Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop
It is available, (for participation in), to all who would write a story, employing the prompt word, provide it is precisely six sentences in total length.
Denise is the host.
This week’s prompt word:
GULF
Claiming the center of Hannah’s rearview mirror like a B-movie girl jumping out of a cake, Alexandra Devon exhibited the after-effects of their successful listing presentation, i.e. more jumping and hand-waving than ordinarily required to unlock the door of her townhouse.
Hannah smiled into the mirror and drove out of the parking lot, at exactly the posted five miles-per-hour; where Alex was outgoing and attractively-confident, Hannah was creatively analytical, in other words, the one who’s name might escape you, got more serene and the one you’ll never forget, threw a party.
As always must happen, at least in a mostly binary, right-wrong world, the part-time real estate agent/full-time high school history teacher confronted a choice: go straight home or not; hearing the metronomic-ticking of the turn signal, she reminded herself, with a private laugh, that she would not live forever.
Turning left, she headed towards the beach and it’s pre-Labor Day crowds; although her home offered views of the water, it lacked the tactile manifestation of the most fundamental experiences of human life in a physical earth, the transition from dry land to dark ocean.
Leaving her practical mind under a pile of marketing brochures in the back seat, Hannah walked across the parking lot, drawn to the sound of the waves crashing on the far-side of the dunes; solid asphalt became shifting beachsand as the afternoon sun settled quietly on her bare shoulders.
The iodine scent of dry seaweed mixed with smell of sunblock and a distant hibachi; Hannah felt the gulf between herself and the world of people disappear, if only for a summer moment.
About clarkscottroger
:D
“Somewhere…sailing…”
Could be the late hour at which I’m reading, listening – the music colors just outside the edges.
Now that would be my idea of celebration. Hannah clearly made the correct choice..beach and sandy shoreline.
She has instincts, just can’t distinguish between the real and the deadly
And with school starting in September, assuming COVID-19 isn’t part of this story, getting that last little retreat at the beach before addressing the demands of the classroom sounds like a good choice.
I concur!
The smell of summer is perfectly described. Hannah is a Clark?
Yes. Yes, she is.
Phyllis is right. see above. Also, Beyond the Sea and Kevin, two faves .
Thanks, man
Oh how I miss all the scents that go with being close to the gulf.
the smells has gots to be the best part. (Our first dog, Ola loved the beach and, while we were, maybe, still two or three miles away, she’d get totally excited, pawing at the dashboard, sniffing the air out the window)
If i lived near the water, i would not be able to resist going daily, preferably at dawn so as not to meet others.
and, with most beaches, there’s totally a open line-of-sight
“Leaving her practical mind under a pile of marketing brochures in the back seat. . . ” Great line! Every so often, it’s good to put aside the to-do’s and enjoy the summer.
yeah, good reminder…. I prefer the ocean to the woods, but spend more time in the latter. ‘course, this coming summer will be as strange the the spring, all that beach capacity but social distance edicts will reduce the allowable herd to 1/6
I was right there. Great six !
Life is short and sometimes overwhelming. Take those blissful carefree moments when you can.
This is a true statement.
An excellent musical selection and a version I particularly enjoy. I’m not an ocean person myself. Well, that’s not entirely true. I love the ocean to look at, to smell, to walk beside. I do not love to be IN the ocean. Nope. Not for me. I particularly like the description of leaving Hannah’s practical mind under the brochures, crossing the gap between land and ocean. Nice inclusion of sensory detail for several senses. Nicely done.
Funny about the song. Took me longer to pick the version than it took to write the Six.* The songs I use, more often than not are the equivalent of (what I imagine) a writing partner (to be)… sometimes I start with it (the song) other times, arguably the more valuable time is when I have the shape of the story but nit it’s intent, it’s voice. The right song say, “Hey! It’s about Hannah and how she feels…”
Could not live in Kansas or Milwaukee (lol)… needs me an ocean near or practicably near. Can’t describe the feeling but I know it’s right.**
*slight exaggeration
** apologies, Lennon McCartney