Monday, January 6, 2020

"The Girl on the Beach" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

It was a dark and miserable morning, but Jason needed to get away so he grabbed his fishing rod and rode his bike down to the dock.

When he arrived at the dock, Jason quickly baited his hook and dropped the line in the water. Sometime around mid-afternoon an old man started fishing beside him. Jason didn't pay much attention, he wasn't in the mood for talking.

The old man was the first to hook a fish. It was a  fairly large flounder and Jason was impressed. The old man carried on about the fish and waved madly at someone on the beach. Jason carefully scanned the shoreline, but could see no one.

"Who are you waving to?" he asked the old man. "My daughter Susan, can't you you see her?"  Jason saw nothing but decided to humor the old guy. "Uh yeah, I see her now" he lied.

The afternoon wore on and the old man kept talking about his daughter. Jason began to feel sorry for the guy, but he had his own problems and there was nothing he could do. 

As the sun was setting, the old man announced that he was leaving. Jason watched him walk to the beach and start talking to someone. Suddenly, a young girl in an old fashioned swimsuit appeared beside him and the two of them walked down the beach and out of sight.