It Took a While – Chapter 3

Just Below the Surface

Jill turned the key to lock the door of her house by the sea. She stopped for a few seconds, hesitating between going ahead with the plan or simply unlocking the door and forgetting all about this crazy trip. Patty had the idea, and what Patty said was the rule. It had always been like that, but she really didn’t have to go along with it, she wasn’t a kid anymore. She could just disappear, like she had done a few years after her sister left home. “Why go back?” she heard herself say, getting startled by her own voice. She was now happily married, writing her books, and paving the way towards a promising career. Going home would bring back old stories, old accusations, and most of all pain. Somehow she felt relieved her mother would not be there. “Right… Let’s do this then,” she said, pepping herself to letting go of the doorknob, counting the waves splashing on the shore. She was tough, yet… just below the surface, coming face to face with the past made her feel as small and defenseless as she was back then.

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The image that inspired this story has been resized to fit the slideshow’s photo dimensions of this blog. I strongly recommend viewing its original size!