Monday, October 26, 2015

The Expendable Employee


The Expendable Employee

 

Several years ago I was in desperate need of a job. I was stupid; I got pissed off and walked out of my old job. I left my job with security, with benefits, with a steady paycheck. I was frustrated and made a knee jerk decision that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I had been unemployed for several months when a friend contacted me about an opportunity for work. I jumped at it like one off those trained dolphins going for the fish. It was a low paying office center job, you know, sit in a box all day with headphones on answering the phone. It didn’t matter to me as long as I could keep the lights on; I had ate threw my savings up while I wasn’t working. I aced my interview, I knew I would. If I can get a face to face, I can get hired. I should have been a used car salesman the way I could sell myself. After a couple of weeks training, they put me on the floor. Thank god, because there was no way I could have dealt with the trainer one more day. She was a little mousey type woman who just hated. I don’t know everything she hated, but I knew she hated me. From the first day I stepped foot into the office, I could tell Mary had it in for me. All through training, no matter who made a mistake, she would call me out as an example. She was constantly hovering over me throughout the day. There one only one person she seemed to despise more than me, this poor shabby looking guy at the end of my row. He wasn’t new like me, he had been there awhile. From what I gathered from over hearing my coworkers talking, he was a strange one. He was apparently homeless; he had been sleeping in his car in the parking garage. He would use the showers in the locker rooms to clean himself after everyone had gone for the night. I had even seen him sleeping on the couch a time or two in the break room. He talked to himself quite a bit, holding what looked like conversations. After my two week training was over we were assigned our cubicles. They two seaters, with a half wall built in the middle to separate the working spaces. Guess who Mary put me with, that’s right, the psycho. He introduced himself as Matt, he seemed to be able to keep it together when he was talking with me, so we got on ok. I didn’t really talk to him, actually I didn’t really talk to anyone else I worked with either. This was only a temporary gig for me, as soon as I found a decent paying job I was out. I didn’t want to go making friends with people I had only planned on being around for just a few months. Even though I didn’t talk to these people, I still listened to them. Not a one of them had a nice thing to say about Matt while he wasn’t around, a couple of them didn’t have anything nice to say even when he was sitting right there. One day after taking my break, I decided to grab a soda before heading back to my desk. I hit the button on the machine and as luck would have it, two dropped out on me. As I was passing Matt to sit down, I realized I only ever seen him drinking water from an old McDonald’s cup that he brought in with him. I set the extra drink down on the corner of his desk without saying anything. I figured if he was homeless, he probably couldn’t afford an extra soda and I really didn’t need it. He looked over at the soda and then at me and quietly said thank you, I just nodded my head in recognition. That’s how it went for the next several months, if anything extra fell from the machine, I’d drop it on his desk. I’d pick up an extra burger and say they must have put one in my mistake and off it to him. Drinks, snacks, candy, you name it. If I was getting it I made sure he’d have something to. I didn’t necessarily like the guy, but nobody should be treated the way those people treated him. One day, Mary and our supervisor Abbey were standing next to our space. They were talking about having to lay some people off because the in calls were too low. Abbey was one of those older ladies who were trying desperately to hang on to their youth. She acted like she was still in high school. She tried to present herself like one of those pedestal girls. You know the type, when you were young you would have donated a kidney if it meant she’d go to the movies with you. She liked to dress in whatever the cool kids were wearing even though the cool kids were probably twenty plus years younger than her. I’m pretty sure she was probably the prom queen whenever she was in school. She probably got her ticket punched by the quarterback of the football team and had to drop out of school to deal with her teen mom situation. I’m guessing she got her GED mail order but wasn’t bright enough to take any advance classes for a degree. For as long as she’s been working here, I’m sure she started out like me and just worked her way up. Mary suggested Matt for the first one to go, Abbey agreed, said he was just strange and expendable enough. So they were going to fire Matt, I didn’t want to be there when they told him. As it turns out I wasn’t going to have to wait that long. I had gotten there a couple of hours before him and set a candy bar and a drink on his desk. Before he was barely through the door, the ladies and taken him and escorted him to Abbey’s office. Ten minutes later they were walking him out. He was in tears, pleading with them that he needed his job, but they walked him out anyway. After he was gone, I could hear the office fill with laughter and snickering. I just put my head down and ignored them, after all this was just temporary. As the day went on, this got back to normal for the most part. Here and there people still joked about what happened to Matt, but the office was now quieter. I heard the first pop. It was loud and sharp, like someone smacking two flat rocks together. I took my headphones off and sat there, but before I could register what had happened there was another loud pop, followed by screaming. I looked over the top of my cubical as did the rest of the staff. We looked like a bunch prairie dogs from one of those Trials of Life videos. As I looked across the way, my eyes met with a girl named Ashley. Matt had finally built up the courage to ask her out once only to be shot down and ridiculed in front of the entire office. We saw one another for a split sec then her head snapped sideways and half of it was gone with the ringing of another pop. You know in the movie when someone gets blasted with a gunshot, the blood just flys all over the place, splattering on everything. That’s not how it really happens, sure some does splatter, but it mostly just pulses out of the wound. I shook the shock out and looked towards the noise. There was Matt, he was walking through the office door with a pump action shotgun in his hands, he was currently reloading it. He an irritated yet somewhat content looked about him. He had just finished loading and cocked his gun when Abbey came out of her office to see what the commotion was. She caught a round in the stomach and crumpled to the floor. He leveled the weapon and started walking in; anyone who met his gaze was slain instantly. I ducked back behind my wall and crawled under my desk and started to cry, I’m pretty sure I might have even wet myself. The screaming is what made me plug my ears; you’d think it would have been the concussion of blasts reverberating in my ears. No, definitely the screams, especially the ones that were cut abruptly or those that just wheezed out of existence. I couldn’t tell for how long the massacre continued but it finally stopped. There was nothing, no noise, no cries, no bangs from the gun. I slowly looked over the wall out at the office. There were bodies strewn about the walk ways, arms and legs protruded out from under desks. Mary lay slumped forward over her keyboard, she still had on her special noise cancelling headset on along with a giant hole in the back of her head. From behind me I heard someone say “Hay”, that time I definitely knew had shit my pants. I slowly turned around and looked at Matt. He had blood and bits of gray slush clinging to his shirt and pants. He looked over at the Soda and food on his desk; he set the shotgun down against his chair. He picked up his snacks and looked back at me. We stared at one another for a moment. He smiled his big crazy smile at me and said “Thanks for the snacks!” Then he just walked out of the office. I never saw him again, I’ll never forget him. From that day forward, whenever I meet someone at work that everyone had labeled odd, strange or just crazy, well that person is my new best friend. At the end of the day, I’ll take a blood soaked thank you over a sucking chest wound.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Old Man


He lay in his bed, barely able to keep his eyes open. It was getting harder to breath, he could hear the lady next to him telling his family that there was fluid in his lungs. He would have shivered if he could, his arms and legs were feeling cold. At least he could feel still feel them he thought to himself. He had lost the feeling in his hands yesterday, or was it the day before? He couldn’t remember so well anymore. He knew he had been laying in this bed forever or at least it had sure as hell felt like it. He was tired, ready to sleep. He closed his eyes and thought about his family, those who had gone before him; those he hoped were waiting for him where ever it was he was going. He was the last of his siblings, his sisters had passed some years ago, his brother just last year. His brother had suffered through the same illness that plagued him now. He had spent so much of his life just not wanting to talk to his brother that it had just become the normal thing to do. He thought he should have made more time for them. Called them, wrote letters, anything, there was never any hurry because there was always tomorrow till there wasn’t. Hopefully he’d see them when he woke up. He thought about wife, she had left a while ago. Although they weren’t together or even spoke that often, he still thought of her. He smiled as he did. Sure things didn’t work out for them and they were probably better off apart, but there had been some good times. There were too many memories for his tired old mind to retrieve. There were plenty of good ones though. His children came to mind, he had three of them. He had two daughters and a son to be exact. His oldest was his first born daughter, she was so tiny. She could fit into the palm of your hands. A few years later he had a son. Every man has dreams of having a son to follow in his footsteps and become the man you wished you had been. Lastly was the youngest, another little girl. She came a few years after his son, a surprise and blessing to the family. He regretted a lot of the choices he had made along the way. At times he tried to be a disciplinarian, but he was a product of his raising and was mostly just abusive. The thought of it made the tears in his eyes well up but his arms to too weak to wipe them away. He had a love of the drink and comradery that you could only find at your local watering hole. He was home for the important days, holidays, birthday and most school engagements. They had grown up before he had even noticed and just like that, they were gone. Moved on to start their own lives, to make a better one than he made for them. He would talk to them all from time to time, becoming closest with the youngest. His oldest had made some alternative lifestyle choices. You just didn’t do that back in his day and although she tried, he just couldn’t connect with her on any level to tighten their relationship. His son had moved away as well, they were too much alike in temperament but not much of anything else. He was everything his father was not. Once he had moved out their contact was sparse, a phone call or the occasional visit. His youngest had been the most like him and had been there for him. She was by his side now and it was a comfort to him. He thought at least one of them didn’t resent me. She held his hand and squeezed it; he wished he could squeeze it back. He was so very tired, he wanted to sleep. Just breathing was wearing him out; I should just sleep he thought. He hoped he would have good dreams, good long dreams. Maybe this was a dream right now he thought, then he let the blackness wash over himself and waited for what came next.

Friday, June 13, 2014

There Be Giants!


There Be Giants!

 

“Hey, psst buddy, wake up.”  I heard this coming through my sleep as I slowly opened my eyes. “Where am I?” I asked softly. It was dark and I could barely make out the movement between the flashes of light. “Buddy you might as well be in Purgatory for all I know. You got here probably an hour ago, just after dark. What happened?” I told him all I could remember; I said “It was dusk, not to dark yet, but just enough for me to use my light. I was playing in the woods not too far from this old cabin. I felt a whoosh of air around me and everything went black, I felt this pressure against me as if the darkness just swallowed me whole.” I was relieved to find that my light still flashed. It looked like we were pretty high up on a branch. “Where are we?” I asked again. “What does it matter?” a voice came from below, “You’re not getting out.” Between flashes I could make out two eyes down below me. “Eventually you’ll grow tired and fall, and then you’re mine.” Came the phantom voice filled with pleasure. “What the hell is that?!” I started to shake, a bit startled from this new development. “Some demonic thing that loves to torture us” my cellmate said, “There were three others in here with me when I arrived and like he said, one by one we’ve fallen to him.” I looked down and tried to make out more of him as mine and my companion’s lights flickered on and off. He was large, on all fours and maybe a tail. I’d be able to see it better if I climbed lower, but I didn’t want to risk falling and proving him right. “What do you want from me?!” I yelled down to this monster. “Well to eat you of course, why else do you think you are hear my silly morsel?” The calmness in his voice as he casually discussed my demise was truly disturbing.  I had to get out of here, no way was I going to end up on the menu for that thing! I climbed to the end of the branch. It seemed to be wedged tight against a wall, so I made me way to the other end. It was the same here as well, both sides wedged in flush and suspended across an abyss with inescapable death waiting below. The walls were smooth and cold to the touch but I could probably climb it to the top. Guessing what I was thinking, my friend spoke up. “I wouldn’t try that, the last one who tried almost made it and slipped at the top. Fell all the way to the bottom and broke his back, that bastard toyed with him for hours. Besides the top is sealed off, it only opens when the Master drops more of us in here. They all usually fall right to the bottom, but I was able to catch you.” I asked who this mysterious Master that imprisoned us here was. “You’ve never heard of the giants?” he asked. “Of course I have, who hasn’t?” The giants were a fairy tale, a boogeyman story made up to scare children. They would come in the night and pluck you up. They would through you into cages and watch you for their amusement. As the stories go, if you were lucky, they would let you go after a few hours. Some of the stories didn’t have a so happy of ending. A few would end with the abducted dying alone in isolation or worse, being suffocated. My own great grandfather told me tales of the time he was taken, said they kept him for three days with only grass to eat. Of course Grandpa was old and again, they were just stories to scare us kids, right? The giants couldn’t be real, could they? “So you’re trying to tell me that we were thrown in here by some childhood nightmare? Is that what you’re telling me?” “That is exactly what my appetizer is telling you.” Came the voice from below again. “You know, I have eaten anything in a few days now and I am truly famished so could one of you kindly come down here?” “If what you say is true, then you’re trapped in here just like us. Why not work with us and get yourself free?” Laughter boiled up and continued to travel up every hair on my body. “Why would I want to leave, it’s cool, dark and I get fed my fill daily? Go ahead and resist, it will do you no good. The Master checks every morning to make sure I have eaten his daily catch. I can wait if you can.” I could see his grin in the flash of light. Well if waiting is what I must do then waiting it will be. I sat in silence for the rest of the night. A few hours before morning, my branch company stared to sigh. I looked over at him, he said nothing. He lowered his head and rolled backwards off the branch. He was gone before he hit bottom, a tongue lashed out of the darkness and quickly drew him back to the beast. He chomped with glee, all the while smiling at me as the first rays of morning lit up my prison. For the first time I could see clearly around me. The dragon like creature below me with his bulbous eyes stomped down the dirty beneath his feet. He yawned and lay down. “I will be my pleasure to meet you up close in a few hours.” He closed his eyes and went to sleep. I looked around, the walls were completely see through, though a little distorted. It looked like I was inside the old cabin. There was a rumble in the distance, I looked toward the sound and saw it. I couldn’t believe my eyes! It was indeed the stuff of legends; it was in fact a giant coming towards me! He was large, pale and ugly. It lifted up my cage and held it up to his face. He shook it violently, but I was able to hang on to the branch. He placed his hand on top and I could see it move, I could hear metal scraping. “NOOO!!!” the monster shouted with rage. I knew this might be my only chance, so I leapt towards the top. Just as my captor opened the top, I spread my wings and flew as fast as I could! I was out! With a quick scan I saw the trees through the large opening in the wall; I could feel the morning air. I beat my wings as fast as they could carry me. The giant voice was thunderous, “Don’t worry boy, I’ll get more fire flies for you tonight.” Not this one I thought to myself, I couldn’t wait to get home and hug my granddad.  I think I’ll ever go out after dark again!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Love Never Ending


Love Never Ending

 

Harold had been waiting for today for what seemed like forever, Date Night was finally here. He was a nervous wreck when he had asked out, dry mouth, sweaty hands, upset stomach. He nearly fainted when she said yes, after all she had been the Home Coming Queen and he was just a little nobody in the back of her class. A smile broadened his face at the thought of it. He had spent the last three nights picking out his wardrobe; he had gotten himself a haircut that afternoon. He had to look his best for his lady. He had been in love with Dorothy from the first time he had ever laid eyes on her, third grade to be exact. It didn’t matter to him that she became one of the popular people and he was a social outcast, and when asked why it had took him nine years to ask her out, well he was just pacing himself or just waiting for the right moment. He had the evening planned out, a nice picnic under the stars on the lawn and a movie. He had bought one of those portable DVD players and a couple of her favorite movies. Harold finished getting ready, checked himself for cat hairs and lint, sprayed on a liberal amount of cologne and went to pack the car. Dorothy lived across town and the drive would take some time in the afternoon traffic. Harold didn’t mind the drive; it just meant that he had to wait a little extra to see his love. You know what they say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. Harold pulled his car in and drove past the gate house and up the drive. The closer he got he could see his Dottie sitting out on the lawn waiting for him. She was wearing her yellow flowered sun dress; it was a warm evening so she would be fine. If she did get a chill, Harold had packed a small blanket to wrap up in, you know just in case. He sat and looked at her for a few minutes before shutting off the car and getting out. He walked over to where she Dorothy sat; she was at a small circular table. Harold started unpacking his basket; he draped a small white table cloth over it. He had brought three small tea light candles for light and mood. He had two of everything, plates, glasses, silverware. He placed the movie player on ground next to the basket for easy access after the meal. Lastly he brought out an old photo album, it printed across the front in gold filigree, “The Story of Us”. He flipped through the book for a moment; the first picture in the book was a little picture of him and Dot from the photo booth at the fair. As he turned the pages he saw her wearing the most beautiful white dress. Then the picture of them on the front porch with holding the “For Sale” sign, his face had the biggest smile across it. Hers was even bigger, probably because she was holding her belly too. Then came the children’s pictures, four sets in total. There were three little boys and ended with a tiny little girl that was a miniature image of Dorothy. Finally the children seem to grow bigger towards the end with even more smaller children appearing. Harold closed the album and set it on the table. A small tear appeared in the corner of his eye as he looked to the lady in white standing just to the left of Dottie. “I’ll bring her back to her room after the movie Karen”, Harold told the woman. “Just let me know if you need any help Harry”, the lady said back to him before walking away towards the big house behind them. Harold reached over and took one of Dottie’s hands and with his other he brushed away the silvery hair from her face. “I love you Dottie, I always have and I always will”, Harold stared into Dorothy’s eyes and she stared through him.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Footprints

Footprints

By Doug Salway on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 12:29am
 
The footprints in the snow suddenly ended. The only way to go was up. That seemed to obvious, Charles thought. Back tracking the trail, he noticed several small branches broken off the underbrush.  "You sneaky bastard" he mutter under his breath before plunging into the darkness even further.   The moon wasn’t even close to being full yet, this would make tracking Johnson a little difficult, but not much more. Of course Johnson wouldn’t be able to pace, he wasn’t made for this terrain. To many years behind a desk eating Krispy Kreme will to that to a man. Charles knew that his prey would have to stop before long, and then he’d have him.

It was supposed to be a simple in and out. Johnson worked there so he knew the layout, had the access, had the keys. Charles just needed a job and money plain and simple. Charles liked simple. And it was. The doors were open where they needed to be, this person or that was on break or bathroom, just like Johnson said. Charles made his way to the eighth floor, first door on left. There it was sitting on the desk, no guards, no people in general, one silver metal case. Charles figured if it was important, somebody would be watching it. He picked it up and made his was by down to the parking garage with the same ease.

Charles had been given a location, a secluded place not far off of highway 62, at the base of the mountains. This time of year is usually too cold for camping, so the place should be pretty empty. He was to meet with Johnson for his payment. "The easiest $50 grand I’ve ever made" he thought to himself. Charles threw the case in the trunk and headed north.

The small cabin was easy enough to find and far enough away to deter any unwanted attention. Charles got out of his care to take a look around.  There was another car there as well, Johnson’s obviously. Everything seemed to be in place so he headed in side to make the exchange. The sooner he got his over with the sooner he could get home. The thought of being here after sundown didn’t sit well Charles. "Well it’s about time you got here, did you manage it well" Johnson asked hastily.  "Yeah I got it alright" he said in return. "Let’s get this over with, I need to get back before it gets too late" Charles said, "You bring the money?"  Johnson drew a large smile across his face, "About that", he said, "I’ve decided that I’d make a better profit without a partner. Of course there’s still a need for a patsy." "You see, your finger prints are all over that building, stairwells, and door knobs. When they realize this is missing," Johnson shook the case. "You’ll be the one whose prints come up that don’t belong there."  "So you didn’t even bring my money did you?" Charles asked. "Oh, I have the money, not that you’ll see any of it!" With that Johnson bolted out the door. Charles sat down at the small kitchenette table. "I’ll give him a small head start." He said to himself throwing the dirty spark plug cable on the counter top.

When Johnson rounded the drive way, he saw the hood to his car was up. Not thinking he tried to start it to no prevails. Panic set in, "FUCK!" he shouted and jump from the car. The wilderness was dark and getting darker. "I can lose him on the hiking trail and double back" Johnson thought, and then ran off into the woods.

The moon was almost at its peak when Charles heard the branch snap. He could smell Johnson's sweat soaked clothes in the air. The night filled with new sounds, smells wafted into his nostrils. Then the pain hit, the familiar pain that he had grown accustom to over the years, his bones breaking and rearranging themselves. He fell to his knees ripping at his clothes. Johnson’s backstabbing run would be over shortly. Charles’s laughter turned to growl. Never double cross a wolf.

Friendships past, stories and talltales

Friendships past, stories and talltales

By Doug Salway on Friday, May 25, 2012 at 5:22pm
 
Any of you have that special group of friends? You know, those through thick and thin kind of deals? Well in my life, I've been lucky enough to have two sets. These are the kind of friends that no matter where you are you're always going to keep in touch. I mean we're not just friends, we're family For the next little while, whenever I get the inkling to do so, I'm going to be posting long lost stories of long ago. If anybody finds them entertaining let me know, or if you happen to be one of the people in the story and I've somehow mangled it over time, by all means please correct me.

It was probably a cool autumn afternoon. We had gathered by the lake as we were want to do during this time of year. You see, Bobby was the live in maintenance man at a Christian summer camp. After the Summer had ended the camp would close up till mid spring, so we pretty much had free run of the place for over half the year. At any given time you could find any combination of Bobby, Ben, Paul, and myself just hanging around and running amuck. On this particular day I'm not sure who was there, or even if I was there. Its one of those kind of stories that after so many retellings, you're not so clear on the detail but you know it so well that you may have been there just the same. We're going to assume for stories sake that all four of us were. Like I said before, it was definitely a cool autumn afternoon. We we're gather at the edge of the lake, in a tiny cove just off from the main camp. We would always fish here, best fish, less Gar. We had been sitting quietly on the bank for most of the day, I hadn't caught anything, of course I never did. The day had been pretty peaceful until this vicious creature dug its way straight up from hell. This god awful chirping noise just started coming out of nowhere, breaking that much loved silence. After some looking around we discover the source, this tiny little mud frog had clawed its way up out of the mud. He just sat there chirping away, just happy to be seen and heard. After about ten minutes of this Bobby decided he was over it and pushed the annoyance back into the mud. Squish went his foot and gone was the hell spawn. We all had a good laugh about it and went on fishing. Sometime later the chirping had started again, looking down there was our little friend back for more. Sitting between Bobby and myself, right in the middle of Bobby's footprint. This time it was my turn, I picked up my foot and plopped him even further down in the mud. There was no way he was coming back to bother us, of course I was wrong, he came back louder than ever. This went on for some time, Bobby and I would take turns. We'd push him in and he's come back for more. We all just decided to ignore the little bastard, seem the best thing to do. We four sat there trying our best to pretend that it just wasn't there. That little monster was relentless, he must have continued on for at least two more hours. Just when I was about to push him back in, Bobby let out a milk curdling scream. He slammed his fishing pole to the ground and picked up the 12 gauge shotgun we always carried with us, you in case of trouble. We were in the woods of South Carolina after all, you never know what kind of furry, four legged, man eating, possibly banjo picking nasty was going to come out at you. Anyway, like I was saying, Bobby picked up the gun and aimed at the frog. Now, this aiming consisted of basically resting the barrel right on top of the the frog's head. Before any of us knew what was going on, he pulled the trigger. I don't know about you, but I've never been that close to a gunshot before. Meaning to say, that I was the one right next to Bobby, I'm talking less than a foot away from the frog. Ben and Paul were on either side of us. So, lets recap here shall we, we've got the ground which upon is sitting a frog, a mud frog, maybe 3 inches tall, if that. A 12 gauge shotgun with the barrel on top, and me all cozy right next to it. I would say there was a very loud bang, but I could be certain since I couldn't hear anything over the ringing in my ears from the blast. I looked up at Bobby, he was oblivious of what he had just done. Just standing there, staring at this smoking hole where the frog had been seconds ago. He was covered up to his waist and some of his face with mud, of course we all were cover with mud. Me being the worst since I was sitting down at ground zero. Bobby threw the gun down on the large once was frog hole, sat down and began casting his rod out again. There pretty much was no use fishing anymore, that shot probably scared even the biggest fish away from our spot. We didn't care, we were going to fish anyway. We sat there in quite again, nobody mentioning Bobby's melt-down. About a hour had past since the incident and I was just about to cast out again. I looked down at my feet just in time to seen a large clump of mud that was sitting between me and Ben start moving a bit. Within a few seconds something had emerged from the center of the pile, climb up on top. It just sat there eyeing us, its bulbous eyes twitching back and forth. Then it sucked in a deep breath, big enough for something three times its size and started chirping. It was that goddamn mud frog again! Bobby casually stood up didn't say a word to any of us. He threw his pole in the water, gathered his shotgun strolled away into the dusk.     

Sasha

Sasha

By Doug Salway on Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 1:53am
 
Sasha watched the waves crash into the shore one last time before heading home. Every evening she would make her way down the cliffs to watch the sunset. It had been many a year since she had found her way to this beach.  It had been a small seclude place, with steep cliffs jutting up to the sky. There were only two ways to get to this strand. One way was a small covered maze through the rocks to the bluffs above, or you could just walk out of the ocean. It had been here forty-five years ago where she had happened upon Kieran, he was a young handsome man then. She could remember everything about that moment, how could she not. It was the first time she would lay eyes upon the man she would love for the rest of her life. They met every day that first summer, just after dawn. They lay in the sand, she remembered, it would be their last sunset. He was to ship out in the morning; he was the boatswain for the Sesothis. She would be setting sail, carrying people and cargo to the Americas. Kieran had signed up for three runs, meaning he would be at sea for almost 2 years. “Wait for me” Kieran asked, “Yes” Sasha whispered, “I will stay for you” and she stayed, never returning to the beach. The first six months passed quickly, they declared their love over the few days he would be docked refitting the ship. Kieran had no family to speak of, and she had given up everything for him, so the wedding was handled quickly by the Captain. They spent his finally night in married bliss, and he was off again at first light. She had already moved into a small waterside apartment. It was close enough to the water to smell the salt air, but far enough away to keep her at peace. The next six months came to a close and Kieran was glad for it. One more time across and he’d have enough money to make a life. Sash met him on the docks as before, only now she was different. Her belly swelled with the gift their short honeymoon had bestowed on them. She cherished the few moments she would have with him, but was saddened to think that he would miss the birth of their child. He would most likely be just beginning his last voyage home when hopefully their son was being born. Though she prayed to give him a son, she bore him a fine, strong girl. Every bit her mother in a tiny form, she named her Tighe. Upon returning, Kieran took the position of the lighthouse keeper. Sasha was happy to be out of the apartment and closer still to the ocean. They lived through the years as a family should; they lived and loved for one another. Shortly after Tighe’s seventeenth birthday, she told her parents she needed to leave. That she longed be at sea. Her father smiled warmly, “you’ve got your father’s salt in your bones, you have a yearning for the sailor’s life.” “No” Sasha thought that wasn’t it. “Does the night breeze call your name daughter?”; “Do you still feel dry after having water?” Puzzled, Tighe answered yes. “Tonight then, we three shall go to the beach and your questions will be answered. The walk down to the water was slow and quiet. Sasha could tell Kieran would be in need of answers as well. She only hoped he would listen to them. Kieran built a fire to warm and light them, while Sasha unrolled a bundle she had carried under her arm. “What is this?” Kieran asked, “It looks like a seal’s skin.” “It is mine” she said quietly. “I had just taken it off all those years ago when we first met on the beach”, “I loved you from the moment I saw you and when you asked me to wait for you, I never again needed to wear it.” Kieran was still confused. “Why would you need to wear it and how does this concern our daughter?” Sasha sighed, tears in her eyes, “because she’s only half Selkie. Being part human, she doesn’t have the ability to shift, not without this.” Sasha smoothed her hands over the soft pelt that she hadn’t touched in what seemed like a life time. “Mother, what does this all mean?” Tighe asked. “Here, it will be easier if I showed you.” Sasha whirled the skin over child’s shoulders. There in the moon light, against the glow of the fire with a faint shimmer, her daughter was no more. There before them sitting in the sand was a small black seal. Kieran gasped, hardly believing what he had just seen. Sasha grab the back of the seal and will a gentle pull, slid back the skin from Tighe. “This is your birthright, my past, my legacy. Now I give it to you, so you may make your own choice like I did.” Sasha took her husband by the hand stepped back away from the fire. Tighe, holding the skin, stepped into the surf and disappeared. “Do not worry, my love.” Sasha reassured her husband, “She will be back.” Tighe returned from time to time, letting her parents know she was healthy and happy. Sasha took over the lighthouse after Kieran fell ill. He would have done better in a dryer climate, but would not leave the sea, not for her. Not for us. Sasha watched the waves crash into the shore one last time before heading home. The salt misted on her cheeks, hiding her tears.