Tuesday 1 August 2017

STARFISH

A beautiful seaside short story from fifteen year old reader Sarah...

I lie on the pebbly ground, watching the clouds float by... my favourite hobby. It used to be swimming in the sea, but I never really swam, I just lay on the surface and let the swishing waves carry me back and forth. The beach was always my favourite place in the world. I spend my days as a young one here, and somehow over time I learned to appreciate the wonders of nature. I never get tired of looking at the clouds. They help me to reflect, relax, look back on my life. Never had much opportunity to go and do anything. People take me for granted, but they don't really know who I am or what I am capable of.

A dog approaches. He has no owner with him, just a lonely being. He reminds me of myself, but then I realise I am not lonely - definitely alone though. I try to sigh, but feel I don't have the energy to do even that. The dog checks out his surroundings, drawing his wet nose close to one of my arms to sniff. It bothers me, but I cannot push him away. I hate to admit I am weaker than a dumb dog. He sits for a minute, deep blue eyes staring at me, head cocked, confused. I notice that he's just a puppy, and this brings me back to the days of my own youth. I stare at the dog until he wanders off, finding more interesting things to do.

The waves go on crashing onto the shore. I have always hated that deafening noise, so i focus on the clouds again. Fluffy today, like they have just been whipped up in a candyfloss machine and given to a child at a fair. The sky is a dank, grey colour. It looks as if a painter has just hung up a sheet to paint, but never actually begun to paint.

It starts to rain and I try to shield myself from the large, panging drops, but I cannot. I stay still on the now-shiny pebbles. What's the point, anyway? You only live once, as the children these days say. I remain where I am, the sky's teardrops falling around me. A storm is on the way. This is the last thing I think before I shut my eyes and fall asleep...

Cathy says:
I love the sad, poignancy of this short story... full of feeling, yet so simple. Would YOU like to see more short stories on DREAMCATCHER? Just COMMENT BELOW to have your say!

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful. Held my breathe as i read the words. Loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brilliant story! Love it! (:

    ReplyDelete

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