Flowers On The Ocean

Her mother was wrong.

The trip from the condo to the beach house was not in fact an hour on foot. It actually took her just over two hours on roller blades, the place was that far removed from the center of the city. Though admittedly, bringing her guitar with her had probably slowed her down. At least, the small bouquet of flowers she had bought was light. She had specifically asked for something that would float on water, much to the initial confusion of the florist.

She left her blades and guitar case on the sand, and taking only the flowers, she waded barefoot into the water. Farther up the shore, she could see the sea-side house that belonged to her uncle, sitting quiet and undisturbed despite the emotions and chaos that had surrounded the area the last few days.

She had thought of going there to see his family, but felt awkward at the idea. They were his family, not hers. The only person she really knew was her uncle. Everyone else was all essentially strangers to her. Even knowing she had gone to school for a short time with some of the children wasn't reassuring. She doubted Ryan, Aaron or Alexia even remembered her. They had all been so young; she barely remembered what any of them looked like herself.

As the water reached her knees, she looked out over the horizon. The ocean looked so full and blue, vast and limitless. Until a few days ago, she had been looking forward to finally learning how to surf from her mother when she finally came home. The ocean had seemed a source of endless challenge and adventure.

Now that it had swallowed her uncle, she felt like she was staring at a sleeping beast, a monster that would devour her too if it woke up cranky.

The stems of the flowers crunched in her grip as her hands tensed at the thought, imagining what it must be like to be lost in those depths, without light, without air, and just waiting to die.

She glanced down at her legs, partially submerged in the clear water. It felt warm and comforting against her skin, and she could see and feel the wet sand squish playfully underneath her feet. A tiny, colourful fish fluttered past her toes like an underwater butterfly.

She found it hard to believe this was the same ocean that had stolen her uncle.

Wading farther into the sea, until the ocean was kissing the hem of her shorts, she gently placed the flowers in the water. It floated like the florist had promised, so she gave it a push to send it out towards the distant horizon.

She watched it drift slowly, lazily for a long time. Not having caught any current to give it direction, it seemed listless, aimless and confused, unsure of where it should go. She wanted to give it another push, but it had already floated out of her reach.

So she stood there, helplessly watching. Waiting for the ocean to take her flowers, she wondered if she had just left them on what was now basically her uncle's grave, or had given a peacing offering to appease the ocean so it would return what it had taken away.