52stories

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Emmett Wilson wheeled onto the view platform and expertly turned his chair sideways to get as close as he could to the edge. He propped his elbow on the smooth fence railing and tipped his straw hat down to better shade his eyes from the sun. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen in the sky, and a brisk, cool breeze toyed with the brim of his hat, threatening to carry it off into the air along with the salt and the tangy smell of the sea. Emmett smiled, and breathed deeply. Today was his 80th birthday, and he could think of no better place in which to spend it. His daughter walked up behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders and giving them a slight squeeze. “Mark and Jeff are going to go down to walk on the beach for a bit.” she said softly. Emmett looked at his two grandsons standing at the other side of the platform. They waved at him and started to bound down the stairs that meandered down the face of the cliff. He patted the hand that rested gently on his left shoulder.

“They are fine young men.” he said. He didn’t need to turn around to know that his daughter was smiling.

“Will you be okay by yourself here for awhile?” she asked. “I’d like to walk down the cliff trail a bit to get some pictures.” Mary was a professional photographer; she’d made a fine living for herself and her two sons with her skills behind the lens.

“I’ll be fine, just fine.”

Mary’s hands squeezed his shoulders again and then she was gone. His two grandsons had reached the bottom of the stairs now. It was probably only 100 feet down to the beach, but it could have been as far down as the Grand Canyon floor as far as Emmett was concerned. He would have given anything to be down there, laughing and tossing the football with the boys, feeling the sand squish between his toes.

Emmett gazed out at the sea for a long time. The day was so clear that he could even see the coastline of the distant mainland. A catamaran darted across his line of sight, its sails puffed full with the wind, and three or four fishing vessels floated stationary further out. Emmett sighed. He was born to be a man of the sea, but polio had robbed him of that dream when he was a teenager, well before the vaccine had been developed. But still the water called to him, beckoning him to its undulating surface, its uncharted depths. The sun sparkling on the waves mesmerized him, and as his eyes lost focus the water became a sea of shining sequins, softly rustling together, lulling him to sleep…

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Siella popped her head out of the water, gasping as the cool breeze struck her face. She always dreaded the shock of surfacing, although the discomfort soon passed. Today’s visit was well worth the effort, though. The sky was clear and blue, and the surface water glittered like millions of tiny diamonds. Siella wondered why it never looked like that from down below. It was so beautiful — she wished she could capture the sparkles and take them home with her, but she’d never been able to figure out how to bring them down without extinguishing them. She turned her head toward the island and scanned the beach. She smiled. There were two people playing in the sand, tossing an oblong object between them, back and forth, back and forth. She loved to watch how they moved. Their motions were so unpredictable, their movements so light and free, unburdened by the friction of water. She gazed up at the cliffside above. There was one person sitting at the top of the cliff, and she wished he could see him or her more clearly. But the path leading up that cliff was an impenetrable barrier. She could no more climb stairs than she could take wing with the shrieking gulls. She sighed, wishing more than ever that she could join the people on the land. She wanted to feel the warmth of the dancing red fires that they built on the beach at twilight. She wanted to visit their sparkling cities, to listen to their music, to taste their food. But that could never be. Siella took one last longing glance at the island, and with a strong flip of her tail she went back down to join her brothers and sisters in the silent deep.