STORY STARTER

Submitted by Orelli

I grab my sister's hand and pull her towards the cliff edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction. Then we jump.

Write the story leading up to, or going forward from, here.

The Sea

I grab my sister’s hand and pull her towards the cliff edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction. Then we jump.


When I used to hear people say they’d seen their life flash before their eyes in moments of near death or extreme danger, I’d always rolled my eyes. The whole concept seemed silly to me. But as I hold tight to my sister’s hand and plummet towards the icy, angry sea below, I realize they were telling the truth.


I see myself at four years old, sitting in the sunlit garden beside my sister, smelling a bouquet of fresh roses. An image of myself at thirteen, running from a group of neighborhood boys. Another from when I was seventeen, looking into one of those very boys’ eyes as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Like a roll of film spinning faster and faster, all my memories flash by in vivid color. Only when I hit the water does the movie go black.


I am free falling. My body feels almost weightless. I cannot tell which way is up or down, right or left. I cannot open my eyes._ I don’t want to fight anymore_. I drift away.


I awake to the sounds of the ocean. The soft lapping of waves caressing the shore, the call of gulls from somewhere near. I can feel sand beneath me, between my fingers and pressed into my cheek. Slowly, I open my eyes. It is far too bright out, and it takes several minutes before I am able to make out my surroundings.

Comments 0