Fiction Friday - In the Surf

I love my life. Walking on the beach with my giant mug of tea is one of the best parts of my day. I could live a life of reasonable luxury, if I wanted to move away from the water, but why would I? Instead, I have a small job to augment the trust left by my parents.

So okay, there are holes in this life I love. My parents died when I was 20. Not exactly a kid, but still. It's a hole in my life. I'm very lucky that they were able to leave a trust fund for me. It's not huge; we weren't millionaires, but by working part-time to pay daily expenses, I can use the money for the house near the beach.

You think I'm wealthy 'cause I have a beach house? No. I live small, so I can live here. It's a tiny place, but it works for me. And it's not on the beach, but a block and a half away. No beach views, but easy to walk to. So I do. Every day. I really love this life.

Yesterday I was out as usual, and saw my neighbor walking. Not exactly "neighbor" - she lives around the corner in one of the big houses overlooking the beach. We see each other out here a lot. She's nice, but not someone I know well. 

Pam always takes her black lab, Nova, to run through the surf. She was walking away from me, too far ahead to call out to her, but I didn't see Nova. Curious. She's usually running in and out of the surf in pace with Pam.

As they say, "Not my circus, not my monkeys."

I wanted to walk up the beach the way Pam was going, but it felt too much like following. Instead, I rolled up my jeans and went straight for the water. Take a minute, squish sand in my toes and savor the Earl Grey. Nice. Really, what more could I ask for? 

A shadow moved on the water a little way out - Nova! She was swimming toward me. "Hi, Nova!" I called out, in case she wasn't sure who was standing here. She'd been for a swim. Pam was quite far away from us now, but it didn't matter. Nova would race up the beach to her owner.

As Nova neared, I could see she was carrying something in her mouth. 

"Nova?" I asked. "Whatcha got, girl?" 

There in the shallow water swirling around my ankles, she dropped a human hand. Bile rose in my throat and my cheeks puffed out to prevent the involuntary spew that was coming. The bloated chunk of flesh was severed above the wrist and Nova had gripped the protruding arm bone in her teeth. She stood there wagging her tail and looking up at me for approval. Did she expect me to throw it? A macabre version of fetch?

I looked around. Pam was moving toward us, a small figure in the distance, moving at a snail's pace. No one else was out. It wasn't the season for it. The inch-deep water kept washing in and out, but the hand was heavy enough it wasn't going anywhere. I jumped as the bone swung in the wave and touched my ankle. Nova jumped next to me. She thought it was a game. I reached out one shaky hand to pet her head. "Good girl."

Pam had some kind of official position in this small beach town. Maybe she'd know what to do with the hand. All I knew was my morning beach walk would be changed forever.

It's FICTION FRIDAY!

Every Almost every Friday I write a new flash fiction piece. If you have a writing prompt you'd like to see turned into a story, just leave it in a comment.