The strip of sand is thin. Stretching for miles, snaking around the island like a serpent waiting to awaken. The remaining land is rock, worn smooth by the sea.
I walk along the beach, wet sand soft and forgiving beneath my feet, squishing between my toes.
I am lost before I am done.
My footprints washed away, waves cresting, crashing, hushing my breath, erasing me.
Weeks crawl by, worries creep up. Will I see another human before I die here?
A set of footprints.
Someone else’s? Or the ocean playing tricks, saving one of my own to torture me?
Flash Fiction Challenge over at Carrot Ranch
October 12, 2016 prompt: Sand – In 99 words (no more, no less) tell about a walk across the sand. It can be a literal day at a beach, in the sand box or a metaphor of your choosing. What is the sand like and what does it reveal to the reader?
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Great ending.
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Thanks! ๐ฃ
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WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY THAT!
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๐
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I love the imagery and especially the emotion that comes through in this story. Wow!
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I’m glad that came through. (One never knows…) And these beach/sand/water/mind ideas were fun to play with. Thank you! ๐
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I love your imagery and the calm, almost poetic beginning. Then this: My footprints washed away, waves cresting, crashing, hushing my breath, erasing me. The fear of being erased, of never seeing another; startles. And then confusion: whose footprints? Is madness beginning? Well done, Sarah. I love it.
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Thanks, Norah. That’s exactly what I was trying to do so I’m thrilled you got all that from it. ๐ ๐
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Such rich imagery, but I also like the analogy for circular thinking. We walk around in circles and come back to a thought wondering if it’s new or the same old one. I was hoping for a glimpse of your female pirate!
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Ah. Thinking in circles. Always gets you in that trap.
Thanks and, yes, I’d like to see more of her, too. (Hadn’t even thought of her for this! Wish I had. But I do like this one so I’ll have to write about her for another prompt.)
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Maybe your pirate has a raptor…? ๐
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Haha! Okay…let’s see what happens. Parrots don’t count. ๐
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It could be a tale of a parrot who thought himself a raptor!
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Hahaha! For you, Charli, I will attempt this. ๐ Oh…geez.
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Loved ‘I am lost before I am done’ – so powerful and thought provoking!
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Thanks, Lucy! ๐ Nice to see you at the Reef.
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