It's Still Life

21. Write a short story about friends who embark on an unforgettable camping trip in the wilderness. 

On The Beach

It was the four of us, two couples who hadn’t yet coupled, best friends more like, and we drove to the coast. The car was packed with camping gear. Just a small hike through a forest to the beach, the boys said. Just a few miles.

From the carpark, we slipped on our backpacks. Mine was heavy, it dug into my shoulders and the small of my back. After an hour, I wished I was home. The path was muddy, the fallen logs too large to step over, moss hung long from tree branches and dripped down on us, my shoes scraped at my blisters, and the trail climbed steep and endlessly upward – or so it seemed. Someone commented that I wasn’t a happy camper. I don’t remember what I replied, but I doubt that I let it pass. It’s just not in my nature.

After hiking six hours, that’s six as in 6, we came out of the forest to a view of the sea from the height of the headland. Our feet were stunned to a stop. The sound of seagulls filled the air, and warm sunlight was our instant reward. A pebble beach below stretched for miles, empty, waves breaking on silver-skin driftwood, the sky unbroken by clouds. My legs trembled from fatigue as the trail descended.

We found a spot on the beach to pitch our tents, lit a campfire, and ate tinned cold stuff. Nobody thought singing campfire songs was a good idea. I whimpered relief.

That night I dreamt that the tide came in, and swept me out to sea. My tent, my sleeping bag and my hissing air mattress bobbed along on an ocean current, and when I woke, my hand brushed the inside of the nylon tent, and water dripped down my wrist and arm…because of course a tent leaks when you touch the fabric on the inside.

I panicked, jumped up and dashed out of the tent, still zipped into my sleeping bag. It was deeply night, an endless dark, except for a milky spread of stars across the sky. I sat on the beach, taking it all in. Made a memory to last a lifetime.

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Written for the Wildness Challenge Day 21. Artwork is created using Midjourney. Imagery and poems ©Misky 2023.