Aitana and the Singing Pearl

Aitana and the Singing Pearl

In a town like any other, Aitana ran faster than the pigeons in the square. In her room she kept a turquoise shell. If she held it to her ear, it sounded like the sea. Sometimes she hummed a sea song, very softly. With skill and the tide, you can get anywhere.

That night, the rain tapped at the window: tap, tap, tap. Aitana was not sleepy. She wanted to help someone for real, like the brave captains in her stories. She put the shell under her pillow and asked the sea for a mission. Something answered: glug.

The shell opened a door of foam.

Aitana stepped onto the deck. A pirate ship! The sails billowed, and the water was as turquoise as her favourite colour. Her tummy trembled a little. Then, among the waves, a silver dolphin leapt. “Hello! My name is Coral,” he whistled.

Coral laughed with a splashy click. “You can see far. I can swim fast.” “Then we’re a crew,” said Aitana. Coral nudged the ship with his nose, gently, just in time to dodge a sleeping rock. With skill and the tide, you can get anywhere.

Coral stopped laughing. “The Singing Pearl is lost. It sings lullabies to the little fish.” Since last night, the tiny fish have been swimming round and round with wide eyes. No one rests beneath the waves. Aitana gripped the helm. “We’ll find it. No pushing. We’ll use our heads.”

They searched under seaweed, beside shells and among bubbles. Nothing. Coral sniffed the current. “It smells of lullaby over there.” They swam to a quiet bay. Bruma floated like a soft island. On her back, the pearl shone. But Bruma was asleep. Deeply asleep.

“If we wake her loudly, she’ll make a giant wave,” whispered Coral. Aitana swallowed. The pearl was close, and it seemed ever so far away. Then she remembered her room, the rain and a tiny little song.

The song came like a shell to her ear.

Aitana did not shout. She sang the sea song softly. The whole bay listened: la, la, laralá. Bruma opened one enormous eye. Then she smiled without making a wave. “Thank you, little captain.” With her fin, she brought the Singing Pearl to Aitana.

The Singing Pearl began its lullaby. The tiny fish closed their eyes among the bubbles. Coral leapt three times for joy. Bruma blew a shining fountain. Aitana laughed until her nose got wet. “The best treasure is friends,” she said. And everyone knew it was true.

The foam spun round once more. Aitana woke in her room, with the turquoise shell under her pillow. At the window, the morning shone like a freshly washed deck. She hummed the pirate lullaby and smiled. With skill and the tide, you can get anywhere.