Dev found a shell at the beach. It was gray outside and pink inside. He held it to his ear. He heard a soft sound, like wind in a tunnel.

His sister Anya laughed. "That is not the ocean," she said. "It is only the air moving inside."

Dev put the shell in his pocket anyway. At home he set it on the shelf by his bed.

That night the house was loud. A truck rumbled past. A door banged. Dev picked up the shell and held it to his ear. The soft sound came back, and he fell asleep.