Thursday, March 15, 2012
one hundred word story #99: Red tide
He takes me to witness the red tide. The beach emits sparks as long as the tunnel waves exploding out of black water. When his feet touch sand, the ground blanches, white jets light up the rich black earth. We sit at the intersection of two glowing tides. The water leaks into the heavens: long, black, fluid, star-like waves extend skyward. I stay here until I, too, am bioluminescent. My freckles become stars, my hair its own Milky Way. He star-gazes my freckles. When I brush my hair, he sees shooting stars. I glow. It’s not forever, but it’s enough.
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5 comments:
I love this. Where did you go? I have only seen a red tide once, when I was a little kid. But what an impression it made. It was like absolute magic. How does one find out when a red tide is coming?
Hi! :) This is actually a memory from Santa Barbara. A lot of my friends there were biologists/oceanographers. You can see out bioluminescent spots, I think, depending on the location and the year. Rainfall might affect it too - red tide only occurs when certain phytoplankton are present in the water. It is amazing to see, though - like Aurora Borealis in the ocean.
My swimmer friends Emily & Kate were entranced by the bioluminesence as they raised their arms stroking through the Catalina Channel. Emily said it was like dripping stars.
"My freckles become stars"
poetry!
Thanks for your comments!
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