This story is dedicated in loving memory to Thunderstorm, a hermit crab who roamed the world with his tiny pincers and asymmetrical legs...

Hermit crabs: they know more than you think they do - or do they?

One morning (while their owners were away; school, work, etc.), Spiral and Thunderstorm were having an exciting – well, to them it was – conversation.

“So what do you think, Stormy?” Spiral’s eyes sparkled with eccentricity, her ivory-colored shell gleaming with a small shred of sunlight. “Hello? Stormy?” Spiral pulled back Stormy, who was looking into an empty shell with pure curiosity.

“Hey! I was going to move into that shell!” he chirped.

“There’s no time for that! You agreed with me when we were discussing my plan to RULE THE WORLD!!!!”

“No, you had a plan to explore this place while everyone was gone-“

“So you were listening! Anyway, you don’t get to do something like this everyday!” She cut him off.

“True, true, true. Still I think-“

Again she cut him off. “The plastic trees are in the right place. Perhaps we can climb on them, reach the top of the lid and go, or we can jump onto the plastic disco ball (that was hanging off of a string tied to the lid) and escape, but... traction’s an issue as well...” she rambled.

“Quite the contrary, Miss Mad Scientist. Isn’t there a better, safer alternative?” Stormy said, trying to use big words. “You have quite an initiative.”

“I do, don’t I? I guess I’m a connoisseur at it.”

“Is your strategy going to work?” Stormy watched Spiral fall, endeavor after endeavor.

“Yeah, and in case of emergency, where we’re prominently exposed, that’s where we initiate Plan B.” Spiral struggled to the top.

“What’s that?”

“The remedial remedy Plan B is easy. Since we’re not very traceable, I say we RUN!!!” The crab fell.

“Whew! Finally! I thought we’d never get out of here!” Spiral looked down from the blue lid of the plastic tank. “Consistency is the key. Mwahahahaha!”

“You and your plans for world domination – I’m never going to make it to the top,” Stormy said, falling into the sand. “You and your abstract ideas...”

“You will; it’s real easy. Here.” Spiral reached out to Stormy.

“Okay, what do we do now?”

The crabs were stranded, for all that was ahead of them was the dark, finished wood of the coffee table. Spiral plunged forward and fell.

“Are you okay?”

“Well, from the looks of it, I didn’t fall from more than three feet up. You try it!”

“Well, you’re immune to danger! I’m a different story!”

“Come on, you’re not going to chicken out! We conferred for hours and came to a proposal. Don’t let me down! Do it for hermit crabs everywhere!” Striding a few inches closer, she looked onto the kitchen table and saw a cylindrical container of oatmeal. “There’s gourmet food involved! Come on!”

With that he ran to the edge and fell. He and his shell were still intact. Joining Spiral, they ran off, sunlight pouring on them on them as they went...