Washed Ashore

Melinda and her brother Ben were climbing the rocks on the beach one day when they happened to come across a bone. A bone may not seem that unusual, but this was a big bone. It wasn’t one you’d usually find lying on the beach.

“I wonder why this is here,” Melinda thought aloud. “Why would there be a big bone like this lying around? It looks like a human bone.”

“That sounds creepy,” said Ben.

Just then, a truck drove up to the beach. Melinda watched a man get out with his dog. The two began running up and down the beach looking for something.

“Alright,” said Ben. “Let’s figure out where this bone came from.”

The two began combing the beach looking for other bone pieces. Melinda was scared and worried. Ben didn’t say much. They pondered the bone’s origin.

Just then, the dog came running up to Ben, who was carrying the bone. The dog began barking.

“Oh, there it is,” said the man.

“Where is what?” asked Ben.

“That’s Franklin’s bone. We’ve been looking for it. We left it here yesterday.”

“And just where did you get the bone?” asked Melinda skeptically.

The man started laughing when he realized what the kids must be thinking. “This is a deer bone. We brought it here to the beach,” explained the man. “Case closed?” he asked.

“Case closed,” said Ben as a little smile crept onto his face. Melinda just shook her head.