La … la-la … la-la...

She hummed to herself while slipping a wet jacket off her shoulders. Then sang a few words she remembered.

Always look on the bright side …

Her legs felt numb while sitting cross-legged, poking a stick into wet sand in front of her.

A wave washed over her jeans and soaked her pink t-shirt. None of it mattered. It was all pointless – a waste of time.

She wiped rain from her eyes.

A seagull landed next to her and she watched it peck at a rotting sandwich. Seawater washed her one remaining breast. How could he love her now? Why would he want to? So young, but riddled already. Life was so unfair.

She’d known Terry since school. They’d grown up together. He’d always loved her, even at school, even when she lost her hair. She knew that he did, but she wasn’t ready for commitment. When Terry went to university, she lost part of herself; the part that made life funny.

The cold chilled her to the bone and raked her spirit. She spat seawater as another wave stung her face. Maybe she should call him one more time. Maybe she should be there for him so he would learn to cope without her.

Terry was there when the doctor told her they’d done all they could. Tez fainted. It was like the plug had been pulled from his bath. Like his wheels torn off his beloved Kawasaki Ninja. He only wanted it because Jessica Alba rode one in Dark Angel.

But he loved her above everything. She knew that. And she couldn’t let him commit to her fully, knowing the uncertainty … and then … the reality. He couldn’t cope with that. He coped with everything else life threw at them, but not that.

Two fused in one big teapot. That was how he put it. She wouldn’t let him. That was the point they’d stopped talking. And life became too serious.

A wave knocked her over and she held her breath, wondering how long she could hold on. Maybe just long enough for him to learn to cope without her. She owed it to him after such devotion.

Forcing her head out of the water, she gasped, before the sand sank beneath her feet. No strength left. No breath. No more fight. She thrashed her arms in one final effort.

Rain fell on an empty sea, and waves crashed on an empty beach.