The beach was loud and hot. That was the thing about summer in Santorini - everyone went to the water, and everyone was happy there, and Isla was happy for them. But the beach wasn't for her.
The old part of the village sat above the cliffs, away from the tourist paths and busy streets. And that's where she felt at home. The walls up here were rough and worn. Some of them had been standing for hundreds of years. Isla liked that. Old walls had seen things.
She walked slowly, the way she always did, running her fingers along the stone. That's when she felt it, her thumb catching as it brushed along the wall. A small groove, half the size of her thumb, was cut into the surface. She stopped and leaned in close.
It was a mark. Carved into the stone, almost worn flat by wind and time. She probably would have missed it if she had just been using her eyes. Shaped like an arrow - a thin line with a small notch at one end, pointing right. She pressed her finger into it.
Someone made this on purpose. She looked where it pointed. Isla followed it. Down the wall. Around a corner. Into a narrow path she hadn't noticed before, half-hidden by a fig tree growing out of the base of the wall. She squeezed through. But now a decision. The path went both left and right.
She looked around and on one wall, lower down, she found another mark. Same shape. Same careful lines. Left.
Another fork in the path, another carving. This one carved right into the ground - pointing ahead toward the far end of the path. She moved forward, turned the next corner, then - nothing.
A dead end.
She looked everywhere but couldn't see any mark. Then she had an idea. She closed her eyes, ran her fingers across the stone walls. Still nothing until - smooth. Her hand hit a patch of unusually smooth stone. She opened her eyes. Under her hand the old stone had been replaced. This one was different, smooth and a bit darker shade.
It looked like it had been moved before, not so long ago, at least in stone years. She knelt down and pressed both hands against it. It shifted. Just a little. She pushed again. The stone slid back. Behind it was a hollow space, just big enough to reach into.
Inside sat a curved piece of metal, with fine lines spreading outward from the edge like the arm of a star. It fit in her palm. It was clearly part of something larger - something that had been broken apart a long time ago and hidden here carefully.
She didn't know what it was. She knew she couldn't leave it. Isla sat down in the dust and turned the piece over slowly. She wondered how long it had been since someone had held this. She wrapped it in a soft cloth she kept in her backpack.
"I've been looking for that."
She turned around. A girl stood at the entrance to the path, backpack on, boots dusty, a pair of goggles on her forehead. She was grinning like she'd just solved something she'd been working on for years.
"My name's Lily," she said. "I can explain almost everything."
Lily reached out her hand, offering to help Isla up. Isla looked at her for a moment, then grabbed her hand.
Note for Caregivers
Isla finds her way by slowing down and paying attention. The marks on the wall were always there - she found them because she was using not just her eyes, but her other senses as well. For kids managing diabetes, that same steady attention is part of everyday life. Every reading, every small feeling, every signal the body sends is a clue worth following.
What This Story Models
- Noticing small signals calmly and without panic, and trusting what you observe.
- Staying curious when something is unfamiliar rather than rushing past it.
- Understanding that careful attention is a skill - one that gets stronger with practice.
For Conversations at Home
- Ask your child about a time they noticed something about how they were feeling before it became a bigger problem - what did that feel like?
- Talk about what it means to "follow the marks" in their own care routine. What are their marks?
- Share a moment when paying close attention to something small turned out to matter.
Our Hope
We hope this story reminds children that:
- Paying attention is one of the most powerful things you can do.
- The small things you notice every day are not small - they lead somewhere.
- Being careful and curious is its own kind of adventure.
And we hope it reminds caregivers that:
- The attentiveness your child brings to their own care is genuinely remarkable.
- Every time they check in with how their body feels, they are building a skill that will serve them their whole life.
- Slowing down together - noticing, asking, exploring - is some of the most valuable time you can spend.
