Coral and the Star That Wore Shoes

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Your window turned into a spaceship — and the dream began. Coral the octopus lived in a tidepool that sparkled like spilled glitter. She had eight arms, but only one favorite sock—striped blue and silver. One night, the tidepool lifted right off the sand. It floated up, up, past the moon, past the blinking satellites. Coral didn’t even gasp. The stars were wearing shoes, and that was just how things were. The first star had red sneakers with untied laces. It kept tripping, leaving little spark trails behind. Coral reached out with one arm and caught a lace. Tie it? she wondered. Can you guess what happened? She tied the lace in a bow. The star stopped tripping. It glowed brighter, thank you, and gave her a high-five with its light. The stars were wearing shoes, and now they could dance. Coral danced too. Her arms waved like ribbons in the wind. Every step she took left a bubble that glowed soft pink. The bubbles floated up, up, past the planets that hummed lullabies. Then she saw the second star. It had one green boot and one yellow slipper. The laces were tangled like spaghetti. Between you and me, it looked a little sad. Coral untangled the laces. She tied them in a double knot. The star wiggled its toes and giggled. The stars were wearing shoes, and now they could skip. The sky filled with skipping stars. They made a sound like wind chimes. Coral’s bubbles mixed with their light. The whole night smelled like salt and sugar. She didn’t notice when the tidepool started drifting back down. The stars waved with their shoelaces. The moon tucked her in with a silver blanket. Coral’s arms felt heavy. Her striped sock was still on. The bubbles faded to soft pink dots. The stars’ shoes twinkled one last time. The tidepool settled back onto the sand. Coral curled up inside. Her eyes closed. The water went quiet. And the dream slowly... slowly... faded away.

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