I’ve been pretty absent in the writing world the past few months. Work keeps me busy, a good kind of busy!, but health problems have limited what I do outside of it. Right now my kids are on summer break, and I’m trying to enjoy them as much as I can before school snatches them away for most of the day.
We also went on a family reunion this summer that provided a lot of fun ocean experiences for our family. We already live by the beach, but it was good to spend time with family and explore a new part of the ocean.
It also continually amazes me how huge the ocean is. How dangerous it truly is.
I’ve always been enchanted by water. Lakes, oceans, both rolling and choppy waves. There’s magic in the dark depths, mysterious to ensnare us. Monsters to tell tales of.
I can’t wait to experience more. So until then, enjoy more obsessed ocean-themed stories, like this one.
The woman hangs back at the beach, her toes digging through the warm, dry grains as she watches her laughing son run into the crashing waves. Wind whips at her face, the salt of the sea stinging her skin, reminding her of her eternal punishment.
Never can she return to the ocean, forbidden from claiming her birthright and legacy among the deep.
She’d rather stay inside, but she couldn’t keep the sea from her son, whose skin dried out when away from the ocean too long. One day, he’d be old enough to turn and swim deep on his own. Until then, the beach had to be enough.
The boy yelps and giggles, running after small, brave crabs skittering back to their holes. Larger waves begin to pound into the sand, pulling at his legs.
He quiets, staring into the horizon. Listening.
Her breathing stutters, and she can almost hear the singing, serenading her son, promising him the power of the deep. Too early.
“Caspian,” she cries out, rushing to grab him.
He takes unsteady steps deeper into the white caps.
She screams at the water’s edge, her arms stretched out, unable to reach. The next wave crashes into his shoulders, a darkness tinging the ocean’s blue.
“No, no…” She steps into the waves, crying and falling as the water burns, her skin scabbing and limbs unable to move. Pain shreds her, but her son…
The ocean’s next wave claims him, dark tentacles taking him to the deep.
For more enchanting Wednesday Words by other authors, check out the official Wednesday Words page!