ocean

Story·Charlie Patten, age 13 — Three friends meet to swim at night but Martin has a premonition dream where a sea creature attacks his friends, waking just as they arrive for real.

Story·Gus Ruchman, age 12 — After a tsunami kills his family, an eleven-year-old Muslim boy survives with a Hindu man who teaches him that faith transcends religious boundaries before dying in his arms.

Poetry·Edie Patterson, age 10 — A meditation on leaving paradise, watching cars diverge on a canyon highway while coyotes howl and a finch lifts off into morning light.

Story·Sonja Skye Wooley, age 12 — Two young scientists searching for Atlantis in the Pacific get caught in a storm, crash on an uncharted island, and discover the lost city underwater just offshore.

Story·Hannah Awbrey, age 12 — A boy meets a strange girl on the beach who believes her mother is a mermaid and nearly leads him to his death trying to join her, but saves him...

Story·Saira Licht, age 10 — After falling from a boat in Georgia waters where her father drowned, Maria meets him in an underwater grotto and receives a magical necklace before returning safely.

Story·Sandra Detweiler, age 12 — Two sisters saying goodbye to their favorite cloud-watching spot before moving discover a bird-shaped cloud at their new home by the ocean.

Story·Julia Soderholm, age 13 — A young woman finds solace in morning rituals and simple pleasures before heading to the beach to write, savoring solitude before crowds arrive.

Story·Rachel Cohen, age 12 — A girl vacationing at the New Jersey shore befriends mysterious Helena, whose arrival coincides with a hurricane bearing her name, leading to an otherworldly revelation.

Story·Niyousha Bastani, age 10 — During a sea voyage, a girl haunted by nightmares of her disapproving father seeks his forgiveness after their argument about her joining the journey.