draliman on life

Here is my contribution for Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. We get a photo, an opening sentence and then we have 100-150 words to finish the story.

I had a story all written, about a woman who’s had a terrible life and decides to drown herself, then changes her mind, swims back towards shore and gets eaten by a shark (ha ha ha) but you’ll be pleased to hear I changed my mind and wrote this one instead.

For this week’s other contributions, click on the little blue froggy. In my story, the supplied opening sentence is in bold.

Copyright B.W. Beacham

Arriving at the beach, she reflected on her life. A tough childhood. Orphaned. In and out of trouble. Never fitting in, never belonging. She’d grown hard. Bitter. Always putting herself first. Because she had to. Because she needed to survive.

That was before David. Sweet David. Gentle David. David, who wouldn’t think twice before throwing himself under a bus to save a small furry animal in distress.

New husband David. Rich David. Gullible David. She couldn’t believe how easy it had been to talk him out of the pre-nup. “Davey, honey, love’s forever. We’re forever.”

She imagined tomorrow’s headlines. “Wealthy philanthropist David Gear dies in tragic boating accident while on honeymoon. New wife inconsolable.” She’d better work on inconsolable, she thought. The way he’d thrashed about as the sharks had ripped him apart made her smile. It had reminded her of the way he made love. Ineffectually.

She pinched herself to make her eyes water, then walked back to the hotel to face the Press.