Fiction Friday: Found at Sea

“The cure for anything is salt water….sweat, tears or the sea.”
~ Isak Dinesen, pseudonym of Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke

 

She sat, slumped in her seat on the city bus, gazing out the dirty window.

Beside her was her backpack, warding off potential seat-mates. It contained a bottle of water, a novel, a sleeve of saltines and a towel.

The bus wound its way through the streets slowly, stopping to pick up passengers every so often. She had been on the bus for an hour, and knew that she had another hour to go.

She pressed her forehead to window, the heat from the window taking the edge of the chilly bus air. She watched the pavement as it sped past, a river of cracked asphalt.

As always, she could smell it before she saw it.

As she stepped down out of the bus onto the sidewalk, she heard the cries of the seagulls.

The salt water hit her nostrils, guiding her across the street, across the dunes, onto the beach.

 

As she sat, toes buried in the sand, she let the sound of the rushing waves drown out the sounds of their voices…

As the sun kissed her cheeks, she imagined herself on a boat, sailing away…

She lifted her sundress over her head and ran towards the water.

Floating on her back, she closed her eyes and let the current carry her…

This little piece of fiction was inspired by today’s prompt at Write On Edge. We were asked to write a short piece inspired by the above quote.