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A thin visitor
The letter lay between the morning post and a spoon.
Noel knew Gran's round writing.
He carried it to the turquoise table.
The sea outside the window was the color of his blue pencil.
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Something golden
When he unfolded the page, a yellow leaf slid out.
It landed like a small open fan.
Noel held the paper still.
There was another part of the letter to look at first.
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Gran's tree
Gran had written about the tree outside her window.
It had become yellow all at once.
Noel turned the leaf carefully by its stalk.
Very fine lines ran from the stalk to the edge.
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A place in his hand
He had never stood under that tree in autumn.
Now he could imagine looking up.
The leaf had crossed the distance flat inside an envelope.
Noel put it somewhere safe while he thought.
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An answer
He set out a clean page.
'Our sea is blue,' he began.
He stopped.
From the window, it was also silver and green.
His pencil waited on the paper.
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Down to the shore
Noel took his eyes for a walk.
From the dry path, he watched the tide turn around the stones.
The water sounded nothing like Gran's leaves.
It had a softer, rolling voice.
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A small shell
A shell lay high above the water.
It was smooth on one side and ridged on the other.
Noel put it in his palm.
Perhaps this could travel to Gran.
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Too much corner
At home, the shell made a hard bump beneath the envelope.
Its edge pressed against the paper.
Noel took it out.
'You might prefer the windowsill,' he told it.
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Lines that could travel
He drew the shell instead.
Curving lines, all opening from one end.
Then he drew the shore around it.
A blue line went farther than he had meant.
He made it into another wave.
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A little sound
Under the picture, Noel wrote what the sea had sounded like.
He read it aloud.
It did not sound exactly right.
He tried again, and smiled.
Gran would have to supply some of the sea herself.
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Ready to go
He folded the picture into a plain envelope.
It lay flat beneath his palm.
Outside, the tide was still busy with the stones.
Inside, a small part of the shore was ready for a journey.
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Two windows
Noel set Gran's leaf near his window.
The shell stood beside it.
Somewhere, another window looked onto a yellow tree.
He hoped Gran would put his sea where she could see it.
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