Short Story Saturday

I woke up, secure, in his arms.

We were on a beach, camped out, alone, so that we could save a prime spot on what was supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year, for ourselves, and our friends.

Briefly, I considered waking him up, nicely, but rejected that idea, noticing a few other people nearby whom had evidently decided to try to camp out, and save prime beach spots, as well. Closing my eyes, I savored the moment of quiet.

People started trickling in, early, the day was very warm already. The skies were blue, with white, fluffy clouds scuttling by. The ocean water was calm. Before long, our friends had arrived, and started to have fun in the surf.

Along with the friends came his teenaged daughter. She was a good kid, but had been suffering the usual teenaged anxiety and angst as of late. Still, she was fun to be around, and was enjoying herself very much at the beach.

The cry of a small child broke the atmosphere of hot fun. "Ow! My leg!". Upon inspection, it seemed his leg had gotten poked by a broken branch that hid nearby. Sighing, his dark haired mother gathered up a few items, to take him to the car, and home, to treat his leg. Being ever helpful, the teenager trailed behind her, gathering their belongings, to help her carry stuff to the car. Seeing a bright cloth in her hand, her father called out to her. His head was hot, and he needed a bandanna, to cover it. Sighing with teenaged frustration, the kid merely dropped the cloth onto the sand as she passed by, slowly trailing the mother with the still whimpering child.

He and I sat, in the warm sand, a few moments longer, watching the water, listening to the beach noises. A breeze fluttered in, picking up the bright cloth, and began moving it down the beach. We got up, hand in hand, content to walk behind the meandering cloth, as it made it's way down the beach.

The cloth, mindless of the danger, finally plunged into the ocean water, at the sight of a small cove. Muttering in mild irritation, he jumped in, after it. Without hesitation, I did the same. The water was cool, refreshing. As I surfaced I looked for his bobbing head, and the cloth. I saw neither. What I did see was that the once clear water was dark. Darker than it had been. Calling his name, I swam around. Not panicked, but worried. Seeing people walking the shore around me, I called out to them, but was not acknowledged. Finally, I climbed out of the water, making my way back to the beach, the friends. Still trying to talk to people, to find him. No one answered, and I was frustrated. I ducked into a small cave of stone, startling a mass amount of small insects, causing them to stream out of the cage, making the passers by swipe at them in disgust. "At least something responds to me" I thought, as I continued my journey down the beach.

Then, the worried thought. "Am I dead?" This pounded through my head, as I walked down the sunny beach, still looking for him. Out of no where, a voice in my head saying

"Wake up. You'd better wake up". Twice.

I woke up, secure in his arms.

Thankfully, in our own bed....