This was lurking on an old flash drive so I thought I’d share it, warts an’ all. This hasn’t been touched by an editor or even given a once over by me. This the first page of 3700word Byte Story. I thought I’d drop it page by page over the next few days. 🙂

It’s Just Me:

Stillness resonated with a beguiling calm. I peered into pure darkness. The only sound I heard was water lapping at the shore from the ebbing tide.

Pitch black offered no shadowed effects for my eyes to latch upon. It was as if a curtain dropped over the world – nothing beyond to be seen. Nothing anywhere but right here at my feet within the glow of the electric light.

Illuminated.

That’s how I felt. I was in the spotlight, albeit unwittingly and with no one to see. So was it really a spotlight? 

It felt like one. Every part of my life was now fodder for the misinformed and moderately deranged. I thought of the women’s magazines and gossip columns, having lost count over the last few months of the ridiculous things said about Rowan and I. Two months ago, I was reportedly pregnant, then Rowan was cheating, I was cheating, we were getting married, divorcing, re-marrying, and finally adopting a child. If gossip makes the world go round, bullshit must power it. Usually Tony was the epicentre of media interest but he’d become every inch the family man and avoided the paparazzi as much as possible. I was new blood and they were gunning for me.  

The eyes of the night were upon me, I felt their expectation.

I heard a whisper from the sea, “What will she do next?”

Good question.

What was left to do?

Looking through the large glass door into the living area between the two upstairs bedrooms, I saw no sign of life. I could see down the stairs, over the rail, and out the back door. A smile returned to me: reminding me of the deep night beyond. I couldn’t see out at all. I could see me, and again, no sign of life.

Once I would have relished this solitude. After being fodder for gossip mags I was sure I would still relish such alone time. Tonight standing on the balcony trying to get a strong enough signal for my cell phone to be able to send a text message, it all felt empty.

I reminded myself that this was my dream. The hideaway. My ivory tower. The secluded spot Mac and I talked of having in our lives. A place Rowan and I needed.

To be continued.