Summary

A young girl named Sarah discovers a magical seashell that sings Beatles songs, leading to a moment of wonder and connection with her preoccupied mother at their family beach house.

Abstract

In the story "Girl Meets Octopus," Sarah's excitement over a large seashell she finds at her family's beach house is initially ignored by her mother, who is engrossed in a business call. However, when Sarah listens to the shell, she hears it singing The Beatles' "Octopus's Garden," which captures her mother's attention and disrupts her work priorities. The enchanting experience with the singing shell creates a brief but meaningful interaction between Sarah and her mother, as they both marvel at the shell's unexpected ability.

Opinions

The author suggests that moments of wonder can disrupt the mundane and offer a respite from the pressures of daily life, as seen with Sarah's mother's reaction to the singing shell.
The story implies a critique of the modern work culture that often leads to parents being too preoccupied with work to engage with their children, as exemplified by Sarah's mother's initial inattention.
The choice of "Octopus's Garden" by The Beatles as the song heard from the shell may reflect a longing for a peaceful, idyllic escape from reality, which resonates with both Sarah and her mother.
The story portrays the power of music and imagination to bring people together, as the singing shell bridges the gap between Sarah's childhood innocence and her mother's adult responsibilities.
The shell's singing voice is depicted as surprisingly good, adding to the magical realism of the narrative and emphasizing the extraordinary nature of the event.

Girl Meets Octopus

When Sarah walked through the door of her family’s beach house, she saw her mother with a cellphone pressed against her cheek in exhaustion. This was in part to listen, and in part to catch a moment’s rest.

“Right. After last quarter’s earnings — right,” she said as her eyes began to form a seal.

“Mom look! I found a seashell!”

“Not now honey.” Her eyes bobbed open for a second before sealing once again.

“I think that we can boost earnings by next quarter if we — right,” she droned forward dully.

“Look at it! It’s huuge,” said Sarah as she labored to lift it above her head. Her mother put the phone down and looked vacantly toward Sarah now.

“Hold your ear to it and they say you can hear the ocean,” she replied inattentively as she pressed her tired face against her phone once again.

“Right. Right. That’s what needs to be d — right.”

“At least you care, Paul,” said Sarah as she reshifted her focus toward the French bulldog who seemed a little embarrassed to be caught scratching himself on the family sofa. Paul was an unusual name for a dog. But there were enough Beatles fans in the house that Paul was settled on in a vote of 4–3.

Paul ambled happily now toward Sarah with a wide smile and a drooping tongue.

“Good boy, Paul,” she exclaimed as she patted him on the back.

“You like my shell don’t you, Paul?”

She rightly interpreted Paul’s silence as a “yes.”

“Hold my ear to it and I can hear the ocean she says… hmm…” And without a moment’s hesitation, she pressed the shell firmly against her ear. But what she heard was not ocean.

“I’d like to be Under the sea In an octopus’ garden In the shade,” emerged from the shell rather unmistakably.

“What in the w — ?”

“He’d let us in Knows where we’ve been In his octopus’ garden In the shade,” continued the shell. It had a shockingly good singing voice.

“Mom! Mom!”

“Not now honey!”

“The shell sings!”

“Hold on a second, my daughter wants something.”

“I know honey, that’s the ocean!”

“Uhh…”

“Anyway, I think that our profits will — ”

“No it’s literally singing The Beatles!”

“ — sorry I’m gonna need a minute.”

“What on earth are you talking about? When you hold your ear to the shell you hear the sound of the ocean... give it here.”

Sarah handed over the shell to her mother.

“See, now when you hold it up to y — ”

“I’d ask my friends To come and see An octopus’ garden With me” sung the shell with an impressive amount of soul.

“Wait, what the fuck?”

“Swear jar! Swear jar!”

She put the phone down on the counter now and picked the shell back up with a perplexed look and a furrowed brow.

With marked hesitation, she moved the shell delicately toward her ear again. She pressed the cold of the shell against her sweaty ear.

“I’d like to b — ”

She put it down again, shocked. She shook the shell and listened carefully for a rattling. She looked inside the shell for any wires or bits of machinery. Nothing. She put the shell to her ear again.

“Under the s — ”

She put it down once more and raised the shell to her ear a final time.

“In an octopus’ gard — ”

She picked her phone back up with a look of alarm on her face.

“I’m gonna need to call you back. Yes. Yes. Matter of fact, clear the rest of the afternoon. Thanks.”

This story was written in response to Monday Mashup #3 Challenge by Bradan Writes Stories, which Kathy K lovingly challenged me to be a part of.

Help support me by signing up for Medium here! By signing up through this link, you’ll be giving me a direct commission as well as getting access to the work of thousands of other writers. Thank you so much for reading!