It was mid-afternoon and the sun was shining brightly on the sand and the rhythmic, lapping waves of ocean water. A warm breeze brought smells of salt, sand, and fish into Woggy’s nostrils. He liked it.
Having never been to the beach before, Woggy decided to walk straight up to the water. The tide ebbed and flowed right into Woggy’s shoes. This made the socks of Woggy very soggy. He took a step back and watched the waves splashing and foaming, and he got a feel for the rhythm of the ocean. He walked back to the dry part of the sand and sat down. He put his book in his backpack and took his shoes and socks off to wring out the water. He felt the sand between his toes. It felt wonderful. He wanted to run and jump in the sand barefoot, but he figured that was not an ordinary thing to do.
Woggy was confused and lost. He felt a smidge of fear in his heart and a bit of excitement in his stomach. He was on an adventure. He was sitting on the sand, drying his socks, and thinking about what to do next when he heard whistling behind him. He turned to see a boy with a fishing pole in his hand and no shoes on his feet.
“Excuse me,” said Woggy bravely, and politely.
“Hello,” replied the barefoot boy.
“Can you tell me where I am? I think I am lost.”
“You’re at the beach.”
“Oh, okay; and where is the beach?”
“There’s a sign right there. Can’t you read?”
“Yes, I can read,” answered Woggy, starting to feel a little frustrated.
“I can’t,” confessed the barefoot boy. “Well, I can read some things, but I don’t like to.”
“That is okay,” said Woggy. “Maybe I can teach you to read.”
“You can try,” said the boy. “A lot of other people have tried. I’d rather go fishing, though.”
“I don’t know how to fish.”
“You don’t know how to fish?! How do you catch fish?”
Woggy shrugged. “I have never caught a fish before.”
“Well, it is your lucky day! Let’s go fishing! I’ll teach you how to fish, and you can teach me how to read later, if you really want.”
“That sounds great!” said Woggy, completely forgetting that he was far away from home. He started to put his soggy socks and shoes back on.
“What are you doing that for?” asked the barefoot boy.
“I thought wearing shoes was the normal thing to do,” Woggy replied.
“Not here at the beach,” said the barefoot boy, who stuck out his foot and wriggled each toe.
At this Woggy gave a slight smile and the day got a little brighter.
The two boys ran and jumped down the beach, barefoot and smiling.
There was something about Woggy that made the barefoot boy, whose name was really Finn, feel comfortable. It already seemed like they had been friends for years. They walked up to an upside-down boat, flipped it over, and pulled it to the water.
They took off on a fishing adventure, each boy with an oar in his hands. “I can’t believe that you’ve never been fishing,” said Finn. “My dad taught me when I was little. He’s gone now.”
The oars dipped into the water, propelling the little boat along.
“How did you get to the beach, and how come you didn’t know where you were?” asked Finn.
“I walked the wrong way down a one-way street,” said Woggy matter of factly.
Barefoot Finn nodded as if this was the most normal explanation there could be. “I’ve heard of things like that happening. What’s your name?” he asked.
“Woggy,” answered Woggy. “What is your name?”
“My name’s Finn.”
Woggy really appreciated that Finn did not say anything about his name being odd.
Finn dipped his hand into the water as the boat slowed to a stop. There were less waves out here in the deep water, and the afternoon sun was just beginning to transform into the evening sun.
“Do you go to school?” asked Woggy.
“Yeah, but I don’t like it,” Finn replied. “My teacher says I have attention defecate disorder.”
“I think you mean attention deficit disorder,” laughed Woggy, but it wasn’t a mean laugh, it was a reassuring laugh. “It seems like you have a lot of attention when it comes to fishing.”
“It’s different,” said Finn. “In the boat, I can look at, and talk about, all of the interesting things that are going on, and move my hands. In the classroom, I have to sit still and listen and be bored, and everyone’s always telling me I am doing things wrong.”
“I know how that feels,” said Woggy. “What if you don’t have an attention deficit? What if the others have too much attention?”
Finn smiled he liked that thought. He had never thought of it that way. He liked the way Woggy did not make him feel like he was doing things wrong or that he should be doing something differently. Finn had never had a friend like Woggy before. Finn had not really had any friends before most people just thought he was annoying or too energetic. But Woggy was kind and accepting and was curious in the same way that Finn was.
Sunlight flickered off of the water and Finn glanced down, searching for something. He was always looking for something fun and new and exciting.
“Have you ever seen any Seaple?” asked Finn.
“What are Seaple?”
“They are like people, but they live in the sea. My Pop says that they have beautiful cities under the water, and they can talk to fish, and swim super-fast. Pop is my grandpa. I live with him and my Gran. I wish I was a Seaple,” he said longingly.
“That does sound super cool,” agreed Woggy.
Finn showed Woggy how to tie on a hook, and weights, and bobbers, and how to put bait on the hook. He showed him how to cast the line way out into the water and slowly bring it back in. The two boys sat in the boat, content to be out on the water, without any pressures or cares.
Finn saw four sailboats, twenty-nine bugs, a cloud that looked like a giraffe, and one that looked like an ice-cream cone. He pointed out each one and excitedly talked about it until he spotted the next thing that pulled his attention. They caught three whole fish, one half fish, an empty soda can and, most importantly, they had a lot of fun.
They brought the boat in, and carried their fish back to Finn’s house, which was also Gran and Pop’s house. They barged in the front door and held out the fish to Gran who was cooking in the kitchen. Both boys instantly realized how hungry they were. (The smell of good food will do that.)
Gran turned and gave them both a warm smile. “And who is your friend?” she asked. Gran was not used to Finn bringing friends home.
“This is my friend Woggy,” answered Finn.
She nodded and gave another warm smile to Woggy. “You boys should go wash your hands. Supper is almost ready.”
Woggy glowed with the words that Finn had said: “my friend.” Woggy had never had a friend before—not really. He had played with other children, and he knew people. Some people had even been friendly to him, but none of them would have called him their friend. And now he had a real friend, and it felt wonderful.
The two boys ran as fast as their hungry stomachs could take them, washed their hands, and were soon seated at the dinner table. Pop was already seated at the head of the table and gave a nod and a smile to Finn and his new guest. Soon Gran came in with a feast of food, and they all started filling their plates, and their mouths, and their stomachs.
“So, where are you from Woggy?” asked Gran.
“I am from Land of Land, ma’am.”
“Well, you sure are a polite one, and very far from home. How did you get here to Land of Sand?”
Woggy smiled sheepishly. “I went the wrong way down a one-way street, ma'am.”
“Oh, I have heard of such things happening, but I didn’t know they were true. You can just call me Gran.”
“Yes, ma’am- Gran, it is true,” assured Woggy. “I think I will go the wrong way down a one-way street here to go home after supper. Thank you for the food and everything.”
The room fell silent. Gran looked at Pop, Pop looked at Finn, Finn looked at Gran, and then Pop, and then Woggy.
“What is it?” asked Woggy.
“Well lad,” spoke Pop for the first time. “We do not have any one-way streets in Land of Sand.”
For the first time since he left home Woggy thought that he might never get home, and even though this would have been a completely natural time for him to cry, he did not. (Although I suspect that one tear winked its way just to the inside of his eye, the part right by his nose. But this tear did not fall.) Pop, being very observant of hidden tears, assured Woggy that they would figure something out. He had, he thought, seen Land of Land on a map once, and if it was on a map, then they would figure out how to get him home. But it was getting late and that seemed like the sort of thing they could look into in the morning.
Pop went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, and Gran sat in a chair and started flipping through map books.
“I have an idea,” whispered Finn. “Follow me.”
Finn took Woggy out to the garage, which was full of treasures. There were old records and photos, a lamp that had a big crack in the side of it, and boxes and boxes full of things with interesting titles, like: KITCHEN GLASSWARE and POP’S BOOKS.
Finn grabbed a big box with a blue arrow on the side of it and the words: THIS SIDE UP written right under the arrow. He started grabbing things out of it and soon had a box-sized pile of treasures, and an empty box.
“This is what I’m thinking,” said Finn. “If you got here by ignoring the arrow on a street sign, maybe you can get home by getting in this box and ignoring its arrow.”
“I thought you couldn’t read,” said Woggy.
“I said I couldn’t read well. Plus, an arrow is not a word, and I can figure things out.”
“I guess we can try it,” said Woggy skeptically.
“Awesome! I’m going with you!” said Finn with a grin.
“What?” asked Woggy, surprised.
“Yeah, I think it would be cool to see where you live! Besides, we already know how to get back here.”
It made too much sense for Woggy to argue, so both boys climbed into the box, pulled the top flaps over, and sat in the darkness.
“Now what?”
“Now we roll.”
They tipped the box over onto its side, and then they did it again.
Gran walked out into the garage. “What was all of that racket?” she wondered out loud as she walked over to the pile of treasures, and an upside-down box with an arrow on the side of it.
She picked up the box—the empty box—and she started filling it back up with its former contents, wondering where those boys had run off to.
But the boys were no longer in Land of Sand. They were back in Land of La—nope! They are not in Land of Land, either!
Where were they now?