"She kept swimming but that ocean had no shores"
Silence filled the drive as Romy chugged up the gravel road in her old red Audi. The gravel crunched under the tires, seagulls screeched above their heads, but Aurora didn't dare speak. She didn't want to speak either, her mouth was parched, it even hurt when she formed her lips into a word or sound. Her former best friend watched her through her sunglasses and sighed."Nice weather here on the island, isn't it?" she said and smiled. She turned up her music, old 60s pop songs echoing from the speakers. "But the sky looks like it's going to rain tonight. But I wanted to go swimming in the sea!" Romy laughed. But Aurora didn't laugh. She just kept quiet and looked at the seemingly endless ocean and its regular waves.
"Why did Josephine invite us? We haven't been in touch for years?" the quiet woman asked suddenly. Romy avoided her gaze and focused on the road again. Her hands seemed to tighten around the steering wheel. "That's a good question. Maybe she misses us so much that she couldn't bear to be alone anymore. I missed you a lot too, you know," Romy replied, turning to Aurora. "I thought you'd forgotten about me," Aurora murmured quietly, her hair fluttering in the wind. "No, that's complete garbage. I would never forget you! It's just ... complicated," Romy sighed.
Finally, a small beach house appeared at the end of the gravel path, another car parked at the edge. High dunes and hills stretched far and wide, a steep path led down to the beach. There was nothing else for miles around. Just the beach house, with its white bricks and old thatched roof. "Oh, we're finally here! It looks beautiful!" Romy said happily and got out of the car. Aurora remained seated for a moment. Should she really be here? Of course she wanted to find out the truth ... but somehow her gut feeling told her that the next few days would be anything but nice. Maybe it was just the bad weather. Aurora got out of the car while Romy pulled her pink suitcase out of the trunk.
"These are going to be the best three days! Sun, beach and sea! What could be better?" Romy laughed, her red lipstick shimmering in the sun. The two women rang the doorbell. "What if Josephine isn't happy about my visit?" interjected Aurora. Romy gave her a gentle smile. "Don't worry, everything will be fine," her friend reassured her. The next moment, the door opened and a dark blonde, elegantly dressed woman stepped out.
It was Josephine, the third friend. Now they were all together again. Aurora looked at Josephine uncertainly. "You've ... came," the hostess paused for a moment in surprise. "Of course she did! She missed us," Romy laughed and hugged Josephine. Aurora hugged her tensely. "It's nice to see you again," she said.
"Please come in, dinner will be ready soon," Josephine smiled at the two guests. "I'm happy to see you again too, really," Josephine added as she disappeared behind the door. But Aurora didn't believe her. She didn't believe a word she said. Not even her silence.
YOU ARE READING
Three Last Days - an emotional short story about Depression
Storie brevi"Now I'm thinking my last words as my heart takes its final beat and everything around me is shrouded in an eternal darkness." Three women reunite at a lonely island, while Aurora is still captured in her depression since her daughter Kara killed h...
