Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Apple - Magpie Tales #30


Here is my entry for Magpie Tales #30. Follow the link to see the other entries.
***
I can never sleep late at the beach. A small crack of light peeks through the blinds. Everyone else is sleeping. I quietly slip out of bed and grab my new magazine and an apple. Outside, I find a deck chair and watch the gray water heaving forward on the white sand and retreating again. It sounds as if the world is breathing. Seagulls soar above calling raucously. Soon I will start the coffee. We'll take a walk along the beach and go out for breakfast. The long weekend stretches ahead. The sky begins to turn pink. . .
***
It is a warm Indian Summer afternoon. The sun is shining through the shifting leaves of red and yellow. I can hear the creek trickling over the rocks. I sit on the wooden steps of the front porch. The sun is warm but the breeze is chilly. A pot of spicy gumbo simmers on the stove inside. I feel hungry thinking about it. I put down my magazine and grab a fresh-picked apple from the basket. I stroll down the path toward the river where the children are wading along the shore. I can hear them laughing. . .
***
It is my first morning in a beautiful stone villa overlooking the sea. It is dark and cool inside. I open the shutters to the brilliant sun and bright blue sky. Sailboats bob in the sparkling water below. I go out to the little wrought iron table on my private balcony with an apple and an American magazine thinking of the adventure that awaits me. . .
***
I'm jolted out of my thoughts as the phone rings at my elbow. The gray walls of my cubicle close around me. I sigh and toss the apple core and the empty sandwich bag into the trash can. Lunch break is over.

6 comments:

  1. Where would we be without our lovely dreams...this is a delightful read.

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  2. Oh harsh awakening! The power of daydreaming and it's sweet-sweet promise of escape... Loved this line most: "It sounds as if the world is breathing."

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  3. Apples are extraordinary things! :)

    I enjoyed your reveries very much.

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  4. Your lovely lunch break dream had me craving the beach!

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  5. Ah yes, the daydreams of environments. I know them well. Nice Magpie. I enjoyed it.

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