Cora and the Star Above

Chapter 1: Starfish

The first time Cora saw the stars, she thought someone had scattered little pieces of herself across the sky.

She lay in a rock pool beside the Atlantic Ocean, where ribbons of seaweed swayed and tiny shrimp slipped beneath stones. Cora was a purple starfish, small enough to fit in a child’s palm, with five arms and rows of little tube feet.

Usually, she spent her evenings exploring rocks.

Tonight, she forgot to move.

Above her, the sky sparkled. Below it, the still water held a second sky.

“Other stars,” she whispered. “Just like me.”

From a nearby crack came a scraping sound.

“Other what?” asked Barnaby.

Barnaby was a hermit crab with a shell slightly too large for him. Whenever he turned around, he bumped into something.

“Starfish,” said Cora. “Up there.”