The Beach Walk
The Beach Walk
She waked the seashore route, a gentle saline breeze coursing through her light wavy hair. Bare footed she could feel the trickle of fine silvery sand slipping between her toes, her feet forming prints soon to be erased by the incoming tide. The sun felt pleasingly warm against her pale skin, her patterned cotton dress responding to light flurries of air movement coming across the open sea. Few people had come to the beach today, amazingly considering the fair weather. A distant vessel was making slow progress upon the horizon, sails and mast standing proudly skywards. A silent haze of distorted light surrounded the boat giving it an unearthly appearance, almost alluring and daunting at the same time. She was already in a form of paradise, here on the beach, eyes now fixated on a little pool nestled between algae coated rocks and dark green seaweed that glistened in the sunlight. She peered into its shallow depths to watch the motion of eddying swirls upon the surface. The effect was almost hypnotic and she found herself fixated on the spot staring at its changing patterns. It was then that she heard the faint small voice, indistinct at first but steadily becoming clearer, It was now defining her name in distinct syllables prompting Tara to immediately break off her reverie. There was a sense of urgency in the sound, an unrecognizable male voice coming from behind. A sudden shudder overcame her and as she turned to view the source, she noticed that the algae on the rocks were now animate and moving towards her. Their lurid green tentacles were making slow but sure progress with a diabolic glow. The sky had strangely darkened and a mist had descended causing a drop in temperature. She was now looking at the sea again. The mist had thickened hampering her vision, but she could just about discern the hulk of a ship with ragged translucent sails and spiky mast, surely not the one she had seen earlier. Shaking with cold and fear she forgot the creeping algae finding herself immersed in this radical change of scene. Her name resounded again in dark overtones echoing across the dinginess. as the hulk edged closer to the shore. It was easier to see now. A figure stood at the bow of the ship, tall in stature with wispy robes and a strange transparency with a scrawny arm in beckoning pose. He was not alone. A heavy clank and splash sounded as a drawbridge was lowered into the water. Other similar figures in hooded clothes descended the bridge in synchronized movements. She heard them swamping the water in slow determined action. Tara turned to flee, but her legs were entirely unyielding. Seaweed and green algae had weaved a web of entanglement around them completely immobilizing her. Her fresh cotton dress was now a macabre mess of mold and slime. Forced to submit, she looked on as the stealthy figures moved closer.
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