On to the next story: 'The Pile of Sand' by John Keefauver. Okay... this one felt really familiar from the off, but I didn't remember it well enough to know where it was going...
It's weird... I had no idea the story was going to end the way it did (and I loved the ending), but all the way through I had a strong sense of familiarity. I think I know why this one might have lodged itself somewhere at the back of my mind though. 'The Pile of Sand' opens with a sandcastle building competition on a beach, and at the time I would've read it we'd had a few family holidays to Cornwall where we often saw sand sculptures on the beach. That probably made that opening more memorable for me.
Keefauver's story is a charming little tale of the unexpected. Or, more accurately, the unexplained. The story is about the effect the titular pile of sand has on the beach-goers, but the pile itself is left resolutely unexplained. (When I say 'charming', I mean it's a story that casts a bit of a spell as you read. It's not cute, by any means, and the ending is just the right amount of unsettling.) I think 'The Pile of Sand' is one of my favourites so far!
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