Devonne Brown

“Everlastingly,” Janet hissed the word out as long as she could to give it the onomatopoeia sound of the crashing waves she needed to hear. “Listen! The mighty being is awake and doth with his eternal motion make a sound like thunder, everlastingly.” Janet quoted Wordsworth when she crossed the bridge to Emerald Isle. It was her ritual. She was CDO, OCD in alphabetical order, enough to lick her thumb and press it to her forehead everytime she passed the light that began the ascent up the bridge and began the chant of the quote. It assured her the best of times on the Island. The sea oats waved her welcome.

She could tell the quote worked when she rolled the windows down and the salt air filled the car. The grass in the sound waved to her before she saw the open ocean, the mighty being crashed its waves upon the shore. “Everlastingly.” she hissed again. 

Janet smiled. The air was hot, salt filled, and humid. Negative ionization already began to fill her body with positive energy. The beach salt air stiffened her short hair and gave it that “I belong here,” look. Her tan was already in place from weeks of yard work and Walgreens bronzer. Maybe she would burn from a walk or two on the shore, who cared? Her shell collection needed some razor clams and broken conch shells. Sand needed to squish between her toes. 

She stopped at the grocery store for the requisite tshirt, flip flops, and a few groceries with a smile on her face and a song in her heart. The clouds were white against a backdrop of Carolina blue. Life was perfect. The shore sang out to her. Five minutes to her condo, poolside, oceanside, rooms with a view. Her first vacation by herself. Life couldn’t get any better, not even with a hermit crab.

Janet reached her destination with aplomb, opened the glorious door and went in. All was as expected, and she tossed her bags by the front door and left.  She walked by the pool and dunked her foot in for good measure and grinned, but carried on to the beach. The sand was so hot she could barely stand it. She ran barefoot to hasten her jaunt to the sea, the deafening roar recited, “Listen! The mighty being is awake and doth with its eternal motion make a sound like thunder, everlastingly.”