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I know this probably isn't exactly the right place to put it, but here is a story I wrote for a school assignment last year. It's written in an uncoventional style, so that's why it jumps around a bit.
It has a bitter theory of life, but I like how it turned out. Comments are welome, and in fact, wanted.
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Standing high above the shore, if you breathe in, you can taste the salt through your nose, down your throat, into your lungs. It makes you wonder what it’s like down there, beneath the glistening blue depths; what it’s like beneath the shore.
The wind gently swirls by. The surroundings a becoming contrast; the vivid yellow of the fine sand with the deep blue hue of the ocean. The glorious pink sky tinged with yellow and orange, shapes an ephemeral border to the radiant sun, as it creeps further down the horizon.
You moisten your dry lips, only to find they weren’t quite so dry. Tears. Sadness. Salt.
As you stand near the tide’s edge, you become acutely aware of the fine difference between earth and water. You begin to wonder, to question - is the earth an unwavering force that is entrenched in the bottom of the sea, or just an island, destined to drift endlessly?
Then you begin to question your own stability. Are you, too, destined to drift for all eternity? After all, what is there left here on the solid earth for you?
Sometimes you just want to cut all those ties and boundaries. You just want to be free.
Earth, water.
Air.
You just want to fly.
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“Wake up, damn you!”
Why? This feeling of freedom, of floating, is too great to leave behind. I must embrace it…
Slap.
My thoughts came racing to a halt as my spiritual presence returned abruptly to my body. The weightlessness left me; my mind began to take in the sorry state I was in. My throat felt parched, my mouth as dry as a desert, and my lungs burned.
“Thank God…open your eyes.”
I wanted to obey that voice, but my eyes refused to cooperate. Where was I? What had happened?
“If you won’t open your eyes, I’ll do it for you…”
Warm fingers touched my eyelids, and I instantly became aware that my body was as cold as the Antarctic winds. My eyelids flew open, but they promptly closed again as the fading sun nearly blinded me.
“Gently.”
Who’s here with me? The voice is familiar…
No time for pondering - heaving with painful convulsions, my stomach threw up all the water I had unknowingly consumed. My throat burned… my tongue caught the distinctive taste of salt…water…it was bitter…reflecting my thoughts…
“Careful now.”
Hands helped me sit up, and I shakily opened my eyes. A warm hand enclosed around mine, and that, too, felt familiar. I looked up, and wondered how I could have ever forgotten Matt, the love of my life.
Matt looked at me oddly. I stared right back, ignoring the screams my body was sending to my confused brain. God, I hurt. I suddenly felt as weak as a newborn baby - weak and dependent.
I became aware of my surroundings. The soft beach, the water slapping wildly against the shore; the sun which had almost left the sky, only the smallest rays still caressing the quiet earth. The outcropping of rocks was visible over Matt’s shoulder. Matt’s car was parked on the side of the road several metres from the edge of the beach.
Still looking at me like I’d grown a second head, Matt asked, “What happened?”
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Water. Water everywhere. In my eyes, in my nose, in my mouth. There is no escaping it.
The salt stings my eyes. I feel no fear, no panic. My thoughts jump rapidly from one to the other, following no rational train of thought.
So this is how it feels; weightless, empty, besieged by the taste of salt. I had crossed the fine line between water and earth. As my body drifts, everything becomes clear...we are all destined to drift, all ordained to follow some path set for us long before we were born.
We have no choice. No freedom.
Is this the end of my path? Is this where I am destined to lie…at the bottom of the ocean?
I don’t mind. After all, we’re each just one small fish in an infinite sea.
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Matt stopped the car. We both hastily got out, eager to survey the view. It was beautiful. The golden sand melding into the sapphire waves, which in turn kissed the midafternoon sky.
A lopsided grin on my face, I turned to see what Matt thought of it. My smile wavered, as I saw the black frown on his face.
Concerned, I gripped his arm. “What is it?”
Almost reluctantly, Matt turned to me. “Winnie, we need to talk.”
I was taken aback by his serious tone. Matt, serious? “Okay. Shoot.”
Gently, he took one of my hands - he didn’t notice its slight tremble. “I don’t think we’re right for each other.”
His words didn’t penetrate my clouded mind. “Aren’t right…?” Then it hit me. “You mean…you want to break up?” I ended on a squeak. When Matt refused to look at me, it was answer enough. My body and mind slowly went numb.
Break up? What about US? I couldn’t quite understand why. We loved each other!
“I need to be alone right now.” Without looking at Matt, I turned and began to walk towards the boulders near the edge of the tide, as if in a dream. Tears poured copiously down my cheeks.
Salt. Water. But the one does not wash the other away.
There’s love, pure and simple; full of loyalty, trust, happiness and fulfilment. Gentle, like water. But there’s the price of love; the bitterness, betrayal, the fights and the heartbreak.
Like salt. It stings my eyes. My nose. My mouth.
A bitter taste, gritty like sand.
We’re each just a grain of sand in the hourglass, dropping one by one to meet our fate. Our aging marks the passage of time.
One by one, our lives change. My time had come. But denial was close on the heels of recognition.
This couldn’t be happening…it just couldn’t.
Love conquers all, doesn’t it?
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“I…I didn’t jump intentionally,” I said slowly. My thoughts contradicted - yes, you did; you wanted to fly.
Matt just looked at me, like he could read my thoughts. “You’re selfish, Winnie. It’s always about you!” He got up.
“Wait, you don’t understand!” I cried, waking up from my trance-like state.
But he just kept walking. “It’s you who doesn’t understand.” Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he said, “Get in the car. I’ll take you home.” He walked away.
The sun had completely set, leaving darkness in its wake. I turned to the sea. Thank you, for letting me be a drop of you. I understand my destiny now.
Earth. Air.
Water.
There’s no freedom.
Only destiny.
I took a deep breath, licked my lips, and smiled. After all that had happened, it was still there. The one constant in a life of change, ties and destiny.
The taste of salt.
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