Simply Short

Washed Away

I sighed as I watched the sea wash away my stick family. My stick family was the closest thing I had to my real family after they were dragged out to sea. I was eight when it happened, it was Australia day. I had been sitting on the sand reading a book when my older sister Alice began to scream.

I dropped my book and raced down to the water edge to see what was going on. I could see Alice but not Mum, Dad, Mike or Sally. I watched, waiting for them to resurface, but Alice just kept struggling to stay above water, screaming, and nobody resurfaced. Alice went under and then I realised what was happening. I screamed, I spun around and ran up the beach looking for a lifeguard.

There, I found one. He was standing near the ice-cream kiosk, but he was watching the lady serving ice-cream, not the water. I ran up to him and tugged his shirt. I had been calm the whole time but panic was starting to take over. The man looked at me then kneeled down so he was closer to my height.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?" he asked.

I didn't say anything just pointed at the water where my family had gone under. He realised what I meant, raced off to get his gear, and was soon in the water. After a while he came back to me but not with my family.

"Was that someone you knew?" he asked.

"Yes, my Mummy, Daddy, sisters and brother!" I had told him.

"So kiddo...I hate to tell you this...But they are probably... Gone." he told me.

I knew what he meant; it was the same thing my parents told me when granny had died. I fell to my knees and started to cry. Is it possible that everything you love can be washed away?

I don't remember much more about that day only that Nana and Poppa came and picked me up from the beach. I was such a mess for months, I slept, waking only to use the bathroom or to get drinks. I do know that their bodies were found a week later and that I wouldn't eat at all. Days had passed and soon it was time for their funeral. I just sat there staring at the coffins. Then we had to bury them, Nana read a letter that I had wrote to them.

So, here I am, 6 years later, the same place which I stood 6 years ago, watching my family drown.

Suddenly there was my mother's voice in my head saying, "Prudence, it is time now, you can join us".

I waded out into the water until it was just over my shoulders, then I dove, down under the water so I could join my family again.

***

First short story. First rambling blurb.

This story was written years ago, when I was a different person (Not really I was just exceptionally naive) at the young sweet age of twelve. I had never written a word before this point and in the months following, I would attempt another short story that - thankfully - was lost during all the years and moving.

It was for a short story competition run through one of the magazines my sister and I used to read religiously. There was a one line prompt and I thought, 'why the hell not?'. When I was finished, I paraded it around proudly (I had written a story!) and my mum, without any sarcasm, told me it was really deep.

I opened it up a few years back and thought: 1)wow, blast from the past, and 2)oh god no. Now I am giving it to the world to share.

No, I didn't win the competition. I didn't take note of the fact that the competition was run from a different time zone and so I submitted it like ten minutes late. I read the winning entry, and kept it for years though, I liked it though I didn't tell anybody that.