The Final Chapter

... a continuation and final installment of In the Sand. Click here to read the entire story.

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The laughing grew louder and faster. I stared at the white face in the sand for only a second before I stepped back and tried to escape; but faster than a knee-jerk reaction, it grabbed my ankle and pulled me in.

Suddenly I was Alice swirling down the rabbit hole, the colors cerulean, chartreuse, emerald and sapphire spinning scenes throughout my mind. A farm, mountains and coast in the city, country and woods like a kaleidoscope changing faster, brighter, sharper until thud; I had reached the end.

I was lying on a hard surface convulsing, my body aching from head to toe. I felt cold and clammy as if I had just had a low blood sugar attack. My mouth was drier than a hayfield. I dared not open my eyes. If this was death, I didn't want to know what it looked like; but I sure knew what it felt like.

"Mom? Wake up," I heard Sam's voice calling out from the distance.

I slowly opened my eyes. "Sam?"

"Oh, thank God. What are you doing on the floor? Mike and I came in and found you screaming."

Sam was kneeling over me like an overprotective daughter, which in and of itself was a no-no by teenager standards. Mike was standing behind her and staring at me as if I had cooties or something. I sat up and looked around. The wicker furniture on the beach house porch was all in tact. The sun was shining through the window, a cooling breeze of salty air streaming across my face.

Could this all have been a dream?

@laurie kolp

Picture inspiration: Jinksy at In Tandem