Here is my entry for Magpie Tales #30. Follow the link to see the other entries.
***
I
can never sleep late at the beach. A small crack of light peeks through
the blinds. Everyone else is sleeping. I quietly slip out of bed and
grab my new magazine and an apple. Outside, I find a deck chair and
watch the gray water heaving forward on the white sand and retreating
again. It sounds as if the world is breathing. Seagulls soar above
calling raucously. Soon I will start the coffee. We'll take a walk along
the beach and go out for breakfast. The long weekend stretches ahead.
The sky begins to turn pink. . .
***
It
is a warm Indian Summer afternoon. The sun is shining through the
shifting leaves of red and yellow. I can hear the creek trickling over
the rocks. I sit on the wooden steps of the front porch. The sun is warm
but the breeze is chilly. A pot of spicy gumbo simmers on the stove
inside. I feel hungry thinking about it. I put down my magazine and grab
a fresh-picked apple from the basket. I stroll down the path toward the
river where the children are wading along the shore. I can hear them
laughing. . .
***
It
is my first morning in a beautiful stone villa overlooking the sea. It
is dark and cool inside. I open the shutters to the brilliant sun and
bright blue sky. Sailboats bob in the sparkling water below. I go out to
the little wrought iron table on my private balcony with an apple and
an American magazine thinking of the adventure that awaits me. . .
***
I'm
jolted out of my thoughts as the phone rings at my elbow. The gray
walls of my cubicle close around me. I sigh and toss the apple core and
the empty sandwich bag into the trash can. Lunch break is over.
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