3An "Into The Darkness" short story by ChosenOne
Rating: PG Pairings: Sarah/Derek Disclaimer: "Into the Darkness" is ©2000 ChosenOne, whom this piece belongs to. Summary: The seaside cliffs at daybreak prompt Sarah to reflect. Author's Note: Be a responsible reader and don't forget to review. I hope you enjoy.
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City life was Sarah's favorite lifestyle, and daybreak was her favorite part of the day. Usually, at that time when there were little or no people in the streets of Patterson, she would wake up early and take a bus downtown to do a little bit of window-shopping all by herself.
She knew from experience that cities were most enjoyable right at dawn, when everybody else was snugly asleep in their beds, the streets were all but deserted, the moon was still visible in the clear blue sky, and a sense of utter tranquillity hovered well above the high-rise rooftops.
That was the time when Sarah thought the city to be magical.
But during winter, her mornings were spent down by the beachside. It wasn't that long a stretch to get there from her college dorm, and she usually made it there on foot every morning.
Despite all the cold, and sometimes even the pouring rain, she had made a habit out of walking barefoot along the water's edge, watching as her footsteps on the cold wet sand were erased by the rolling waves. Doing this long before the sun rose was one of the highlights of her day.
*****
One particular morning, after having her usual breakfast consisting of coffee and a single toast at a nice little coffee shop near campus, she arrived at the beach just in time for sunrise.
Usually no one was there this early in the morning, but on that day, looking off to either side of her along the shore, Sarah noticed a lady walking her tiny dog off in the distance.
And though the air that morning was thick with fog coming from the sea, she could see a young couple lounging close together on a towel laid out discreetly between two rocky outcroppings.
It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one up so soon.
Most people liked to sleep in late, slumbering peacefully and dreaming with impossible things while waiting for their alarm clock to rouse them in a noisy fashion. Those who were indeed already up were either busy getting ready for work or waking up their children to go to school.
But routine didn't work for Sarah. She needed to wake up before everyone else did and spring into action while it was still dark outside. It was one of the things that made her feel truly alive.
At the end of the beach, her daily stroll led her up a flight of stairs to the breakwater, where she stood every day to watch the sun rise over the ocean. The wind was strong that morning, and her hair kept being whipped into her face by a cold breeze that carried the faint scent of salt water.
A flock of seagulls flew overhead and bleated, prompting her to look up. The sky was overcast, covered in thick grey clouds that heralded a heavy rainfall. Such a thing wasn't uncommon at all in the state of Maine, especially in Patterson. Sarah had actually grown accustomed to it.
She wrapped her jacket tighter around herself to keep off the cold wind and then cast her eyes out towards the sea. The landscape now in front of her was what brought her there every dawn.
From her advantageous position up on the breakwater, Sarah could see the whole beach.
To the left lay the expanse of clear sand where she had begun her morning walk minutes ago, and on the right, stretching out into the horizon, stood an imposing wall of rocky cliffs typical of New England shores. The breakwater itself and an old lighthouse had been built upon them.
But what made it all really worthwhile was the fact that when the beach started to light up in the morning, the sky and the ocean both merged into an intense grey color that transpired sadness.
It was a breathtaking, melancholic atmosphere that had been able to hold her attention since her childhood. She found it strangely charming. It was a color that defied any accurate description, and which reflected her mind moments before it became one with the gloomy clouds overhead.
And so she stood for a long moment, watching the sun come up over the ocean, bathing both the beach and the far coastline of the city in a soft golden glow, almost as surreal as in a painting.
Out of nowhere, a pair of lean arms wrapped around her midsection and drew her in close to a male body. Sarah smiled as a sweet, familiar voice whispered softly into her ear.
"You didn't come over last night. I was worried."
"Sorry," she replied. "I've been busy with a paper for college."
Sarah hadn't flinched. She knew Derek was there long before he'd even touched her. They seemed to be able to pick up on each other's presence these days. "You could have called."
"It's much better this way, isn't it?" he continued.
She tilted her head slightly and kissed her boyfriend's lips briefly before returning her gaze to the scenery ahead. The sun was already starting to cast a shimmering reflex on the ocean. Derek rested his head upon her shoulder, and she in turn wrapped his arms closer around her body.
"So, how did you get here?" she inquired. "You live across the city."
"Well, I just had to wake up a bit sooner than usual. It's a really smooth drive down here, if you come early. I never thought I'd live to actually see a deserted freeway," he answered.
Sarah smiled. "Really?"
"Yeah. Plus, I wanted to surprise you."
"You did," she said, amused. "I sure wasn't expecting to see you here."
"I'm not much one for this sort of thing, you know. I usually stay in bed until ten, unless you sleep over." He kissed her neck gently. "But you mean the world to me, Sarah, and if doing this is important to you, then it's important to me too. And I want us to do it together from now on."
Sarah smiled again, inwardly this time. There he was again, being the kind of passionate, caring man that made her belly flutter with an odd sense of completion whenever she thought of him.
"I left my car double-parked, though," he continued. "If I get a ticket."
She burst out laughing, a bit louder than she had intended. Derek was the sort of person that was always preparing some sophisticated joke when he launched into sentimental speeches.
"Oh, you find it funny, do you?" He pretended to be hurt, but was actually smiling. He enjoyed holding her close and the feel of her back moving against his own chest when she laughed.
She stopped and looked at him, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "Sorry, honey. How can I make it up to you if you get the ticket?" She was staring mischievously into his azure eyes.
Derek leaned in until he could feel the scent of peach shampoo coming from her hair. "Oh, we'll think of something." They kissed passionately for a long moment, broke away, and then they resumed their original embrace so they could both watch the sun still rising over the ocean.
"It's almost over, isn't it?" he asked her.
"Yeah. At least the part I like best already is. That's before the sun even rises."
And now they both stood there on top of the breakwater, very close and peaceful. The same cold ocean breeze from before was still blowing all around them. After a moment, Sarah spoke.
"Derek?" she asked, keeping her tone soft and peaceful. He shivered again, feeling her lithe body moving against his as she spoke. "Yeah?" he prompted in an equally serene tone.
"When we have children, can we bring them down here?"
There was a short silence. "Sure," he replied. "When we have children, we can bring them down here every morning, the two of us, and tell them about the times we spent here together. We can do whatever you want with our children, as long as we bring them up to be like you, Sarah."
She had been silent, listening to his every word with anticipation, but that last sentence had been positively unexpected. Her eyes sort of glazed over and she was carried to a faraway place.
*****
Sarah allowed her mind to drift back to the first time she saw the ocean.
Despite the fact that she had lived in a coastal city all of her life, her parents had only brought her to the beach for the first time when she was seven years old. She remembered stepping forth onto the sand, hand-in-hand with her mother, under the magnificent glow of the setting sun.
She remembered the tiny pink bathing suit she had worn very fondly. It was a skimpy little thing, all frilly and undeniably childish. Sarah wore black string bikinis nowadays, but she still kept that relic of her childhood in her wardrobe. It was too special for her to depart with it.
She also remembered that the sea had been a dark navy blue that day, and that familiar overcast clouds had kept going by overhead, along with a light ocean breeze blowing from the East.
Her eyes had roamed slowly over that vast, seemingly endless blanket of water in complete awe. She hadn't thought that the ocean looked big. To her, it had just seemed very empty. She could only wonder why people enjoyed spending time at the seaside. It seemed like a waste of time.
Later on, when she conveyed this notion to her mother on one rainy afternoon in the kitchen, she was told something that she has also remembered to this day.
"The ocean is like most things in life, Sarah," her mother told her. "It's all beneath the surface. There are entire worlds down there, undiscovered. Don't let yourself be fooled by looks alone."
And then she had kissed her daughter's forehead, gently shooed her away from the counter, and resumed baking a cake for Scott's upcoming birthday. Sarah had stood there for a while, simply staring at the utensils lying over the counter, trying to figure what her mother meant by that.
*****
As it turned out, only fourteen years later, already engaged and planning on having a child of her own, did Sarah know for sure that she'd deciphered the meaning of her mother's words.
Throughout the years she had been taught that the most pleasurable things in life weren't the big ones, but the smallest and most sublime. Those were the ones that mattered the most now.
Things like being held closely at the waist by her boyfriend. Feeling his lips on her skin and sensing the heat of his body so close to her own. Knowing that he wanted to father her child.
And to think that, just a few years ago, before she got into college, before she became a woman, she could barely even stand Derek and thought he was too presumptuous. It took her a long time until she learned to see past his façade and realize what a charming young man he truly was.
Watching a new day be greeted by the rising sun, Sarah brushed a stray thread of hair away from her eyes and wondered what she had done to deserve all of this, to deserve happiness.
Ever since she accepted Derek's marriage proposal, her life had started to become so wonderful that it almost felt surreal. Everything was falling in place just fine. Everything was perfect.
Her life was becoming rock-solid, like those cliffs. There to last a lifetime.
And, sure enough, the last thing she saw before her boyfriend's lips locked with her own and compelled her to close her eyes, was the light of the fully-risen sun shining on the cliffs.
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Into The Darkness ©2000 ChosenOne Comments? Suggestions? Send them to chosenone .