his dad. Then his voice softened. “She feels this, Paul. I know she does.”
Paul was silent, looking out of the phone box at the restless sea that glowed red in the light of the setting sun.
“The funeral’s on Friday. Will you come?” he asked.
“Yes, we’ll be there,” said his dad.
“Thanks,” Paul replied, his voice mechanical. “I’ll call again tomorrow. Let you know the details.”
“We’re thinking of you,” said his dad. Paul could hear the strain in his voice.
“It just seems so unreal,” he said.
“I know.”
Paul watched as the sun began to fling streaks of red across the darkening sky. Swifts chased each other around the rooftops, their harsh calls growing and receding as they wheeled through the evening glow.
“I’m almost out of coins, I have to go,” said Paul. “Take care of yourself.”
“And you Paul, see you soon.”
“Yes, see you soon,” he replied.
Slowly Paul returned the receiver to its cradle and stepped out into the glare of the dying sun. The light was filling him and drawing him towards itself. His vision was taken by red color that ran through his mind and seemed to try and catch a reality for him, but the chase was lost. The brightness faded as the sun was lapped up by the hungry waves, the victorious sea washing mockingly over the rocks below him.
Light drained from the sky to leave greyness within its wake. Twilight fell like a hazy dream over the land and over Paul, making everything unreal and undefined in the half-light.
Paul walked through the darkening streets, his mind a grey fog, the chaos he felt over his friend’s death rising until his mind churned like the sea in a storm. He walked up a hill and out of the town onto the cliffs that lined the bay until he could go no higher, and then he stopped and turned out to sea. He stood and embraced the wind that swept across the bay coming up at him from the darkness.
This was where he felt alive.
The moon had risen and now laid a bright path of white light across the sea, broken in parts by the shadows of a ragged cloud, blown there by the wind. Shadows hid the hillside from the eyes of the moon and all around him was darkness. Paul stood on a great altar of darkness and before him the sea stretched from horizon to horizon, a glowing carpet for the moon that sat in the heavens, some great King gazing down on his subjects, and all the time the wind blew through Paul and filled him until he thought he could fly up into the clouds and into the Kingdom of the moon.
Chapter Two
The golden yellow light fell across the girl’s face highlighting her soft, tanned skin. Behind stood her boyfriend, hugging her as they both looked out to sea and at the sun that was plunging towards the depths. The strong wind blew her long, curly brown hair out behind her despite her best efforts to tuck it into the back of her jacket. The couple exchanged no words, both savoring the moment for themselves and happy sharing it with the other.
A seagull glided past, its rigidly curved wings riding the wind and carrying it aloft into the golden glow. Soon, several gulls were riding the winds as they came in off the sea, wheeling around the sky above and calling their guttural cries. She watched as they became outlined by the sun’s light against the deep blue sky. It was a magical sight to watch them, these creatures of the air and the sea, so free. She watched, wondering at how alien their life was to her and how alien she was to them. How the gulls lived and were at one with a different world, a different level of life.
She felt her boyfriend’s arms tight around her, keeping her warm from the chill wind. She grasped his forearms, snuggling close to him as the sun touched the sea and a golden path shone across its ever changing surface that danced wildly before them.
A Jackdaw swooped down in front of them, calling loudly as it tumbled on the wind. It landed a few feet away from them ruffling its feathers and calling again. For a moment the bird and the girl were looking at each other. She stared down into alien, expressionless eyes, and then the bird was gone sweeping away along the cliffs, its call carried away on the wind.