ADRIFT- part one

He left her sitting there. Her teeth were sinking into the juicy tomato, crunchy carrots, spicy sprouts and flavorful cucumbers sandwiched between two slices of soft and nutty multi-grain. Mia watched him stand up, push the chair violently back and walk out through the tiny door, out of her life. Finishing her lunch, she cleared up the table, grabbed her carrot ginger juice and left the deli. Stepping into her car she got onto the coastal road and drove north.

The ocean on her left spread out into its vast glory with wild waves crawling up to the rocky shore. On her right jagged rocks and dark sandy mud of the mountain range extended upward as if reaching for the sky. She watched the road ahead of her and drove on full speed winding through turns and avoiding fallen rocks. He was not worth it, she kept telling herself.

First time she had seen him was from her yacht, standing on the cliff looking out into the sea. Through her binoculars she had studied him, his square and tanned bare shoulders, biceps that had worked to get their shape, a dimple on his square chin, a slightly crooked nose and eyes that disappeared under a broad forehead. After studying all of him, she had returned her gaze to his eyes and noticed him staring right at her. Through her binoculars their eyes met or so it seemed.

Docking in the marina for the night, she had hopped off to her cottage. Later that evening as she sat with her friends sampling local wines with a spread of cheeses from around the world, her eyes again found him, this time without the help of her binoculars. He seemed to be looking in her direction but he couldn’t have known that it was she who had been spying from the yacht. He walked over to their table and approached her friend, Rita who stood up as soon as she saw him and fell onto him into a hug. He planted a kiss on her cheek and blushing Rita turned to introduce him. Kris had grown up on the island across from Rita’s house and had gone away to study abroad. She had taken his hand and did not want to let go. Thirty seconds of awkward silence later, he had stepped back and taken his hand with him. Rita had sat back down with her stupid smile and star struck eyes and nodded mechanically when her friends suggested he join the group. That was then and almost a year later he had walked out on her at the deli between her sandwich bites.

Good riddance Mia thought as tears started a stroll down her cheeks, but the wind carried them away. She sped through the highway, the top of her convertible down, her shoulder-length hair fighting a battle with the ocean air. Her mind lost to the world and jumbles in her thoughts, a sudden loud boom startled her. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel with both her hands thinking a tire in her car had blown out, but the car was in complete control and behaving fine. Slowing down to look around but seeing nothing she decided to carry on at a manageable speed. Within a couple of kilometers, as she turned a bend in the road, the ocean expanse still spread out on one side and the mountain looming high on her other side, she was greeted by a shocking site.


To continued….