Friends

I wrote this tonight, when Kat and I needed to do a writing exercise each. Not a great photo of the picture, but it was the picture I wrote from.

Joe walked along the steep, uneven trail of the coastal path and found himself standing at the edge of a sheer granite cliff. Above him he could feel the hot sun warming his neck and head and he heard gulls calling their messages to him as they circled and then dived below the ledge. Beneath him Joe could hear the rhythmic crashing of the waves against the foot of the cliff face. He closed his eyes and allowed the music of the sea to lift his spirits and the senses of nature to transport him away.

The campsite he had walked from was a flat and barren place, simply a place to pitch. From its sun-bleached grassy plateau he could hear the ocean, but he had needed to be near it, to smell it, to breathe it – to be absorbed by it. Joe breathed deeply and then opened his eyes, energised by the sun and the air. He smiled and looked downwards carefully from where he stood at the edge of the cliff. Jutting out from the frothing blue green sea was a row of irregular shaped granite rocks. This place was called Bedruthan Steps, but to Joe these were not the stepping-stones of a giant, rather they were the jagged teeth of a great sea beast, baring its fangs to the mortal world above it, challenging any intruder to its domain. Huge waves crashed with great force against the rocks and Joe’s spirit lifted and surged with them.

He was no longer the scrawny, gangly, pre-teen kid who always sat alone at the school lunchtime. He was no longer the poor soul who everyone talked about and no one talked to. At that moment his heart was not breaking in two, it was breaking free. Joe glanced down to his right hand side and observed a gull taking food to her chicks on the cliff. Purposefully and accurately she swooped on to a cleft in the rock face and delivered goodness to her babies. Caring, committed, safe. Beneath the nest was the irregular sand and pebble beach of a small cove, its isolation and immense inaccessibility made its appeal all the more desirable. There was no way down, but what a place to escape the world that did not seem to fit him.

Joe turned to look backwards towards the campsite where his mother would be assembling the evening meal over a Calor gas stove and his father would be ensuring the stability of the tent’s guy ropes. They simply had no clue. The world stretched two ways for Joe – one was the endless miles of rambling fields rising to the tors of the moor in the distance, this was the world where he was completely alone. He did well at school and his parents were proud of him but he had no friends that could remove the agonising pain of loneliness. The other way stretched to the far unknown horizon, and that had more appeal for Joe than anything else. At that moment the blue green sea surged forward with an extra loud crash as if it was offended like a spoilt child that Joe had taken his attention away from it.

The horizon was a distant black line and Joe wondered what would lie ahead of him if he could travel that way. His imagination conjured images of huge sea creatures with writhing bodies and razor teeth. It painted pictures of brilliant coral reefs and strange shaped marine life. It also created a brand new land, where the days were long and the natives warm and welcoming, having endless days of happiness with a bounty of friends. The sea was always a catalyst for magic in Joe’s mind. He was never alone when he had salty air in his lungs, the repetitive rhythms of the sea in his heart and the raucous cries of gulls ringing in his ears.

Tea would be ready soon. Mum and Dad would be beginning to wonder where he had got to. They had told him not to go too far and he hadn’t, well not really, only a mile or so. The draw of the friendly comforting sounds of the ocean were to powerful a draw for Joe to resist and that is what had brought him to the edge of his world at the cliffs.

Once again he breathed deeply, taking time to let the sea air fill every part of his lungs, raising his arms slowly upwards to embrace all that was around him in a prayer of thanks to his friends for their time and their blessing. They did not want him to go, clamouring for more of his time with crashing waves and screaming gulls, they wanted him to play with them for longer and show him their special treasures. Joe smiled and walked closer to the cliff edge, looking down he shook his head and sighed,
“Okay then, five more minutes guys.”

Joe’s parents had decided to come and look for their son, who seemed ever more distant these days.
“He’ll be near the sea, “ said Mum, “He always seems to be happy and relaxed near the sea.”
“No doubt,” agreed Dad nodding sagely as they walked hand in hand towards the coastal path. They reached the cliff edge near the great rock steps in the sea and looked down to the small beach cove below them.
“It is amazing here,” sighed Mum, “I can understand why he loves it so much here.”
“Truly spectacular,” smiled Dad, “No sign of Joe though?”
“Probably wandered a bit further along the cliff,” suggested Mum
“Yeah maybe…oh look what’s that?” Dad pointed out beyond the rocks into the sea, “A dolphin?”
“Maybe,” said Mum, “Sometimes they day you can see basking sharks, porpoises and dolphins along this coast.”
“The sea is a bit frothed up, I can’t make the shape out, but whatever it is, it is being tossed about and having some fun out there.”
“Its jumping and diving below the waves in the swell, going under and up – I wonder if Joe can see it?” said Mum looking around.
“Joe? Joe?” called Dad, “Joe where are you?”
“I’m here, “ called Joe waving frantically at his parents, “I’m playing with my friends here, I’ll only be five more minutes.” With that Joe sank beneath the frothing blue green surface again and his parents went out of sight.

End

Echo

Here is my first attempt at a 30 minute writing session inspired by the above photo taken at Perranporth Beach last summer. Please forgive errors.

Annie sat on the soft warm sand looking out at the shimmering blue sea, crashing large white crested waves on to the shoreline. Groups of seagulls circled in the sky and the parting sounds of happy holiday makers filled the air after a long sunny day at the beach.

Annie hugged her knees and screwed her eyes tightly shut, refusing to allow the tears to flow, scrunching sand between her toes in desperation. The golden bay had always been a place of joy and delight for Annie. She had played her with Harry through seemingly endless summer days in the warm sea and delicious sunshine. Harry loved the sea and was a particularly good surfer, riding the waves as if he was on the back of a dolphin. Annie had never got the hang of it, usually ending upside down with her mouth full of salt water and ears full of sand. Harry had promised to teach her how to do it, but now he was gone.

Annie swallowed her grief and blinked blurry eyes as she looked around her. The beach was now virtually deserted, with only the odd piece of rubbish left amongst the dug outs and unfinished sandcastle projects that littered it. Mum was so withdrawn now. All her sparkle and magic had disappeared when Harry died. her brother's sense of humour and his capacity to tease his mother to exasperation had only made her loss more unbearable. Dad hid his pain behind piles of paperwork and long hours in a demanding job.

"Why did you leave Harry?" whispered Annie, a sharp pang of grief clutching her heart,

"Why did you leave me?"

The pain was too much to bear and Annie buried her head in her knees and wept uncontrollably.

Suddenly out of the blue, a gull screeched and flew low over Annie's head - startling her and causing her in despair to angrily turn on the gull.

"You rat with wings, get out of here," she yelled, hurling a nearby pebble at the bird, which simply banked to avoid the missile and called insults back to her on the wind. She had never had a good aim and the taunting of the gull reminded her of the good natured teasing of her brother at her pathetic efforts in ball sports.

Annie wiped her blurred vision and turned her head slightly to look across the beach to the great sea cave. It was a magnificent work of nature, carved and shaped by the sea for many hundreds of years. Its doorway and ever watchful eye had guarded the beach through time. Annie and Harry had loved the cavern because of its amazing echoes and all the crevices to hide and explore in.

Inexplicably Annie felt herself drawn to the cave. She wandered over to it, slightly dazed as if as if drawn by some hypnotic, unknowable force. As she got closer, wading across the small stream and over the rocks, Annie looked up at the sheer stone face of the cave. It appeared to her as if the face was inviting her in to explore and play again. She had been unable to go into the cave since Harry's death, in fact she she had not even been able to go into the water. The sea had taken Harry and Annie could not forgive it for that, no matter how awesome and beautiful it was. The sea had taken her big brother and now she would never see him again.

As Annie stood in the cave breathing the damp salty air and observing the carpet of shells and pebbles, such powerful memories were evoked that Annie could no longer stand and she collapsed onto a nearby rock. Through swimming eyes she looked out of the mouth of the cave towards the incoming sea, which had already begun to lap gently about her feet.

All of a sudden it came to her. She could not be without Harry and so she would let the sea come and take her to be with him. She had raged at the sea for the past six months and now it had become the only pathway to being reunited with him. A peculiar peace came over her as she sat like a mermaid, sideways on her rock expectantly looking out to the incoming tide.

"I'm coming Harry," she called, her echo resounding around the cave. She knew Mum and Dad would miss her, but they would have each other and she would be with Harry. Time passed slowly but the water was beginning to cover the rock.

"Soon Harry," called Annie, ignoring her increasingly wet legs and keeping her eyes on the horizon.

"No Annie!" replied a whispering echo in her ears.

Shocked and terrified Annie froze, unable to turn around to see where the words had come from, "You don't want to let go yet," continued the soft gentle voice.

"Harry?" gulped Annie, "I need you, please let me come to you."

"Not yet Annie, not your time," the voice carried on the waves and in the echo of the cave.

"I can't bear it without you," wept Annie, "I don't want to be alone"

"You're not Annie, I am here in the waves in the cave," replied the soothing echoes

"Harry, I'm afraid," sobbed Annie

"No need Annie, you love and are loved, you do not need to find me"

Annie looked up out of the top of the cave and saw the gull that had dive bombed her earlier now circling, oddly silent, almost reverent.

"How do I go on without you Harry, show me?" she asked in a breaking voice between sobs.

"Come back Annie, follow my echoes, come back Annie...Annie...Annie"

Annie turned her head to follow the echoes of her brother's voice and looked straight out of the doorway of the cave and into deep green eyes of her father. He was standing just beyond her reach on a large grey rock looking fearful.

"Come back Annie," came the pleading whisper of her father, holding out his arms, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Dad...I heard Harry, I did, I heard his voice. He wanted me to come back," Annie said simply.

Annie's father nodded his head trembling, "I heard him too sweetheart, listen to him, come back."

Annie took one look back out to sea and saw the gull soaring out towards the horizon. Harry was going back to the sea and she would see him again, but not today. With tentative steps Annie picked her way back across the slimy rocks, taking her father's hand to help her out of the water and the cave. Her father enveloped his daughter in a tight embrace and for a while they held each other weeping.

"Don't leave us dear Annie, we can't lose you too, we need you," pleaded her father in a broken voice

"I need you too Dad, I'm sorry," whispered Annie.

So with arms wrapped around one another, father and daughter walked away up the beach, bidding Harry farewell and leaving him to the care of the waves under the watchful eye of the cave guardian.

End