Seashell : An Almost Fairy Tale<p> One day, a lonely man was walking down a beach, deeply engrossed in his own private thoughts. He lamented the emptiness in his life, and wondered if it would ever end. While engulfed in his own musings, he noticed a beautiful seashell glistening just beyond the touch of the waves as the tide went out. He wandered over, and knelt to wash sand out of the shell in the surf. He marvelled at the delicate colouring of the shell; of its beauty and simplicity. He thought "If I had this shell, I would have a beautiful thing to look forward to each morning as I awake," and he took the shell home and put her by his bed.<p> As time went by the man began to look at the shell less and less. On the odd morning, when the sun shone brightly and hit the shell in just the right way her colours glistened again. But most days, she just sat by his bedside, alone as he once was; losing all the shimmer and shine that once had made her so beautiful. The shell knew she needed the touch of the ocean, the gentle touch of something or someone, to tell her she was loved. <p> As the tides go in and out, so go the lives of us all. The poor sweet shell languishes by the man's bedside, dreaming of her ocean home. The man dreams of the beauty he has missed, while disregarding the beauty that lies right beside him. And the ocean continues; eternal, the waves crashing against the shore, again and again. [img]images/icons/wink.gif" border="0[/img]