The Messenger of Waves

“Hello, hello!” I say to my friends, the fish
Who have accompanied me for so long
So long
So long.
They nod in acknowledgment
Bobbing gently in the smooth waves
Never stopping their flow
Never stopping
Stopping.
A leathery nose pushes me
Up, up, up.
I can see it now
My final resting place after this long journey
So close
Yet so far away.
The crinkled message inside me rolls side to side
As if it feels
The eagerness and anticipation, too.
A young boy kneels there
Counting  shells
Peach, scarlet, tangerine
Colors with no names.
I arrive, and the child looks up
Pudgy fingers close around me.