FicWad

The beach was nothing more than a scrap of land, beyond a deserted field. No one bothered to cross the field to get to beach and so it remained a quiet lonely place. Much like an old memory that one wants to forget but still rests in the back of the mind, no matter what. I had many good memories of this place, but one bad one that caused me to avoid this place for the past 5 years. The sun had disappeared behind the heavy layer of dark clouds that filled the sky. Strong winds blew across the grey sand and caused the black ocean to become choppy and the air to grow cold.

I made my way silently along the sand which was growing wet with rain. My dark hair now hung in the strands around my face and little droplets fell from the tips. The heavy wind caused more rain to blow directly into my face; stinging my eyes and making them water. Alone I stood on the isolated beach, staring with wet eyes at the high waves of the dark sea. The bottom of my old converse shoes were now brown from the sand that stuck to them. I stepped forward, allowing the salt water to slosh over my shoes, washing away some of the dirt. My hands shook as I tried to pull my hoodie sleeves over them to protect them from the freezing air. Looking down in the sea at my feet I could see something glistening in the drenched sand, half buried in it. Something washed up from the sea I assumed.

I knelt down, not caring that the shallow waves soaked the knees of my tight jeans. I dug my nails into the damp surface to pull out the mystery item. It was a bracelet. It can’t have been very old as the silver still shone slightly. It was beautiful design, one of which I thought I had seen before, a long time ago. But it couldn’t be the same one, I told myself. Yet as I inspected it closer and rubbed the dirt off with my sleeve, I could make out the words I had engraved on it: “So Long and Goodnight”. I drew in a short breath. I was choking on the memory this bracelet had brought back to me.

All the things I had tried to push to the back of my mind came flooding back before I could even attempt to block them. I was walking down the gentle slope of the field. I let my fingertips graze across the tall grass that reached well above my knees. I was going down to the beach to meet up with Bethan, Carrie and Zoe. Knowing her so well, I knew that Bethan will have got down early for a swim by herself. As I kicked off my sandals and stepped onto the warm sand I could see Bethan’s clothes lying in the shade of a large tree. I squinted to look on the blue horizon for Bethan’s figure. She was very far in and splashing around in the water a lot. It was then that I realised she wasn’t swimming, she was drowning. I watched, paralyzed with fear as her arms flailed over her head as the waves towered above her. I snapped out of my frozen state and tore off my hoodie whilst running as fast as I could towards the ocean. I swam so quickly that my arms grew heavy almost immediately, but I didn’t stop until I was in one of the deeper sections of the water. I couldn’t see Bethan at all. The waves threw me around as I frantically looked for her. It was then that I noticed her falling down beneath the surface. Grabbing on of her arms, I could feel myself growing tired as I tried to pull her head out the water for air. Bethan’s body felt heavy as I dragged her and myself to the shore I could feel my heart rate quickening. Finally there, Bethan’s pale figure lay sprawled across mine. Catching my breath, I sat up and her dark haired head lay on my lap as I shook her gently as if trying to wake her up despite knowing the truth. I was too late. I sobbed and the tears just added to the salt water that drenched us both in the ocean. I screamed as loud as I could, not for help, but out of sorrow over the death of one of my best friends.

Looking around me, I must have been crouched in the sand for a good few hours as the dark clouds that covered the sky were breaking up. They faded away and allowed the sunlight to shine down onto the beach, turning the sand to a golden colour as it dried up. The air was now warm and dry, yet my hair was still drenched and my clothes soaked to my skin.

“Emma?” A familiar voice called out from behind me.

I turned around to see Carrie and Zoe were looking at me, a worried look on their faces. I stood up and blinked a couple of times, realising that I was crying. My numb fingers gripped the bracelet and smiled, despite the fact tears were still running down my face.

“I found Bethan’s bracelet.” I choked out.

They both smiled at me and pulled me close to them as I sobbed on their shoulders. Once I moved away from them, I noticed that Carrie was holding a small bunch of white roses. They came here more often than I did. The memories taunted me and I had avoided coming here for 5 years before giving in. With Carrie and Zoe standing right in front of me, it was dawned on me that I didn’t need to hide away in the past when I had people who cared about me. They would be here to listen to me when I needed to talk about that awful day. Over my shoulder, the sea was a shimmering, turquoise horizon with the sun bouncing off the ripples. The warm breeze spread a feeling off relief in my chest and lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. My two friends and I began to walk to the back of the beach where Carrie laid the flowers down under the tree, in front of a wooden cross. Kneeling by the cross, I set Bethan’s bracelet down on the sand under the shadows of the tree.

“So long and goodnight, Bethan” I whispered before I left the beach with the past behind me and the future ahead of me.

A/N This oneshot I wrote for an english project. All the names used are from youtubers and if you know which ones then I love you. The original involved a suicide attempt and I got sent to my guidance teacher for it. I don't know why I'd tell you guys that, you don't want to hear that. I'll just go then.