The Necklace

Jake Moreland

    The Ocean swayed in and out as murky reflections of the night sky engulfed the beach only to retreat back into the endless sea. The white foam outline of the waves crashing onto solid ground was left behind on the brown surface of the sand. A silent breath from the ocean brought chills to the already cool night air. The light from an old Ferris wheel died out as the world around darkens, and is now illuminated only by the white light of the star specked sky. A storm nursed by the ocean casts out a sole bolt of lighting, and for one instant the beach, the shells even the imprints of the gentle waves are seen under the blue light.



          They walked over the dunes, their footprints tracing back to the depths of the green sea of the mountains around. The two boys are barely seen behind the dark veil of night, lost in nature’s massive creation. The larger boy looks around at the surrounding area. The smaller of the two has lost his humanity in the angst of the moment, he scratches around in the sand like a mad hermit crab.

“Your not even looking for it!” The small one springs to life and indignantly yells.

“Hey, don’t blame me, I didn’t loose it.”

The small one returns to his crab pose and begins to scratch around the sand. Minutes pass and minutes turn to hours, patience fades and morale diminishes. The young boy walks like a human now, more like the picture of an exasperated youth. He stares at the sand, kicking more and more with each step Both boys begin the arduous journey home. The large boy continues to survey the world around, he stumbles, looks down to find untied sneakers. Kneeling down and tying his shoes he spots a glimmer submerged only partially by the sand. There it was, the necklace, the sole reason for the excursion. A lone thought passes through his conscience: “Maybe I’ll make him work for it.” The larger boy hovers above the younger, either indifferent to his suffering or relishing the exaction of poetic justice. He puts his arm around his little brother, who insolently pushes away, but he is not strong enough to free himself from the condescending embrace. So he stops, and accepts his fate.



            Their walk home is long, before it’s over their forms are painted into dark shadows on the sand, the horizon gives birth to another sun, and as the darkness turns to light, insolence turns to love when a little boy finds his necklace in his brothers grasp.