She’s sitting on the beach; so tiny; so alone; her knees drawn up under her chin.
The vast ocean sparkles as it gently laps her feet then draws away, beckoning her to follow. A child shouldn’t be left on its own like that. I look up and down the beach. There’s no-one else there; not a soul; only me and her; only the summer breeze sighing in the tops of the palms. I know she’s been waiting for me. I’m sorry it took me so long to come. I came as soon as I could. I walk a little closer through the hot white sand.
Her hair falls in soft, cinnamon curls down to her shoulders. Smooth nutmeg skin glitters with tiny grains of sand, caught up in the white fuzzy down of hair that covers the nape of her neck. It would be the easiest thing in the world to scoop her up in my arms and nuzzle my face into the honey-sweet smell of her hair. Hold her close to my chest and feel the warmth of her body. Keep her safe. Cherish her and love her like nobody else can, but I don’t want to startle her. I walk a little further up the beach before coming into her line of sight at the water’s edge.
Shading my eyes with my hands, I look out and see a tiny ship on the horizon. Sailing away to a place where the day is just ending, not beginning. We’ll never leave this place, my little ginger-spice girl and I. We belong here on this shore, looking out to sea and dreaming of what could have been.
She looks at me nervously with those big Bambi eyes and I can see the tears beginning to form. I smile and hold my hands out to her, hoping she’ll trust me, as I walk
towards her through the shallow surf. The sand sucks at the soles of my feet as I pad closer. She stands and puts her tiny hand into mine. How can she trust me so easily? The electric touch of her skin binds us together. She smiles and the sun burns brighter, the ocean sparkles more intensely and my heart beats the most beautiful rhythm in my ears. We dance through the water, jumping over the froth and foam of the gentle waves. Her laughter fills the air, like the sound of a hundred tiny bells tinkling in time to the drum beat of my heart. I lift her high up into the blue and twirl her around until we are both dizzy with heat and sun and love. We lie on the sand and I wrap my arms around her. Sometimes I can’t get close enough. She snuggles into me and gently drifts off to sleep. I’ll bring her into my bed tonight.
The sun is slipping into the sea when she wakes. We sit and watch it melting for a while and then I hold her hand again as we take a final walk into the water to cool down. We race towards the oncoming waves, jumping over them. Her laughter peals out again and we are lost in the moment. I pick her up and straddle her on my hip as the water gets too high for her. She clings like a limpet, giggling and screaming, as I gallop the waves.
My feet slide from under me and I start to fall backwards, still laughing and trying to keep hold of her. The water is much deeper than I thought. We must have moved away from the shore. My head goes under and I gasp and choke, everything is stone silent and I can’t hear or feel her anymore. I’m in a sand storm. I fight the pull of the current to get a foothold and push myself upwards. Breaking out into the dying light, I cough violently, spitting out the salt water, trying to fill my lungs. I wipe my eyes. Where is she? I thrash at the inky black liquid that surrounds me. Why did you take her? Where’s my baby? I duck under the waves again and swim hard, flailing and reaching out. I can’t see her. She’s gone. I didn’t keep her safe. They said I killed you...They locked me up...I won’t leave you behind this time. I’ll find you this time. I’m coming sweetheart. Mummy’s coming.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Susan.
It literally is a first step.
The first 4 lines were to make the reader think it was someone like a paedophile before letting them know it was her mother. I did it mainly to draw the reader in and it seems to have worked.
There is a lot of planning to do yet as this is a scene that is near the end of the story and my intemtion is to go back in time to where everything started that led to this moment.
Wow! Powerful start to a novel & it left me most definitely wanting to read on, well done!
For me there was a little too much description (lovely as it was) too close together at the beginning, and the first four lines don't feel quite right for some reason unknown to me.
I was beginning to think this was an account of a paedophile so was greatly relieved to find otherwise! Have you completed the novel or is this literally the first step?