Bend, not break

Part 13 - I am Marta de la Reina!

Fina's laughter as she ran barefoot towards the surf, and her squeals and whoops as the cold waves of the Atlantic began to lap at her legs, had made Marta's heart even lighter and freer.

They had driven a little way past Bayonne to Capbetron, because the beach looked temptingly uncrowded here. When they finally felt the sand under their feet between the dunes and looked to the right and left, it seemed to go on forever. Waves gently washed onto the beach from the deep blue, their white crests breaking on the sand. A few seagulls squawked or squabbled over things they had found in the deep sand. There were a few people walking on the beach, but most of them were several hundred yards away and barely visible. And even if they were to come closer, Marta had realised to her own surprise that she didn't care. If anything happened, they would simply pick up their feet, run to the car and simply leave.

But that would mean missing out on the night in the small, almost cute pension. It was simple but charming. And surprisingly affordable for a coastal town. The landlady seemed a bit tight-lipped, but that didn't bother the couple.
In the room they had found two single beds, but they could be pushed together in a matter of seconds without any effort. But there was still plenty of time to rest in the room later, so they quickly made their way to the beach.

For a while now, Marta and Fina had been fooling around on the beach like children. They hadn't quite managed to stay dry in their clothes, but that didn't bother them. Their shoes were lying at the edge of the dunes between some tufts of grass – and they hoped they would still be there later. Marta's pumps, the only shoes she seemed to own, would have been completely unsuitable for the sand anyway.

Both were a little out of breath, but their eyes were beaming at each other. Marta was sure that she had never seen Fina so happy and carefree. She was equally sure that she herself had never laughed so much as she did on this French shore. Marta had once read the expression in a book that women could be from another shore. She hadn't really understood it. But if this was the other shore, then Marta never wanted to be anywhere else.

She wrapped her arms around Fina, who was panting a lot like Marta. Fina leaned against her and they both stared silently out to sea for a moment, where the sun was already almost touching the water. The yellow was already getting darker, but the blue in the distance seemed endless.

A runner approached from her right side, taking long, fast strides. His panting grew louder and louder with every yard he covered, and his bare feet left heavy tracks in the sand as he got closer.
Fina wanted to break free from Marta's arms, but she held on tight.

'No, querida, no. No more fear. We will not let ourselves be afraid anymore,' Marta whispered in her ear. Fina breathed out and closed her eyes. She wanted to lean even closer to Marta, but she felt that Marta was leaning back a little and putting her head back. Marta breathed in and out deeply.

Then she suddenly screamed in a loud voice: 'I am Marta de la Reina!' And even a little louder: 'And I am in love with Fina Valero!'

The runner nodded briefly as he passed them, unimpressed.

Fina could not say the same. She would have liked to shout along with her, to scream everything that had been on her mind for so long towards the sky and the sea, but the lump in her throat was too thick. She turned in Marta's arms, her eyes were moist as she whispered: 'Te amo, mi vida, te amo.' Marta held her tighter and gave her a deep kiss.

After all, they had walked hand in hand along the beach for a few metres and then turned towards the dunes, where they wanted to watch the rest of the sunset. They quickly found their shoes again.

They had sat down in a hollow in the sand before the beach grass had begun to thicken. Together they stared out to sea, this time it was Marta who lay in Fina's arms and sighed with more than contentment.