Edge

© 2015, Barbara W. Beacham

Arriving at the beach, she reflected on her life. It seemed the earth had given way at her feet often, stranding her on top of precipitous cliffs. Life’s incessant strife had eroded her strength, faith and hope. She stood on the edge of the rocky shore.

The daily grind faced her like a vicious beast growling, foaming at the mouth with malice. Should she end it now? Walk into the ocean until the toes no longer touch the shifting sands? Can she drown herself if she knew how to swim?

A tide of emotion swept her out , far from the shore to answer all her questions. She felt a nibble , then another. A school of small fish were nibbling at the callouses of her sole, tickling her. She couldn’t stop laughing until there were tears in her eyes. A wave lapped it up as if the ocean wasn’t salty enough.

She swam back ashore.

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The above story was in response to ‘Monday’s finish the story’ flash fiction challenge. This unique flash fiction challenge  provides  a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. The challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. Details are available in this link:

Mondays Finish the Story – May 11th – 17th, 2015

Word count: 145 excluding sentence provided and title.

23 responses to “Edge

  1. Phew, narrow escape… Nicely done!

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  2. “The daily grind faced her like a vicious beast growling, foaming at the mouth with malice.” These create a powerful mood!

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  3. Those little fish were telling her something, weren’t they? Well done! Thank you for your contribution to the Mondays Finish the Story challenge! I hope that you return for the next exciting challenge… Be well…. ^..^

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  4. It’s funny the little things that suddenly make things seem not quite as bad. I’m glad she had a change of heart!

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  5. Wonderful! Sometimes it only takes a very small thing to remind us why life brings joy in the most unexpected ways. Great job!!

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  6. Great writing, I enjoyed reading your text, thanks for sharing.

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  7. A wave lapped it up as if the ocean wasn’t salty enough

    Really nice line 😀

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  8. I absolutely loved this! I think it was brilliant.

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  9. Little fish and laughter–all she needed to save herself. Very nice.

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  10. Sweet! Saved by the love of Mother Nature! Nice story with a nice happy ending!

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  11. I love a great happy ending, Ansumani. It seems she found life to have humor as well as sorrow. I’m glad she gave it another chance. Great description. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne

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