The Beach Find

"Mum! Mum! Someone's washed up on the beach!" Callum skidded into the kitchen, where his mother was sat drinking coffee and scrolling through her phone.

She immediately sprang up and reached for her coat, pulling her boots on with urgency. "Did he look like he was alive?"

Later, she would reflect on this statement and what it would have revealed if anyone other than Callum had been there.

Callum shook his head and tugged at his mum. "Hurry, Mum! The waves might have taken them away!"

Susan was having trouble pulling on her boots, trembling, although Callum had never seen her have difficulty before. He was eager to get back out there, the spectacle of the macabre a novelty.

Finally, before he could burst, Susan got her boots, spent another few seconds looking for keys and then followed her son out to the beach, watching him as he sprinted ahead.

Susan was dreading what she would find there but had a good inkling she knew who it was.

*

The previous night had been a tough one for Susan. She hadn't dated for years but her friends had convinced her that a dating app made getting to know someone easy. And so, she'd been communicating with someone she knew as Cliff and he was charming and funny and hadn't sent strange pictures or intimate ones and, after a few weeks of texts, she had finally agreed to meet him.

But she had been blindsided when she saw it was Jimmy and she had run from the bar, bottle of beer still in hand but he'd always been quick and she was dressed for dating, not running and he caught her at the boardwalk and she had been cornered.

He swaggered towards her, intent on reminding her that she was his. But she'd learnt from his meanness and she swung the bottle at his face, hearing his nose crack and in his confusion, struck again, harder, and pushed.

The greedy waves took him away.

***

But just like her, the ocean didn't want him either.

"What do we do, Mum?"

He was face down, floating. Dead. No question.

"For him? Nothing, love. We call the police."

***

366 words

Another volatile relationship depicted. They just have more meat than the romances. Much as I might want to write about the loveliness of life, of which there is much, I just keep heading towards what's wrong.

Thanks for stopping by! If you do read this, please do leave a comment as I love to interact with my readers.

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