Renton, Washington age 14, long blonde hair, with scabs that ate away at her natural skin on her knee caps. She visits the local river as much as she possibly can, she states that it calls to her.
Her parents observe her as she lingers by the shore, admiring each shell and rock that displays itself in front of her. She believes that they have healing powers, and they were placed in front of her for a reason. They believe that it’s normal to be interested in rocks, and the shells that get swept up by the water but she takes it further than their surface understanding.
With each geode, and broken seashell she places them in a sacred box right next to her bed which is alongside a photo of her and her late grandmother who she adored more than the seashells that had a place next to her on the nightstand that stood next to her bed.
Her grandmother used to come to this river as a child growing up, she always had a special connection with her and was always curious as to why this river was so meaningful.
Her young brain wondered what lied deep in the sand in the center of this embodiment of water, her grandmother believed if you got close enough to the water it would tell you all that took place beneath the surface and said to always listen to the sounds it makes, and if you listen long enough the water will speak to you, and the fish will gravitate towards you. She visited it one day with her friends, and heard the water call her to the center of the river, her parents weren’t around that day.
She swam all the way to the middle of the currents, following the path that the fish were leading her to. Nose diving to the bottom and coming up when oxygen needed to revive her lungs. When it was time for her friends to head home she stayed behind, as she was down under she saw a flashing image that looked exactly like her sweet grandmother, the water kept her
within its body pulling and tugging at her at each moment she tried to escape. She never returned home that day.
Bio:
Sophia Sanchez is a fourth year Literature/ Writing student at the University of California, San Diego. An emerging writer in Fiction and Flash pieces. Exploring the realms of romance, grief, and mystery.