Stepping In The Salad (7)

STEPPING IN THE SALAD (7)

'I ran to the Downs ('til I reached Seven Sisters). My tendons were swollen, my soles worn to blisters. He followed me there, and he stood as I stared at the sea far below. . . .

'No, I wasn't that scared.'

'So dramatic, my dear. Do continue, I pray.'

'I stared at the sea, which was turquoise blue, but, I couldn't decide what was best I should do. I knew I could jump; I am ever so brave.  But, I couldn't commit to a watery grave.

'It was, after all, such a nice sunny day.'

The Priestess snorted.

'For his part he didn't much care for the edge, so he stayed on the path and held tight to a hedge. "Look here,'' he opined as he clung to the gorse. "If you were to jump I'd be full of remorse".'

The Sub-Editor - The End

THE END

'Well, I gave it go; to stay home alone. But I just couldn't last the year.

'Last Friday, I travelled to Devon; say goodbye to somebody dear.

'And while I was there, the sun finally shone. The sea was a beautiful hue. The peebles were as I remembered them. The sky: revelationary blue. (The teacake was doughy, the latte luke-warm. The terrace non-smoking; I came to no harm.)

'The sight of the sea affected me. Its sound just filled me with nothing. No voices no memories no idiot-thoughts. The sound of the sea reduced me to nought.

'And, in that void, I realised something: significant and beyond words.'