AT THE WATER'S EDGE
Karen stood right at the edge, the ebb and flow of the moonlit estuary echoing her emotions. Each retreating wave dragged shingle from beneath her feet, and she fought to keep her balance, just as her mind struggled to maintain equilibrium in its turmoil of thoughts.
How could things have gone so wrong? She was tempted to let the tide take her, but when the wash of a passing ship knocked her over she scrambled up and back.
Back to life without him, back to prove she could do it alone.
No
man was worth her death.
.....................................................................................................
I've been having deep and meaningful conversations with a friend about our former love lives - you can blame this sombre story on our retrospection. Though to be fair, the last time I entertained such dramatic thoughts I was a teenager!
Thanks to Sandra Crook, a regular contributer of photos, for this image, and to Rochelle https://rochellewisoff.com/ for hosting our select group of writers on Friday Fictioneers.
Great description of the shingle beneath her feet
ReplyDeleteThanks Neil - shingle is notoriously fickle to stand on, as one who grew up in Brighton knows all too well.
DeleteI'm glad she came to her senses in the end.
ReplyDeleteSo am I. Thanks for reading, Iain.
DeleteSo glad that truck splashed some sense into her! Life might not be what she had hoped but that doesn't mean better is not ahead!
ReplyDeleteMany of us know the feeling, even though it's usually short-lived, that life has nothing to offer. Amazing how, given time, life proves otherwise.
DeleteThat's a mantra (the last line) she'd do well to remember.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Thanks for reading.
DeleteGreat ending. Sometimes the most surprising things can shake us out of the doldrums.I like your description of the shingle, and the motion of the water.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margirene - hopefully she'll move on to better things!
DeleteSo bleak, but I trust in that moment of hope and resolution at the end. She has so much more to give!
ReplyDeleteIt was rather bleak to begin with - a reflction of my mood,, perhaps, but not for long.
DeleteThis is Granonine. I've never stood on shingle, but I have stood on shifting sand as the ocean tide comes in, backing away bit by bit. And having dark thoughts, too--but not dark enough to brave the briny deep. And yes, I was a hormonal teenager :)
ReplyDeleteI believe there are some people who never go through that stage, but I have yet to meet one!
DeleteShifting shingle can play with the mind as one who lives 30 miles along the coast from Brighton knows only too well!
ReplyDeleteI spent my teenage years in Hove & Brighton, so I know it well. I live 8 miles inland now.
DeleteYes, the story was somber, but not really that much. It was tidy in 100 words but it would have been nice had you had more for this one.
ReplyDeleteMaybe - I was happy with its length!
DeleteI'm glad she was shaken to sense in time! -Angela
ReplyDeleteSo am I - I might have been in a sombre mood but not a murderous one!
DeleteDear Lizy,
ReplyDeleteI'm so relieved she came to her senses. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
The trouble it that in ones teens it is far too easy to let emotion rule, and to come to ones senses too late could be disastrous.
DeleteHow true! No man is worth that.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more - but then I am now old enough to have more sense!
DeleteAlicia here. I'm glad the waves of the passing ship snapped her to her senses. No man or woman is worth taking your life for.
ReplyDeleteSee my previous reply!
DeleteI'm so glad she chose life. She can do it without him!
ReplyDeleteShe can, and she will. Thanks for reading, Brenda.
Deletethat's the only valuable thing, the life
ReplyDeleteNever a truer word was spoken.
DeleteThat wave was a wake-up call and yes, no one is worth that. I also remember teenage angs not-so-fondly, LOL
ReplyDeleteOne thing all that angst did teach us - to treat our own teen children with more understanding!
DeleteSo scary being a mother watching your child struggle through a break up, hearing stories of those who felt they could not survive and so they didn't, worried that your child might feel this way also. I'm glad she came to her senses, for her, and for her mother.
ReplyDeleteOne of mine went through a really bad time and I worried myself sick. Fortunately he came out the other side.
DeleteA good moral to the story, no man or anyone is worth your death.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Thanks for reading.
Delete