Finally! A story based on a prompt of my own choosing.
I struggled to “find” this one for awhile, as often happens when I offer myself the prompt, but I felt potential and decided to stick with it despite the discomfort. I’m glad I did. There are a couple of lines here that I think were worth the trouble of digging up. (Also: Brad Pitt wants to know, what’s in the box? Leave your best answers down below. Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Enjoy the story,
c.d.
mainland
You sat alone—the sole occupant of a six-seater bench—cradling a shiny red lacquer box with stunning golden embellishments in your lap. No phone, no laptop, no travelling companion. Just you and the red lacquer box. But that’s not why I noticed you.
You looked beautiful, also. Stunningly so. With brown eyes big enough to hold the whole world and cheekbones sharp enough for surgery. If given the chance, I would have gladly fallen snare to your siren song and been hurled into darkest depths of the most turbulent sea, if only to spare myself the pain of having to watch you fade away into the distance as I passed on. But that’s not why I noticed you, either.
No, I noticed you because of all the passengers on the ferry that morning, you were the only one looking back at the mainland from which we’d come, instead of ahead towards the island that was to be our destination. What had you left behind, I wondered. Anything? Or was your stare as vacant as the bench you sat upon? You never gave a sign either way. But as I watched you gaze out at the traces of white foamy wake the ferry left behind, I felt I knew, though I couldn’t have explained why, that it would be a very long time before you ever looked forward again.
if you liked “mainland,” you’ll also enjoy these micros:
Soil from the mainland to ensure she never forgets her roots!
The box holds something she stole from the mainland: a family heirloom not belonging to her, someone's life savings, the love letter of a hurt paramour.