She Sells Seashells

When Marla was a young girl, she heard the tongue twister "she sell seashells down by the seashore" and was utterly inspired! Ever since, she wanted to be the titular 'she' of the tongue twister.

She learned about shells. She read books. She collected and examined. She kept shelled creatures as pets.

She traveled the world and collected shells. She wandered seashores. She dove into the water and searched on the ocean floor. She traded shiny coins for antique shells siting on the windowsills of widows.

When she had enough sells, she created a world of shells. She found an abandoned house right on the seashore. She coated glued shells onto every surface. She made furniture out of shells. She made sculptures of wild animals out of shells. She embroidered shells into blankets and vintage sundresses.
Every morning, Marla would open her doors wide. She turned on old records where strangers with warbling voices sung wistfully about the sea. People came to the seashore for the ocean, but they always stopped in to her shell world. They plucked shells from the ceilings and walls and paid her with money or stories or homemade pie. They rummaged through treasure troves of tiny shell sculptures and chose the figure that best represented their own heart. From her shell world, they brought home shell chairs to put in their ordinary kitchen back home, so they could remember how extraordinary the sea is and everything around the sea.