Blue Eyes Beneath Grey Skies

by Jordan and Jeremy Eastman

She stares toward the horizon a lot lately.  The sound of crashing waves she once found comforting, today leave her feeling helpless, vulnerable and afraid. Even the distant laughter of children playing in the sand serves as little consolation and echoes through her emptiness, heightening her awareness of her life threatening circumstances.  As the somber waves draw closer with the rising tide, she feels as if she will be swept to sea and drowned in their fatal embrace.  Slowly looking back toward the joyful children, she watches them smile as they construct tiny castles of sand and wishes she could hide beneath the security of their sandy fortress and escape the tragic reality that surrounds her.

          The sudden screech of a seagull in search of his next meal forces her to realize how powerless her traumatic accident has left her. She now finds fear in even the most common occurrences and even the birds she once chased boldly, now leave her trembling in terror and longing to run from them. Looking down to where her legs once were, she trembles. Despite the familiarity of her surroundings, her brokenness allows an increasingly familiar fear to consume her; every wave seems like a funeral, and every screaming bird strikes horror in her heart.

          Without warning, she is torn form the ground and thrown violently through the air. She lands in the treacherous waves, only to be pulled once more into the blindingly sunlit sky. As her body is consumed by the ravening birds, she hears the distant cries of her now-captivated youthful audience as they exclaim in excitement, “Mom! Mom! Did you see that seagull eat that crab?”