Rock Woman

Image credit; Стас Кадрулев @Unsplash For the visually challenged reader, this image shows a woman, her head resting in an aperture of a rock. Her eyes are closed and she appears to be sleeping.

After an upsetting call from her mother, she walked down to the beach and spread a towel out over the sand. It’s not easy to be such a disappointment, she thought, but apparently I’m killing it in that department. She lay down, the sun blindingly bright, and closed her eyes and listened to the rolling waves and the sounds of the sea gulls. She had the beach to herself. Completely relaxed, she fell asleep. When she woke, she felt a coolness on her skin. Yawning, she opened her eyes and was going to sit up to look around, but she found she couldn’t move. She tried to lift her arm, but nothing happened. Looking around as best as she could, she saw that she was surrounded by rock. She couldn’t feel her limbs, and realized that her chest wasn’t rising and falling with her breathing. Trying not to panic, she tried to remember what happened before she fell asleep, but all she could recall was the sun and the sea and sweet slumber. Suddenly, she realized with horror that her entire body had become the rocks that surrounded her. She could see, could hear and could smell but she couldn’t move. She wondered if her entire head was intact, somehow attached to these rocks. What had happened? How could this have happened?! If she tried to stir, she could hear a slight sound of rocks rubbing together. Am I a female version of “The Thing” she wondered crazily. Some superhero. I can’t move, so I’ll have to hope the bad guys throw themselves against me.

“Help! Please help!” she called out, but no one answered and all she could hear was the sound of the gull’s cries. She tried to move, but it was impossibly difficult. Finally, she resorted to crying out for help until she had no strength left. The sun was moving to the horizon, its white brightness gone. Exhausted, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she woke, she sat bolt upright, the cry of “Help” dying in her throat. Blinking against what was left of the sun, her eyes adjusted and she could see that her body was stretched out before her, a little sunburnt but fully intact. Her hands shot out and she ran them over her body. She jumped up, feeling wonderfully mobile. So, it was a nightmare. Wow, what a terrible nightmare.

“Okay, I get the message,” she said out loud. “I’m going to finish college and get a new job.” She pulled her towel up and shook out the sand. “Okay, and get a new boyfriend. I’ve been stuck like a boulder and its time to move on.” She turned her back to the ocean and headed up the hill. Maybe she would call her mother tomorrow.

#WDYS

What do you see # 278- 3rd March’ 25