Once in a Lifetime

Note from the Author:

I've decided to share some of my college work on Wattpad. These stories and poems were written over 20 years ago and are sort of a time capsule of my writing progress. While there are plenty of problems in these stories (telling instead of showing being a reoccurring theme), I've tried not to edit them too much. These stories tend to be very personal and raw. At the time, I thought I was being quite metaphoric but, in retrospect, it was pretty obvious what was going on in my life when I wrote them. These stories were all created before I really felt comfortable with dialogue so they tend to be more surrealistic. These truly are some of my very first stories from when I was exploring whether or not writing would be a possible career. I hope you enjoy them. For more of my work, check out www.tomandry.com.

Once in a Lifetime is probably one of my favorites. When I started writing in this style, I found myself, for the first time, getting really excited about writing. I took the same creative writing class twice so that I would have an excuse to write more. After, I told myself that short stories weren't a viable career and went on to other things. It wasn't until 15 years later that I found myself once again writing. If it weren't for that one creative writing class, and these stories in particular, I would never be the writer I am today. 

* * *

My life-jacket fits uncomfortably, pulling under my arms, the shoulders over my ears. The water is getting colder as night approaches, transforming the once welcome breeze into an unwanted invader. My cries for help, with my will to swim toward an unbroken horizon, disappeared with my strength. I am alone in this vast dessert of an ocean, waiting to die.

The waves lapping against my face grow higher; I spot a fin in the water. Then another, and another. My fears mount as the fins converge on my location. Suddenly, a body shoots out of the water, only to joined by many more. Dolphins! Hundreds of them surround me, seemingly ignorant of my presence.

A captivating spectacle: They are graceful, fluid, free, in perfect harmony, no collisions, no arguments, no competition: They simply are. 

BOOM!

A deafening sound pierces the night, sending my new-found friends fleeing to the depths.

BOOM! 

Louder, closer, originating from my behind me.

BOOM!!

Is it thunder from a storm, guns from a ship? I try to turn but my numbed arms won't respond.

BOOM!!!

Anxiety grips me with an icy hand as I feel the spray of water on the back of my neck and the moon is swallowed in a sea of black. Above me, suspended in space and time, is a shape so vast my mind reels. Every star is engulfed by the massive body as it soars over my head. Times slows to a standstill; I watch the creature reenter the water. First the head, followed by the body, and last the tail, landing only inches from my face.

The water pushed back from the tail assaults my face. It violates my stomach and lungs rushing past my parted lips. It thrusts my eyes open and deafens my ears with its roar. Blinking back the tears, I realize the whale is gone. I wait for something, a sound or a movement. No more whales, no BOOM's, no dolphins, nothing. I cough a few times unable to expell the water from my lungs. I listen for a moment, trying to pick out a sound, any sound, other than the gurgling of my labored breaths. Nothing. Nothing but the murmur of the ocean.

Using the last of my strength, I reach up and pull the draw string on my life-jacket and slide free. The water almost tastes good.

* * *

Cover photo courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Malene