The sun shimmered over the surface, rippling up and down with the tide. The rays extended out like fingers in immeasurable directions, catching the eyes of each passerby strolling along the sand. The gold light blinded every person who met its gaze with its scintillating beams.
Timothy looked down at his watch. It was late afternoon and the amber sun was beginning its descent behind the horizon. They were nearing the spot he proposed to his late wife, right beyond the second large stone. The wave jetted up and over the rocks, dampening the bottom of his trousers. Timothy could hear Grace talking far behind him, shouting something about spotting a sea lion, but he didn’t listen. He reached the second stone and paused.
Jane looked beautiful that day. Her hair was half up in a burette and the tangerine sun glistened through her golden hair. She was running with the seagulls, mimicking their squawks. If only she could be here with me now. I never thought she would say yes, she was too good for me in every way. Now she’s gone with the tide, her golden ray has disappeared and I’m left hearing only her squawks.
‘Timothy, did you hear me?’ Grace nudged him.
‘Oh, um, what did you say, darling?’ Timothy looked out at the sea, falling into a trance as his eyes aimlessly followed the strokes of light dancing over the water’s surface. The light reflected off the water and onto the side of the cliff, highlighting the bronze and umber rock formations.
‘I asked if you wanted to head back,’ she said, pulling Timothy back into reality.
‘Whatever you want, darling.’ The sun slipped behind the mountain’s outline, burning a deep maroon. Grace stood in front of the light, causing a shadow to fall down the side of her face. The dark light flashed in her eyes. He looked up at her, and then turned away.
‘Is something wrong?’ Grace asked, pushing back her greasy bangs.
‘I was thinking of Jane. This is where I proposed to her, you know.’ Timothy huffed. ‘Thirty years of marriage and then bam, it’s all taken away from you.’
Grace looked down, spotting a crab under a rock’s crevice. How different things would have been if I married Matt. I was so young, nowhere near ready. Besides, he couldn’t support me, working two jobs, barely making enough for himself.
‘She had the best laugh. No one could get sick of hearing her laugh.’ Timothy pulled himself up from the rock.
‘Oh yeah?’ Grace mumbled. Matt loved me, truly loved me. Maybe we would have struggled for a bit, but where has wealth and stability gotten me? Timothy barely looks at me; he is too caught up with Jane. The ghost of her will always and forever engulf him. I wonder if Matt is still engulfed in me?
While the couple meandered along the shoreline, Timothy still slightly in front, the crab scurried to the next rock in sight. A small piece of seaweed dangled from its leg. As the crab darted, grains of sand coated the seaweed strand, covering the green with spotted shades of brown. It nudged itself under the slimy sea palm, waiting for the next wave to pass over the rock. The current washed away the tangled seaweed, freeing the crab. While in search for plankton, the crab noticed an elderly woman poking a sea anemone, causing it to concave into itself.
‘Look, Alice, it’s like a vacuum sucking up everything in it.’ The elderly woman jumped up and down with wide eyes.
Alice pulled her mom away from the rock. ‘Mom, don’t do that. They don’t like being poked.’
The elderly woman slowly sat down on the ground and drew circles in the sand.
‘When is Johnny coming?’ Her circles were getting bigger and bigger.
‘Johnny isn’t coming, mom.’
“Why not? I told him to meet us here, he should be here any minute.”
‘He can’t come, mom.’
‘No he will be here.’ She reached for Alice’s hand, ‘Help me up, sweetie.’
‘Johnny will not be coming. Please don’t get your hopes up again.’
‘Well why in the heck not?’
‘Because he died, mom. He’s been gone for a year.’
Ever since the plane crash, it seemed like the woman’s memory drastically weakened.
The woman mumbled something under her breath and then moved on to talking about the reek of the fish carcass and how annoying those flies are that swarmed over it.
‘I bet it would be so annoying to be that carcass, not that its alive but…’
Alice no longer listened to her mom, glancing down at her barren fingers. She turned her attention to a younger couple bickering quite loudly on a blanket about a half a mile down the beach. She looked at them with jealousy, not because they were fighting, but because they had each other even in difficult times like these. She made out the words “baby” and “hate” but the wind and waves swallowed the rest of the conversation.
The crab scrambled up and over the slick terrain, scraping up algae as it moved. It kept searching, moving, scavenging for food and shelter, there was a clear destination and plan. It decided to cross the slated rocks, exploring each crevice, avoiding getting too close to the crashing waves.
The young couple sat there, silent. The silence lasted short seconds before the young woman spoke again.
‘I don’t want to fight. I just, do you… I mean…’
‘Do I what?’
‘Are you in this? Is it what you want?’ she placed her hand on her stomach.
‘I don’t know what “this” means.’ Rob glanced over at an elderly woman further down the beach. She appeared to be hovering over some dead animal. Why is she so close to that putrid thing?
‘Do you hear me? Are you 100% in this?’
‘ “This” meaning?’ Rob knew what ‘this’ meant. It was the fear of his life, his future being fleshed out for him. There was no escape, no outlet, no awakening from the moment.
‘I think we should move then, back to Virginia and stay with my parents for a little, just until we figure this out.’
‘I can’t fly, Rob. You know I’m still getting over what happened.’
‘It’s been a year. C’mon, you have to fly again some day.’
‘Not anytime soon, Rob.’
The wind rattled on, carrying the crimson and currant sunset over the beach and beyond the sea. Seagulls squawked in the sky, battling over breadcrumbs. Everyone’s voices were drowned out by the restless waves shattering onto shore. Whether Timothy loved Grace, or Rob married the woman, the words, spoken or unspoken, drifted with the tide, far away. A car alarm blared out, battling the cries of the seagulls. The bleeding sun said farewell, slipping completely out of sight. A dog barked, a child cried, and the headlights of cars in the distance remained the last source of light.
