The Silent Shore

The night was calm, the stars were bright, and the shore was silent. Its dark waters breathed along with its four visitors. In. Out. In. Out. 

“So why are we here again, Marcus?” 

Marcus,a man in his early twenties, and with more hair than he knew what to do with, sighed before answering, “I already told you, Katie. I wanted one last moment with the four of us before we all go our separate ways.”

Katie, who was the same age as Marcus and the rest of their crew, gave a tired giggle “And why does that moment have to be in the middle of the night, on a Tuesday? Some of us have finals tomorrow morning.”

Marcus smiled, “Do you want to explain it, Bruce? I don’t think Katie fully grasps the severity of this moment.”

Bruce, a burly man with a face softer than the sand he rested on, shook his head “Oh no, this little escapade was all you. I would be perfectly content sleeping in my bunk.”

Giggling into his neck was his fiancé Tara. “Honestly, Marcus when you asked us to come I thought we would be doing something a little more… cinematic.”

“Sorry we can’t TP the school grounds, or smuggle pigs into President Detric’s house every night,” defended Marcus, “but this is just as memorable.” He paused as he watched the black water ripple under the waxing moon. “This was the first place we all met freshman year. Don’t you remember? We were all randomly selected during the new student orientation to be in a relay sack race on this very beach.”

Bruce chuckled and added, “Yeah, and I remember all the sand in my pants afterwards. We put our lives on the line for that race. I fell more times than I could count, but it was a damn good time.”

“Exactly!” Chimed Marcus, “that’s why this is a cinematic night. It’s our last night. At least our last night before real life starts, and we lose this forever.”

Katie, who sat close by with her arms wrapped around her knees, drew circles in the sand with a small piece of driftwood and said “Don’t be like that Marcus. We’ll keep in touch. It’s the twenty-first century for Christ’s sake; we have phones and social media. We can talk every day.”

Tara lifted her hand into the air and stared at the modest rock lodged into the rose gold band wrapped around her finger and said, “Besides, we’ll all be together again when” she points to Bruce, “this mountain and I get married. I can promise you, it’ll be more cinematic than this.”

Bruce gave his fiancé a squeeze and added, “Plus, we could have done this during the day.”

The girls snapped their fingers in response as Marcus stifled a yawn. “We could have,” agreed Marcus, “but then we would have to share it with the rest of the world. Which I already have to do. I have loved these four years with you guys. I don’t want them to end and I selfishly wanted one last night with you to myself.”

The group fell silent as they listened to the water crash upon the shore. Katie stood up, brushed the sand from her clothes and gave Marcus a sideways hug before saying, “I don’t want it to end either. What lies in wait for us past those waters? Will we remain friends? Will we be successful? Will we live long enough to reminisce on this night and the many more to come?” She sighs, “I’d bottle you all up and wear you around my neck if it meant we could live the way we do now.”

Tara and Bruce joined in on the hug and the friends sat there enjoying each other’s company, and the cool sea breeze, as they wondered what was next for them and their group.

“You know,” started Tara, “it would be a shame to waste these last few moments adding our tears to the ocean. It has enough water, and I really don’t want to spend these last memories of college life ugly crying. Let’s do something to commemorate our friendship, and the memories of this beach. That way when we’re old we can come back here and remember the young, hot, and fun kids we were!”

Katie chuckled, “Here here! But how are we going to do that? We didn’t bring anything but the clothes on our backs, and if I go back to my dorm this kid is going to bed.”

Bruce shuffled around in his pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. “It isn’t much but we could carve something into the pier.”

“But what if they replace the wood in the pier before we get a chance to come back?” Asked Tara. 

Bruce kissed his fiancé on the temple and said, “That’s a good point. Does anyone else have any ideas to squander our fun?”

Marcus went down to the shoreline and picked up some sand dollars. He then came back to his friends and passed one out to each of them and said, “let’s carve our initials into each one. That way we can always have a piece of these memories no matter where we go.”

The group loved this idea. They took Bruce’s knife and carved their initials into each of the tiny discs. 

...

Many years later, an old man stood on the shoreline of that same beach with a young woman in her early twenties. She was wearing a Seaside College shirt, and her face was softer than the sand they stood upon. The old man coughed, and the young woman took his hand and said,

“Hey, Grandpa, why don’t we head back to the college? You aren’t looking so good.”

The old man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped the spittle from his chin before answering, “No, I’m okay Marcie. There is no other place I’d rather be.” He then pulled out four sand dollars with initials carved into their faces and handed them to his granddaughter. “I know this is supposed to be a happy moment, and I’m so proud of you for following in your grandma and I’s shoes and going to school here, but could you promise me something?”

Confused, Marcie took the sand dollars and said, “Of course, grandpa. Anything for you.”

The old man sniffed back his tears and said, “I’m afraid of what happens next.”

Still confused, Marcie redirected her grandfather, “Of what you are asking me to do for you?”

The old man chuckled and said, “No. No, that doesn’t scare me. I just want you to throw those into this very ocean after I pass.”

“You still have a while, Grandpa, don’t talk like that.”

The old man nodded, but he knew he didn’t have that much. Everyday without Tara and the gang made life harder to go on for. Especially now that his grandbabies were old enough to take care of themselves. He looked at Marcie and saw Tara’s eyes. They were worried about him. Clearing his throat he said, “You’re right, Marcie. For now let’s just enjoy each other’s company. Do you still promise, though?”

Marcie wrapped her arms around her Grandpa’s and said, “Yes, Grandpa. I promise. Thanks for sharing this spot with me. I can’t wait to soak up the sun here.”

Using his free hand, the old man ruffled Marcie’s hair and smiled as he enjoyed the silent shore waving him home.