She shed her shoes as she walked on the newborn sand towards the dark line of water. The first shock of cold faded to numbness as she swam steadily, now far out of sight of land. The water invited her to stay and linger, perhaps forever, but then something bumped her leg. She tried to kick it away but it came back, now lifting her head and shoulders above the water as it shoved her towards shore. Then another dolphin came. And another. Push by push, they carried her back through the breakers and flung her back onto the sand.
———-
Chapter 6 in Kate Chopin’s The Awakening is only a paragraph or two long, but her description of the sea (and its seduction) always fascinated me. That’s what inspired my story today. Anyway…Every Friday, writers from all around the world write 100 word (or thereabouts) flash fiction based on a photo posted that Wednesday on Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ blog.
I welcome constructive criticism; without it I cannot grow as a writer. The weekly photo that inspired this story is below:
I like the newborn sand image because sand is always renewed by the tides.
Thank you! That’s exactly what I had in mind.
Ahhhh, saved by dolphins. But the lure of the sea can be quite overpowering sometimes… NIcely done.
Thank you.
Beautiful, I love this. I think dolphins must be a gentle, caring species. They would save the day!
I think they would, and I have heard stories of them rescuing drowning people before.
Love this. Virginia Woofish! An attempt at suicide foiled by dolphins? 🙂
Loved this 🙂
Thanks!
I wonder whether she was pleased or angry to have her suicide attempt foiled?
Relieved, I think!
I hope their rescue serves as inspiration.
As do I. Thanks for reading.
Dear Danny,
I felt the newborn sand between my toes and was buoyed by the dolphins. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
sometimes, an experience can lead us astray, especially when it makes us feel really good. thanks to the dolphins and the like for leading us back to shore. nice take on the prompt.
Thank you!
I love The Awakening. Your story also conjured the Shark Dialogues for me. As well as the fact I used to dream (after watching The Big Blue) of being carried off to the after life by dolphins. But the back to shore would work as well.
Thanks. A lot of my peers were not a fan of that story, but I did like it a lot.