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Secrets (I hate empty forums... ) |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US 
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I kneeled, staring, not daring yet to touch. It was a simple gold-plated bracelet, nothing fancy or expensive, a gift from an old boyfriend on my seventeenth birthday. The intense Hawaiian sun, already hanging well above the surrounding cliffs of volcanic rock, caused the sea water coating the jewelry to sparkle like diamonds. But the huge basalt rock beneath the bracelet glistened just as brightly and just as meaninglessly. Nothing unusual. Certainly nothing to be frightened of. Except the bracelet shouldn't be there. Instinctively, I turned and scanned the trees and rocks surrounding me. The cove was small, not much larger than an Olympic-size swimming pool. There were no more than ten or twelve widely-spaced palm trees to my right, bracketed by a small copse of dense evergreens, the local lehua with their fiery red flowers not yet blossoming. No where for someone to hide. Directly in front of me, separated by a short expanse of ebony sand, the cliff face towered nearly thirty feet into the sky. I could see the path I always used to descend that monolith, really little more than a series of toe-holds. My skinned knees and lacerated hands were constant reminders of the precariousness of that route. But I had never minded the hardship or even the potential danger. I came here every day not because it was easy or convenient, but because it was secluded and secret. This place was mine. At least until now. Assured I was alone, I sat Indian-fashion on the hard rock, a natural pier that jutted so conveniently into the Pacific Ocean, and tentatively picked up the bracelet. It had been placed near the edge, just inches from the sweet-smelling waters. I briefly considered the possibility it had been washed ashore by some benevolent wave. I would have liked to believe that, would have liked to believe the sanctity of my secret place hadn't been desecrated by another human being. But I couldn't fool myself. The bracelet had been lost since yesterday, its broken clasp evidence of what happened. I was swimming in these very waters, naked except for this single piece of jewelry, as free as any other creature of the sea. I felt the bracelet come loose some fifty yards from shore, but was too slow to react, and it sank into the murky depths below. Forever beyond my reach, I thought. I felt the tears building behind my eyes. Violently, with all the strength I could find, I threw the offending bracelet far into the cold blue waters. I hadn't really cared when I thought it gone, and now it could only be a memento of what I had lost this day. I felt violated somehow. Is this what rape was like? Or was I over-reacting, as everyone always said I did? Nobody would understand. The girls at the dorm would call me silly if I tried to explain. They couldn't comprehend my loss any more than they could comprehend what this place had meant to me for the past year. Most had grown up with their own rooms, all in their own homes, with their own families. They would never know what it was like in a place like Saint Vincent's. They would never know what it meant to grow up with two hundred brothers and sisters, to live and sleep in rooms designed for dozens of children, to never have any thing or any place to call your very own. No one would ever understand that moving directly from the orphanage into a dormitory at college had felt like having my prison term extended for another four years. This cove had been my salvation. I could be alone here, but more importantly I could feel like this place belonged to me and to no other. It was the one thing in all of my nineteen years that I never had to share with someone else. I would schedule my classes around my late morning trips to this secluded beach, laying in the black sands while I studied, or swimming in the cold Pacific waters. My sand. My water. My secret place. But that was over. Ended. Whether I liked it or not, I realized I now shared my secret with another, with someone else who knew the beauty and aloneness of this small, hidden cove. Maybe they had silently watched me swimming yesterday, either from the heights of the cliff or from some far-away boat. Or maybe they came here all the time, just as I did, and we'd somehow missed each other for the past year. It didn't matter. I turned and laid on my stomach, leaning over the edge of the rock and running my hand through the cold waters for what would my last time. Tears ran freely down my checks, dripping into the ocean waves. They became my offering, my contribution to the saltwater tears of the Mother Earth. Through blurred vision, I saw the bracelet again, slowly rising to the surface. A mirage, I thought, a silent taunt of life's endless cruelties. But then I felt it, the unyielding metal being gently nudged into my outstretched palm. Startled, I jerked my hand back and the bracelet once more disappeared beneath the water's surface. Was I losing my mind? Had my grief destroyed the small vestige of sanity I still maintained? I stared hard into the waters, afraid I would again see the metal trinket floating just beneath the waves and almost equally afraid that I wouldn't. I nearly felt a sense of relief when I saw the bracelet slowly rising to the surface. At least if I was crazy, I thought, it was going to be a consistent kind of crazy. The bracelet broke the surface and I found myself staring into a pair of eyes, very round and very soft blue. It was a tiny bottle-nosed dolphin, weighing no more than fifty or sixty pounds. A baby. The bracelet was perched at the end of his snout, slowly rising above the waves as he carefully edged forward to set it on the brink of the rock. "Excuse me," I could almost hear him say in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. "But did you happen to lose this again?" I think I giggled then, a giggle that quickly erupted into a throaty laugh. The dolphin slipped beneath the waves, only to instantly reappear again, standing atop the surface, holding himself aloft with the marvelous power of his flippered tail. He squealed at me, a combination of his own laughter and an obvious invitation to play. Hurriedly slipping from my clothes, I gently slid down the side of the rock and into the cold ocean waters. I felt soft skin brush my leg below the water, then he rose to within inches of my face and squealed at me again. I nodded, knowingly, assuring him he was absolutely right. I hadn't lost a secret place today. Rather, I had found a secret friend. |
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| © Copyright 1999 Ron Carnell - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Ominous Member
since 1999-07-04
Posts 68Canada |
What an excellent job. It's strange how things work in life. You may lose something, only in order to find something even more precious. ------------------ I am but a shadow, lost within this world of darkness |
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DreamEvil Member Elite
since 1999-06-22
Posts 2396 |
Wow, Ron, a powerful piece. Imagery, emotion and words combined to capture this story in my head, as vivid as my own memory. A wonderful start to this forum. Than you for sharing it. ------------------ Shall I indulge in flights of fancy hampered by clipped wings? DreamEvil© |
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Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
 [This message has been edited by Nan (05-19-2002 10:05 AM).] |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Nice short story you've got here. I really enjoyed it. |
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doreen peri Member Elite
since 1999-05-25
Posts 3812Virginia |
Succinct. Vivid. Meaningful. Loved this, Ron. |
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Elizabeth
Moderator
Member Ascendant
since 1999-06-07
Posts 6871Minnesota |
I felt the elation of the narrator when the dolphin surfaced! This was truly awesome! Aaahh! just realized Nan used the same phrase-no I'm not some kind of mocking bird! *blush*  |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
And since this was unjustly at the bottom, I thought perhaps to bring it to the top. Perhaps there are some who've yet to see prose from Ron, so I hope to give them this opportunity. I for one can see how incredible his talent is! "O human race, born to fly upward, wherefore at a little wind dost thou so fall?" Dante Alighieri |
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PhaerieChild Senior Member
since 1999-08-30
Posts 1787Aloha, Oregon |
Ron, What can I say except that this is spellbinding. What a vivid tale you weave. Very good read and would love to see more. (Of course, when you have time) Poetry~ Words falling on paper, painting a dream. Shawna R. Holder Boise, Idaho |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Something really worth reading!! Again.... |
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Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
I've read this three times and still haven't responded! I remember when this was one of three posts in Prose... LOL... I need to be punished and put into Passionate detention... I love your work, Ron!!  "They that start by burning books will end by burning men." -- Heinrich Heine |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
Very interesting Ron...James |
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Kethry Member Rara Avis
since 2000-07-29
Posts 9082Victoria Australia |
Ron, this is vivid description and a living as so many of your works are. Kethry Here in the midst of my lonely abyss, a single joy I find...your presence in my mind. Unknown |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
Bringing this one back for those who have never read prose by our wonderful founder. Ron, this is an excellent piece of writing. |
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Trillium
since 2001-03-09
Posts 12098Idaho, USA |
This is a captivating write! I was interested from the first few lines and enjoyed the story. Betty Lou Hebert |
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UniqueFreak Member
since 2004-01-09
Posts 62Scotland |
nice!! so in awe of the talent u all have...i got alot to learn! Stephi |
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Kethry Member Rara Avis
since 2000-07-29
Posts 9082Victoria Australia |
This is totally awesome! As fresh and delightful as the first time I read it. Here in the midst of my lonely abyss, a single joy I find...your presence in my mind. Unknown |
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Larry C
since 2001-09-10
Posts 10286United States |
Ron, Once I got passed seeing you as a nude seventeen year old girl... I did truly enjoy this read. Reminds me how much a challenge it is to make up a story. I love your imagination! Wish I had one. Glad this floated to the top. If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
What a great story, Ron. I really enjoyed reading this. |
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Earth Angel Member Empyrean
since 2002-08-27
Posts 40215Realms of Light |
I was moved to kiss the dolphin bracelet that I am wearing!  Mystically magical! Magically mystical! ~ and thoroughly appreciated by this reader! Please regard my icon! lol Love & Dolphin Magic, EA |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
I am delighted someone uncovered this lost bracelet of words! I felt those rocks skinning my knees, and saw that dolphin dancing. LOL at Larry's comment.  |
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Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
I read it before I had such a smart mouth, so will keep that original comment to m'self.  Heck, of course he's good, even as a woman writing. Now, him in fishnet stockings that would be really something to see or read. |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
I agree, Ron in fishnet stockings would be something, but I wouldn't want to see it LOL |
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rhia_5779 Senior Member
since 2006-06-09
Posts 1334California |
Wow, you are such an amazing writer! I thought my prose was good. I am in the story watching it take place as you write. |
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Kit McCallum
Administrator
Member Laureate
since 2000-04-30
Posts 14774Ontario, Canada |
Ron, I was searching for a quiet break from the office paperwork, and couldn't resist settling in to read this when I saw your name. I'm lucky no one walked in and caught me a few moments ago, because you had me a million miles away, smiling with the dolphins. What a beautifully flowing tale ... vivid and wonderfully descriptive to the mind's eye. I loved the ending. |
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