The Nothing

Agate's Beach on a foggy afternoon (the Nothing comes ashore)

Fog came ashore and erased the landscape.
The Pacific Ocean faded to a band of foam where waves still managed to reach the slate gray sand.

Standing on the ridge overlooking Agates’ Beach, I saw the sheer bluff melt into light gray immateriality.
A couple on the beach walked straight into the fog’s embrace and disappeared.

I was alone in the world.
Would the erasing force reach my feet, my legs, my heart?

I knew why the fog happened.
I knew nothing would happen to me.
Not there, at least. Not then.

Yet, I was like a child dreaming of being in the fantasy novel she had just read, in which The Nothing advanced and erased the world.
I saw The Nothing. I felt it, as a cool blade of breeze drew the outline of my spine.

Would I wake up in a different universe to realize I had been dreaming the Earth, the ocean, my life?

I jogged away from the lookout, towards the park’s exit.
The fog gained ground behind me.


© 2015-2023 Simona Carini