On Such a Full Sea
Her bedroom light flickered on, then off, three times. The signal.
Meet me in the back garden.
First, our Promise:
“Friends forever,
Parting never,
Nothing can sever
The bond between us.”
Then the Gifting. My turn to receive.
Over the years, the gifts had gotten more complex. Like our dreams. Like our friendship.
A sleek silver tube – my first lipstick! I smiled, imagining Samuel’s timid kiss. Another first.
“Here, let me.” She reddened my lips, then leaned forward, a hummingbird to nectar.
An ocean of moonlight washed over bird and flower. She whispered, “Unpath’d waters, undream’d shores?” Trembling, I accepted.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleAnother story full of Shakespeare quotes – bravo! A different kind of coming of age story, exquisite in its unexplored undertones.
Your story is beautifully written, Fuji. It is a very sensitive and poetic description of the close and secret relationship between the two young friends. But it is also very cryptic, with a lot of details being left in the dark. Who is the “I” in the story? Who is “she”? Who is Samuel? What is the invitation about that is accepted?
Oh dear, Christer, I’m afraid I was a bit too cryptic! The “I” and “she” are simply two young girls, best friends all their lives, just entering their teen years. We know their gender and ages from the pronouns and from the lipstick gift. Samuel is simply “a boy” – an indication that the first-person protagonist is starting to think about boys, imagining her first kiss. The title is from Shakespeare. You’ll… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThank you, Fuji, for your high expectations of my knowledge in Shakespeare. Sorry to say, I have to disappoint you. All I remember from Julius Caesar is the expression “The ides of March”, which didn’t help me here. I should, of course, have understood what you say about the people involved in your story, but I think I was confused by the memory of a Swedish TV-series where a couple had a… Read more »
“Friends forever / Parting never / Nothing can sever / The bond between us.” Meta-writing—Those four lines alone are lyrical genius!!
Thank you Jessica! I don’t exactly understand what “meta-writing” means. I can’t wait to find out, because it sounds pretty good! ?
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleFuji, I can’t believe you have fitted so many subtleties into just 100 words.
Hi Susan – Thanks so much for that comment. I rewrote the story many times to finally get the version I was happy with. I find that the Bard makes a great writing partner, especially for including a multitude of subtleties, as you said. He was always good at that!