Flotsam
I focused on scanning the edge between the warm, anthracite-colored dry sand and the pitch-black wet sand, where seagrass, sticks, plant debris, bird feathers, frayed pieces of rope, and plastic objects of every shape and color formed a meandering line along the beach. I enjoyed finding all kinds of treasures: oddly shaped driftwood or curious objects of unknown origin, always hoping to find a message in a bottle or real pirate loot. The surf here on the west coast of the island was raging loudly and sometimes waves would lap around my feet. I remembered to watch out for the black lumps of washed-up tar that looked like smooth pebbles, because stepping on one barefoot was a nasty surprise.
Mom, dad an my sister █████ were still behind, running playfully along the black beach of ██ █████, this empty and forsaken coast that reminded me of pirate books or the shoreline from the Goonies movie. I looked up ahead where the bay gave way to a towering, jagged black cliff, with massive volcanic rock outcrops jutting from the sand and the sea, battered by the incoming waves. Next to one of the large rocks on the beach I spotted something strange. It was a large object, definitely bigger then me, and although as black as the surrounding lava rock it looked artificial. Excited I started running towards it.
The closer I got the more details emerged. It seemed to be a large metallic sphere. What on earth could it be? I shouted over the noise of the waves, frantically gesturing for my parents to hurry and pointing toward the mysterious object. I was a bit scared but my curiosity was stronger. As I approached the thing I could see that it was broken. A gaping hole in one side revealed the orb's hollow interior. Strange protrusions covered its outer shell making it look like some giant sea urchin. I heard my dad shouting for me to be careful and not touch it. The shere was encrusted with barnacles, shells, and strands of seagrass and I thought it looked unbelievably cool. Then I realized I had seen something like it in one of my books about ships and submarines. It had to be one of those old naval contact mines from the war. Definitely the coolest beach treasure I had ever found but unfortunately not one I could take home.