Young Writers Society

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1

The stretch of beach before me was pulsing with a soft, vermilion glow, the sand seeming alive as it gave way to the gentle imprint of my foot. I swore I could hear the wet sand sigh as my toes pressed deep into it, the shimmer of stars casting a deceptive light across the surface of the waves as they crashed submissively, begging to kiss the shore for even just a moment.

"Oh, the romance between the sea and the shore, so eternal and pleading. But only if I had such a romance, such a passion to even just stroke once against that sandy surface, to lap just so with this virgin's tongue." Words flowed from my lips in a whisper, compelled by my assurance that I was completely alone on that beach. The water and sand became my confidants.

A grassy hill rose from the bosom of sand, inviting a late lover's embrace, inspiring bodies to fall against it's gentle slope for the sport of lust. So often had I lain there alone, my eyes cast out towards the horizon that melted into the black waves, that tiny world that seemed so close until I raised my hand to snatch it. The stars winked down at me, promising bliss on one dreamy night, when they will cast down their sparkling stairway and take me in their arms. My angels, my hope, always spread over the sweet sky with their unspoken promises.

So many wishes laid on my breast, it was rare that I could see past them all into the tedium of reality. If the world condemned me as a dreamer, wagging their fingers and clicking their tongues, telling me I would never amount to anything, I would shrug and retreat to my beach. The world can play out what reality it wishes, so long as I have the peace to clamber over these unsteady dunes and fantasize about the stars and the caressing cradle of that harvest moon.

Back at the house, my parents were having a party for their eldest child, who had just graduated from highschool and who was so full of worldly aspirations. Family I could not possibly have been related to gathered in the empty innards of our home, dressed and powdered, ready to spew empty congratulations upon someone whose name they didn't know until that night. Chatter erupted from their fallacious lips, reflected in the greedy self-interest that glimmered in their liar's eyes. Their falseness choked me as I strode through the room, groomed as my mother decreed, with high shoes that clicked when I walked.

I could no longer handle this huge party that celebrated the falseness that bred even within "family." The back door beamed at me, cracked open still from an indifferent passer who had neglected to close it entirely. My eyes fixed on that spot, behind which continued that endless love affair of the ocean and the earth, I strode forward, tearing off the falsities my mother had begged me to don. Hairpins clattered unhappily against the hardwood floor, as well as the clicking sandals and silken hose.

I burst through the door, running out towards that retreating shoreline for my life, panting. My chest heaved wildly, as though I were fleeing from a beast that craved only my blood. Strangely enough, I was.

Modesty held no interest for me any longer, as I ran to embrace the brazen sea. Clothes flew from my form, expensive fabrics aghast to find themselves discarded in the cool sand. Naked, I dove into the waves, cold water shocking my system with the intensity of a passionate kiss. This was my kiss, clenched harshly within the strong hand of the sea, drenched in it's vigorous affections. I wished to dissapear beneath those waves, to melt into the eternal ocean and live out that lascivious romance night after night.

From the shoreline, I appeared as only a silver streak on the moon-touched water, my body breaking open waves only to blend into their motions a moment later. From where I lay, the waves rolling over my gently floating body, the shore was a distant foe, a limit I had lept over and laughed at.

With a sorrowful sigh, my fingers drifting so carelessly through the water, I consented that I would have to return there sooner or later. Reality held me by the ankles, allowing me the kindness to taste my dream for one impassioned moment, just as the sea strains to caress the shore for just that moment before it releases it's hold, swirling back into itself.

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2

I relinquished myself to the drift of the waves, allowing my lover to place me gingerly back into my own element. Like a broken sailor, the shipwrecked treasure seeker, or the ambitious mermaid, I washed ashore, naked and cold. There, left against the wet sand with the sea lapping at my toes, I felt reborn from the womb of the earth itself. Moving from that serenity seemed to me a sin that would be unforgivable, and so I laid, at ease and unworried.

Soon enough, as was inevitable with the degree of my careless flight, I was tracked down, but by someone I had never met. This was a man I had not seen at the party, or around my home ever before, yet here he was, looking down at me with dark hair hanging just above his eyes. In his hand was a plastic cup, though it held not soda or beer, but orange juice. His smile made my heart ache.

"Hi," was his simple greeting. This was not the astonished alarm I had expected upon my discovery.

My eyes traversed his figure slowly, taking their time as I was sure he had done with me. He must have been at the party, as he wore a dress shirt and black slacks, though they were both loose and careless. "Hey."

"It's a nice night." He looked out at the water, then back at me with that soothing, terrible smile.

I nodded in agreement, "Yes, very nice." Slowly, I rose onto my elbows, deciding that there was no need for modesty at this point. "Care to sit?", I patted the sand beside me with a grin.

It was his turn to nod, and he slid down to the sand, cup still held in one hand. His eyes looked off into the distance even as he spoke, "Didn't care for the party?"

"Not much. I could see the strings holding everyone's smiles up."

At this he laughed, "I know what you mean. I was a little uncomfortable, so I came towards the beach to get away from it. Who wouldn't follow a trail of woman's clothes when it led into the water? I was hoping you were a mermaid."

"I might be."

His features softened, turning his eyes to me again and shamelessly looking over my figure. "My name's Will."

"Jess."

Thankfully, we both decided against the formality of a handshake, prefering another exchange of lazy smiles and glances. The silence that settled around us was comforting rather than akward, demanding nothing.

My mind was all astir with thoughts of the man beside me, considering where his passions might lie, if they could possibly be parallel to mine. One cannot just ask outright, because such revelations do not travel through the avenue of words. Deeds, then, is what I decided.

Slowly, so as not to shock him, I laid my hand across his, holding his eyes to mine. Within his eyes, the glimmer of understanding stood out, and he advanced towards my face, his features fixed into a tranquil desire. The backs of his fingers ran along my cheek for a moment before his lips embraced mine, beginning gently.

Soon, his shirt had been removed from his back, and his kisses had driven my spine against the sand. One hand held him up above me, as three others softly pulled at his belt and buttons, languid but determined. Within this all, there was not a single thought of hesitation.

As the first signs of murky dawn crawled past the horizon of the sea, it's surface flat like a glistening opal with the flaming fingers of sun touching upon it's edges, I stirred from this contented sleep. There beside me was Will, eyelids quivering as dreams danced upon his mind. I wanted dearly to stroke his hair and wake him with a kiss, but I dared not disturb the placid solitude of his slumber.

Instead, I turned over onto my elbows and watched the sun rise into the sky with the slow languor of one who has more time than one can conceive of. Strange patterns of fushia and peach cast fantasic patterns across the sand, a mottled plain of beauty that threatened my every moment with a taste of enlightenment. Such moments of natural glory have always been so thick with inspiration, despite their automatic sources. I wished I could capture this hour, so ripe with the fresh feeling of liberation, fattened and pink like a swollen pregnant belly, ready to birth an entirely new life full of sensation. The earth was breathing beneath me, kissing me with soft grasses and stroking my hair with each sweet scented breeze. Nothing could destroy this pristine moment. Nothing.

Will grunted once before raising his eyelids to the harsh light of the morning. My eyes turned to him slowly, as though he were the least lovely part of this memory, "Good morning."

He must have read my disdain from my expression, for he seemed hesitant, confused. "Morning."

"I trust you slept well in this sandy grass here?" I lifted an eyebrow and offered a sly smile.

"How could I not?"

I shrugged and turned my face back to the sun's rays, letting the whisper of the ocean and the familiar embrace of warm wind deliver me from the mundanity of my actual life. Escape has always been a fantasy too remote to taste.

"Jess...", he gently implored.

Feeling aloof and feline, I answer without looking at him, "Yes, Will?"

Again the hesitation arose and took it's time strolling through. After a solid minute of inner debate, he continued, "Last night.... Where does this all leave us?"

My attention had been caught. I lowered my face near to his, eyes wide with interest, "Leave us? Does it have to leave us? Can it stay...?"

A smile crept over his lips, "It can stay."

"So, what's next from here?" I patted the ground between us and nodded towards my house looming in the distance.

"Anywhere together, I suppose."

Nothing more had to be said. There was a swimming understanding lingering between us that had been sealed with the sweat of our bodies and the slick locking of flesh. My fear had finally dropped like a velvet curtain as we walked across the beach- away from my house. Better to embrace the unknown than to suffer through the familiar.

Love holds such amazing liberation.

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Thank you for reading! Brought to you by the masochistic mind of Velora.