She (Short Story)

She stared out across the ocean. The sapphire canvas before her seemed to beckon and call in a way she’d never felt before. It was strange, this crushing helplessness. How had she ended up here?

She could still feel the weight in her hand, still hear the screams. They would never leave her. It made her shiver just to think about it. Or maybe that was the cold breeze wrapping itself around her. She couldn’t really tell the difference anymore.

Her feet ached underneath her, the cold sand a welcome relief from the road she’d run down, barefoot. She was fairly certain one of her toes and been cut open, the stinging said enough. A breath escaped her lips, ragged and heavy. Maybe it was always supposed to end this way.

It was nice here. The crashing waves and the birds dancing on the horizon, her back to the rest of the world. Here, it was easy to pretend that none of it had ever happened.

But it had. And soon the sirens would be coming.

She could allow herself this last fleeting second of freedom. She closed her eyes as the sea breeze ruffled her hair like a parent. Maybe she could stay here for a while