In 2025, one of the projects I am working on is moving a selection of short fiction, monologues, and other stories from The Journey of Now blog over to my website. The following, Sunlight Serenity, is a piece of short fiction originally written in June of 2012 and has been slightly edited.
The six-inch waves crash mildly onto the muddied shore. The sun is beating down, solemn enough as to not sear the flesh. A boat revs its motor in the distance, ready to launch its maiden voyage of the season. The sky is blue; dotted with picturesque clouds. The clouds are the ones you only dream about or see in movies or art. With only a slight breeze blowing at your back, these are the days you want to hold onto. No worries in the world. Only you, your thoughts, and a fishing pole.
The makeshift barricade comprised of rocks, logs, and sticks hold the pole in place. On a day when the fish are not jumping, you have little fear of the pole abandoning the beach and floating into rippled waves beyond.
The city is only minutes away, but it seems like an eternity. If only you could take this moment with you forever. Calmness of the birds singing, the sound of crashing water, and the swimmers doing the crawl stroke in the middle of the lake. Okay, not the last part, but everything else provides that escape from reality you once had.
It is a longing, not only for a past shared with friends and family, but also a longing for the future. It is a longing to return to this place here. The place that provides the calm moments one so desperately needs in life.
You pack up your belongings, save for the makeshift barricade you leave behind for the next unlucky soul. As for now, it is back to the grind in hopes that the city provides more fish than the lake provided. An eternal hope...
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