Sea Story, Last Bit....
Posted: Monday, 19 May 2008 |
10 comments |
Her eyelids flickered, open a little, flickered shut again, too tired, too heavy......and she slept a little longer....
Only the cold seeping into her bones woke her fully and groggy, befuddled, mindless..she looked around at what she could see, in this darkness...
Her clothes had become heavy, waterlogged, and she shivered uncontrollably in the chill night air....
Waves of dizziness overtook her, made her stagger as she tried to stand, the skies above spinning wildly, seeming strange and alien, and vast, far too vast and distant....the air burned her lungs, and she coughed, coughed til she was blue with it, gasping...
A part of her mind seemed to remember nights when she knew in her heart she could reach up, touch the stars if she wished....
but not now.
She was on the beach, water lapping at her ankles and her boots, her clothes sodden and heavy and gritty with sand.
Standing, finally, she waited for the sickening dizziness to subside before staggering forward to the stones that met the single track road...
Images...dreams...swam through her mind....and as quickly as they surfaced, she banished them..too painful to remember those, too hurtful a thing to believe, because...because she wanted to....
She didn`t remember the walk up the track and into the house...the first light of dawn was washing the East with milk when she entered, ran herself a hot bath and still shivering, sank into it, clothes and all, to warm herself...
The ache of cold gradually left her bones, her muscles, and she laid back in the water, and closed her eyes..and wept...and wept...and wept.....
If it had been only a mad dream..if she had truly tried to take her own life by walking into the sea, and that was some kind of rapture given to those who did so....she wanted it back....
When she could cry no more, she left the bath, not caring that she trailed a river of water through the house, into the bedroom, where she dried herself and put on warm, old, comforting clothes...
Sitting at the table by the window, she watched the day come alive...the sun rose, as always....the greenery outside became deeper, lusher...birds flew and chattered...she watched tractors set to work in nearby fields...saw fishing boats leave the harbour and head out to creels...
and noticed none of it...blind seeing.....
Her days blended, one into the other, a routine of work, tending her livestock, and falling into bed at night, exhausted, deliberately so, blotting out dreams of deep green eyes, shimmering liquid landscapes, tolling bells, seals......
And if, in her mind, she yearned to walk into that place again, the mundanities of life kept her earthbound, and in time, she began to remember without the pain, and in time, she cherished the memories, and was able, even, to walk back to the shore, always in daylight though...and watch the seals bob up from the waves, watching her watch them, before they barked and vanished beneath the waves, dark flowing streaks, quick and graceful....
but none of them had the eyes of her hound.....
and no emerald green eyes followed her progress along the shoreline....
Winter came, and it became too dangerous to visit the shore...she hugged her stove, listening to the wind howl and batter doors and windows, shrieking like the banshee, prying for a way in.
A pot of coffee atop the stove fragranced the room and bubbled quietly.
The old clock on the bookshelp ticked but could not be heard above the wind...yet, she heard the knock at the door...
Rising, she unbolted the door and struggled to hold onto the handle as the greedy wind tried to steal the door, frame and all, from her grip...she had to squint her eyes against the wind to see, in the dark, who was out there....only a hooded shape, holding a bundle of cloth....
A man...
He said something but she couldn`t hear...so beckoning him in, she let him walk past her and put her shoulder to the door, slamming it against the outside and throwing the bolt over to secure it...
panting with effort, she turned to see.....
He lifted the hood free. Emerald green eyes met hers and smiled.
Pale skin glowed, not green tinged but for all that, a stranger to sunlight...
In his arms the bundle of dark cloth wriggled and whimpered...and smiling a thin lipped smile, he lifted the corner of the cloth away.
A bundle of black and white, little white paws, black shiny nose, ears pricked and curious, tongue lolling, pink and dripping....a tail wagged furiously as the pup saw her and as it wriggled the more, he held it out to her....
Taking the tiny hound in her arms, she suffered her face licked, dog drool and wet nose across cheeks and eyelids, puppy breath in her nose, and she looked into deep brown collie eyes, bright and intelligent, knowing and sure....
And emerald eyes smiled into hers as he sat at the table near the window and watched the woman hug an old, well remembered friend.....
Posted on Hermit Life at 17:14
Comments
Ah----a happy ,soppy ending,sniff,sniff,sniff
carol from away to buy more boxes of kleenex
Lovely HL. What a great story.
Carol from IBHQ
ah god almighty that was lovely :) great great story, beautifully told. That made my day!
PS write more stories, I have withdrawal symptoms :)
GerCelt from Dublin, Ireland
Don't look at me! I've something in my eye, that's all thats wrong! . . . and they're tired . . . you'se lot leave me alone for a minute . . . *sniff*
Salty from Dublin
Ooooh. That.Was. Lovely. Absolultely lovely. Sigh......
And you must write more. :)
Ellie from Feeling very soppy
HL - that was absolutely brilliant!!!!
Rachondarox from Lancs
My,My----What a nice short story about two special beings.,dont stop writng your thoughts----Thank you again.
a.h. hancock from america
HL that was absolutely wonderful.. more of the same pleeeeease.
jan from greetin' my eyes oot
only just came on to fine out what life is like up there as i have a m8 there who i care about n is goin through tough times. sorry to hear uv been let down in ur hr of need so to speak. Friends like most are human and unfortunatley do let us down. But chin up gal....theres plenty more friends like us out there willing to listen xx...hope ur situation improves x
andie...... from midlands
only just came on to fine out what life is like up there as i have a m8 there who i care about n is goin through tough times. sorry to hear uv been let down in ur hr of need so to speak. Friends like most are human and unfortunatley do let us down. But chin up gal....theres plenty more friends like us out there willing to listen xx...hope ur situation improves x
andie...... from midlands
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