol, ask the neighbors, anything- but it was late at night, and there was no one awake. To distract us, my mom decided that the children should name the turtle. We looked at each other, minds racing to find the most poetic, beautiful, most accurate name one could bequeath upon a hatchling turtle.

“Sandy,” said Catherine. Liam, Claire, and I glanced at each other worriedly. That was too simple a name, one that meant nothing to the giver, recipient, or anyone who heard it. We needed something meaningful, and soon, maybe something from Greek mythology? Was there a turtle god? A savior of the reptiles? Not that we could think of, but how about other cultures? I’m sure the Egyptians had a turtle god- were there turtles in