Jitter Issue #3
The Sea
The SeaHeather slipped off her last sock,waded into the sea. The beachshe had chosen, deserted. A loneseagull flew over her, letting out a cry.Her dark thoughts held herimmobile.A week ago, she lost her job. A weekbefore that, her boyfriend of a yeardumped her for another woman.A deep sadness weighed her down;she watched wave after wave form,then crash.Wading in the icy-cold water,she scooped some up,and wiped it on both arms,lifting some of the saltinessto her cheeks. Suddenly,she felt the ground shake.She looked around. It was California,an earthquake wasn't an unlikelyoccurrence. Nonetheless, she was afraid.The ground shook again, harderthis time. She stretched her armsout to steady herself. All was still,quiet except the sound of the surf.She took a final look at the horizon,then turned to leave. As she did,a loud moan came from the water.Frightened, she took two stepsback. Her eyes never leavingthe sea. Her feet were just aboutto touch dry sand when a large,dark creature sprung out of the water,grabbing her around the waistwith an octopus-like arm,then disappeared into the sea.The soft lapping of the waterreplaced her cut off scream.