The Final Act by Louise Cornelius
He watched the sun set. Matt Baker put his hands in his pocket and took in the smell of sea salt. It always brought him solace to come here. The feeling of the sand in between his toes, watching the waves hit against the rocks and the birds flying just low enough to catch their unsuspecting prey. It was calming, like nothing else in the world. An escape from reality. His reality. He moved along the beach, his footprints leaving a trail in the sand. The ice cold water touched his feet before swiftly retracting into the ocean again. When he looked up ahead, a figure appeared next to the rocks. The little light only allowed him to see a shape. The curves of a woman lying on the beach. Intrigued, he moved closer. She lay flat on her stomach, her head turned away from him. The water covered half her body as the waves moved back and forth. She wore a pink short dress which was now soaking wet.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” said Matt, now standing right next to her.
Silence. Okay, so she wasn’t friendly. Maybe she thought he was a pervert. It was late and there was no one else on the beach. After all, she did have a beautiful body, from what he could make out. It was hard for him not to look, especially with the thin cloth now stuck to her pale skin. After a minute, a big wave cut through the rocks again. She didn’t seem to care though. She didn’t move.
“Hey Miss, I think you should find a spot further up now. The tide is getting high.” he said. Again silence. She was sure snobbish, he thought. He kneeled down and gently touched her shoulder.
“Miss, look, the tide is high now. I’m not kidding.” Still nothing. She didn’t move a muscle. He swallowed hard and gently turned her over. Frozen, he just stared into her cold dead eyes.
The full story is available on Lulu.com. Click the button below.
