Her ankle felt a tug. It was late at night under the most glorious Silvery Moon, beaming peacefully on all and sundry. The sea beside was at its comforting best; the breakers crashing in rhythm along the sandy edge, the white foam glistening and sparkling as it scattered further and further inland, playing catch!
She often came to walk away her blues to this secret beach, not overtaken by crowds, or litter. Only the sea breeze, the skittering crabs, the stranded starfish, and the loping mongrels. And yes, the song of the sea…. sometimes a gentle, reassuring murmur, like a lullaby and sometimes a rising crescendo like a symphony by Mozart! It was a pleasure to walk under the coconuts guarding the edge of the beach, their arching emerald fronds forming a big canopy overhead.
She looked down to remove the twig, or the crab which had unwittingly caught hold of her ankle, but it would not come off. As she looked down, she nearly screamed, it was a claw… No! A hand. A human hand! She felt a cold sweat break over her face, but there was no one…. to help, and the Moon seemed to be leering at her, wondering how she would escape this puzzle.
She bent down, trying to pry the fingers off her delicate ankle, one by one. The waves now seemed to be playing a crazy cacophony, crashing on the beach in agitation, sweat trickled down her eyes, stinging them as they dripped silently onto the cool sand. Collecting her courage, praying in earnest, she finally managed to break free.
Swiftly she turned on her heels and rushed towards where her car was parked. She felt she was chased by a pack of wolves. Her heart pounded as it had never, zone 5 or maybe 6 on her Garmin, she was sure. Searching for her keys, she fumbled in her pockets and the stiff, numb fingers could not carry out the simple task, which otherwise she could do in a jiffy, blindfolded. Cursing under her breath she exhaled as deeply as she remembered from her Yoga classes, calming her heart and mind. Ah! There it was at last. In a trice she had unlocked the door and jumped within!
She tried to recall, what could it be? How could a human hand be lying on the beach? Maybe somebody murdered a person and buried the corpse there, after all nobody came here except her.
‘Yeah! Nobody comes here! Its easy to get away scot free even with murder! Just bury the evidence!’
‘Exactly!’ she said.
As she reached for her bottle to take a swig, she found the bottle offered to her… ‘Thanks!’ she said and then she started sweating again, the heart rate went back to zone 5! ‘Who offered her the bottle?’
As the moon prepared to set, to rest till the next evening, her body lay near her favourite shore, covered in soft white sand, coconut fronds, skittering crabs and the starfish tossed by the sea.
Far away he could be seen etching out another line on the rock…111 so far!
Friday prompt : Bury
Getty Beautiful fantasy tropical beach with Milky Way star in night skies, full moon – Retro style artwork with vintage color tone (Elements of this moon image furnished by NASA)
That was scary Anamika. Really scary.
Loved your outlay of the scene with rich vocab. I was transported to a seaside holiday.
Then your terror scenes brought out the sweet.
The final bit made my heart skip a beat. Brilliant. Take a bow.
Prahlad that’s such fabulous feedback and coming from you it’s highly treasured! Thank you!
Prahlad thanks for such terrific feedback! Coming from you it’s doubly treasured!
Anamika, the great story teller is back! Back with a bang or shall we say “back with her imprints on the sands of time!”
I thoroughly enjoyed the captivating plot. In such a short and lucid description you took the reader along the beach to yet another “Bond” Series it seemed.
Need a sequel to the tale….??!!
“The Sea lashed at the stones endlessly. Grains of sand playfully mingled with pebbles near the rock. The waves kissed the rock again and again as if trying to erase some queer graffiti. He gazed at the rock face.
Next to the three horizontal lines drawn on the rock were scribbled unintelligible marks. As he tried to decipher the writings a huge wave threw up the wooden club…. some crimson stains not yet washed by the sea.
#CLOBBERED !!