The Boy Who Listened to the Sea

An adaptation of the story of Ma. Elena Paterno

The young girl sat by herself on a large white rock in the middle of the beach. Her name was Tala, and
she was too small and too scared to swim in the deep water.
Huge black rocks rose from sand and sea on the far end of the beach. She was scared of those rocks.
Silly, Iko said, rocks cant harm you. They look like that because theyre shaped by the waves.
Iko was her older brother. He was big and strong and he swam like a fish. Tala had often heard their
father say that soon Iko would be able to join him diving for the pearls that lay in the depths of the sea.
Watching him now, diving off the rock, Tala felt afraid. Tala remembered the words of their grandfather:
The sea is our friend, but it can also be an enemy. Every tide, every current, brings new things. Be careful.
But Iko only laughed. The sea is my friend, not my enemy, he said. It will never hurt me.
She walked to the shore to feel the waves lick at her feet. Her brother held out a large, dull-colored shell.
But Iko, she said, disappointed, there are prettier shells!
He only smiled and held the shell to her ear. Listen.
She heard winds whistling and waves rippling, dancing, echoing. The sound of the sea. Tala smiled in
wonder, examined the shell. Where did the sound come from?
They saw some boats coming in and Iko rushed off to help their father carry the little banca high up on
the beach, where the water would not reach it during the night.
Tomorrow we will look for more shells. He promised as he hurried off.
The next morning, at low tide, Iko and Tala walked among the coral to look for shells. We must go
deeper, he insisted. the nicer shells are in deeper water.
But Tala was scared, so she stayed close to shore. Iko went into deeper water.
Then Tala heard a triumphant shout, and turned to see her brother motioning her to come. She waded in.
The shell lay in the sand, pale pink with brown and orange patterns. It was shaped like a cone, with a fine point
on one end, a spiral on its crown. They had never seen a shell with such vivid colors. Iko picked it up and they
both walked back to shore.
Suddenly Iko cried out, and his face crumpled in pain.
What is it? Tala asked. What happened? Where does it hurt?
She examined his hand. There was no blood, maybe it was a thorn?
Their mother would take the thorn out, Tala thought. Tala took her brothers arm and placed it on her
shoulders, and together they stumbled home.
Iko lay down on the mat. Tala wet his forehead so it would cool. Still he was hot. Their mother
examined his hand. Where is the thorn?
The thorns of shells are very fine, and this one could not be seen. The poison that shells carry goes deep,
deep into the body. Talas mother never found the thorn, and Iko died.
All the villagers went to say goodbye to Iko. They dressed him in his most colorful garments and lay
him in the ground. Iko was going on a long journey, and he was never coming back.
Suddenly Tala ran into their house and returned with a large, dull-colored shell. She put it near her
brothers hand. It was going to be a long journey, they would not be together this time. Iko might want to listen
to the sound of the sea. As he said, the sea was his friend.
SOURCE: Paterno, M.E., & Hermosa, N. (Cons.). (2006). Our world of reading: Dream chasers (New ed.). Philippines: Anvil
Publishing Inc.