Parce Que...

• Sophia Harrison, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2009

I sat there, wondering. I thought about many things, forced abruptly into my mind by strange recurrences. I thought about that day at Pearl beach when the tide swept over our legs, the result being us fall about in the warm water. I thought about that weekend when I couldn’t stop smiling. It was like a smile had been stapled to my face and refused to move.
I hugged my knees to my chest and thought about how I missed him and how I wanted him back. The earth stole him too quickly. It was my turn, and it was cut short. I thought back to that windy day six months ago to where I was sitting now, down at Pearl beach…

“Come closer Sam” I tugged on Sam’s shirt and dragged his warm body closer to mine. It was windy that day. We had come to our favourite spot, Pearl beach. He gave his cute cheeky smile and stared out to the horizon. Sam and I always had a dream of one day traveling abroad, Sam in his red jeans and bowl hat and me in my gypsy skirt and sandals. I lay down on his lap, looking up at his face.
“What are you thinking?” I asked. Although he was older than me, I still felt as if we were on the same page.
“Je ne sas pas” Sam had this habit of speaking French frequently. I loved it. I could even speak a bit.
“Pour quoi?”
“Parce que…”He kissed my forehead. “I think I might go for a swim”
“Natation” I replied remembering the word for swim in French. “Okay” he took his shirt off and walked into the water.
“Its beautiful” he pranced around in the water. I brushed away the hair from my face. I spotted another family on the other side of the beach. They had a little boy who was searching for shells. I found searching for shells a metaphor for searching for yourself. I glanced back to the water. Sam wasn’t there.
“Sam” My heart missed a beat. “Sam” I went to the waters edge. No one was there. I began to panic. I jumped into the water and fought my way deeper and deeper. By this time I was screaming his name. The family from the other side rushed over to see what was happening. I was sobbing. A man dived in and held me by the waist and dragged me out. I lay on a cold rock shivering with fear and worry. The ambulance came half an hour later. They found him under a rock. He had drowned. My Sam had drowned.
One week from then was the funeral. I had stopped eating, I had stopped living. Mum sent me to a counselor but I wouldn’t get out of bed. I became skinny and unhealthy and that’s when mum sent me back to school.

I spend most of my time at Pearl beach. With Sam.