This shell traveled farther than most Shell Tales do. After weeks of paperwork, postal delays, and international red tape, the gift finally reached a seaside town in Brazil — John wrote to me it was delivered to his friend two months after it was mailed!
Here is Ivy and Caju’s story
“I live in a seaside town in Brazil. My apartment is a block from the beach, so the ocean plays a huge role in my life.
2025 has not been kind to me.
Feeling low one rainy night, I decided to take a walk along the beach. Just me and my thoughts.
As I was walking to the shore, I heard a whimper coming from the shrubs. When I looked, I saw a black-and-white dog shivering in the bushes.
I immediately walked over and knelt. Her whimpering slowed.
Cold, flea-ridden, and suffering from a parasitic infection, I took her in.
I named her Caju, after the cashew nut native to my country.
After several visits to the vet, Caju sprang to life.
She loved the beach.
She would run up and down the shore playing chicken with the waves, then suddenly dart from the surf to where I lay on the sand, digging madly, grains flying into the air.
Caju had heterochromia — her eyes were different colors. I suspect that is why she was rejected, but I loved her more because of it.
Caju became my friend and helped me cope through life’s difficulties of the moment.
One evening Caju fell ill, so I brought her to the vet for the night.
She died during the night.
Yet another devastating blow.
Now the shell with her image sits on my night table and greets me every morning, reminding me of my dear beach-loving friend.”
There is something about the ocean that connects places that never meet.
This shell began on one shore and ended on another. It crossed distance and delay before coming to rest beside the sea Caju once ran along.
Caju arrived in Ivy’s life during a difficult season. In caring for her, Ivy found her footing again.
The rescue went both ways.
Each morning, the shell tells a story not of what was lost, but of what was found.
Sometimes what we send out into the world carries more than memory. It carries gratitude for what steadied us when we needed it most.
Shell Tales is always open for the stories that stay with you.