I’m currently working on a new short story, tentatively titled The Beach. The beach is set on a mysterious chain of islands, following the adventures of Eria [they/them] and Kei [also they/them]. I’m not quite sure where I’m going with it yet, as it’s still very rough around the edges, but I wanted to put out a few chapters just to help motivate myself to continue writing.
The Beach
1.
They knew it was cliché to sit there and watch the waves crashing over the sand, but what else could they do? Not that there was much happening elsewhere. The town was small, and there was nothing to do but watch the setting of the sun in the sky, which proceeded to light up everything in a streaking rainbow from bright gold to deep reds, finally in the purples and blackish blue hues of space beyond.
Eria preferred it this way though, to have these sunsets by themselves. It was a kind of escape from everything else. As the sky grew dimmer, the bonfires began to light up the beach one-by-one, forming their own constellation along the sand. From Eria’s distance, the laughter coming from the crowds was faint and muffled by the gentle cacophony of the foamy surf.
Over the horizon, the faint outline of another island could be made out. Which one was that again? They didn’t know their geography well, but they knew they were in a chain of about twenty or thirty islands, each with varying weather patterns and wildlife. One island might have an abundance of fruit, another an abundance of wool, so they would share the surplus with each other.
Travel was encouraged. One could visit any island they chose by way of the ferries, which were operated as a sort of inter-island collaboration. Work (if one could call it that) was usually a type of farming, herding, hunting or crafting, done as a contribution, and usually as a collaborative effort. The more quickly things got done, the more quickly things could move to festivities, which were by far the most important things the islands shared. Most festivities were informal, like the ones Eria was watching at the moment: people gathering around bonfires, having a few drinks, playing music and dancing. Kids and elderly were usually present, at least on their island, because there was no separation between the old and the young.
Other than that, games were another thing that most people enjoyed. There were no leagues to speak of on the islands; competitions were a little more spontaneous. If there was a group of people that were hanging out and wanted to play Ball, they would do just that. Some people preferred races, and some people preferred building contests, since most people across the islands took pride in their constructive abilities.
Because the interaction between islands was high, what tended to be more important was the characteristics of the islands themselves, which far outlasted people anyway. One island was known for rain, another for its volcanic outbursts. One had an especially large population of trees and birds. People felt like it was the islands guiding them, more than any particular rules or structures they themselves had developed. And like the islands themselves, these structures changed over time.
Although people from place to place were different, their roles weren’t separated by the type of body they had. It was more interesting the way people were different than how they were the same, whether a person was taller or shorter, what color their skin was, what body parts they had. On these islands, things tended to be motley, and people could respond to each other with curiosity and playfulness.
2.
Eria was curious what their friends were up to, so they went down to one of the bonfires. There were a few people chatting and a few kids playing off in the distance. Eria said hi to everyone and found their best friend Kei. Like Eria, Kei had colorful hair, and a very eclectic style of clothes (“found from around all the islands”).
“Heya, did you eat yet?” Eria asked.
“Yeah, ate just before I came here, how bout ya?” Kei replied.
“Yeah, I’m good. How long you been here?”
“Huh, I don’t know, I think a little while maybe? I kinda lost track of the time.”
“Yeah, I think that’s the idea?” Eria said with a playful bite of sarcasm.
Kei kicked a bit of sand Eria’s way and started walking towards the surf. The last rays of the sun were setting over the ocean, bathing everything in a golden light. They walked on to the wet part of the sand, and Kei began tracing their own name with their foot. “You ever get tired of this place?” Kei asked nonchalantly.
Eria was taken a little by surprise at the question. They paused for a moment and said, “Nah, I’ve never even thought about something like that… could you tell me a little more?”
Kei looked out at the setting sun. The sound of the waves crashing in during the high tides always had a sort of relaxing feeling, but there was also a sense of mystery, like anything could happen during the twilight hours. “I just don’t know, Eria. It’s not that I’m bored, exactly, but things are all starting to feel a little bit… the same, you know?”
Eria couldn’t really comprehend this sort of thinking. Their own days were fully busy. Mornings feeding animals, afternoons playing with and making lunch with the youth, afternoons practicing their personal art. The activities changed based on the day, as well. If it was harvest time, more help was needed tending to the plants. Sometimes, emergencies happened and their help was needed tending to an injured or dying person. It was also possible that one day they could assist in child birth. These responsibilities were shared by everyone and were not always easy, but they were what allowed the islands to function normally, with plenty of free time for everyone. It may have been a lot of things, but it certainly wasn’t boring.
“So what have you been doing these days?” Eria asked, hoping to get a little more detail.
“Well, just the usual mostly. Mornings have been spent mostly irrigating. I’ve gotten into food prepping a lot in the afternoons, and sometimes I’ll take a night shift with the hospice.”
“Hospice can be tough work.” Eria said with a nod of empathy.
“Actually, I kinda like it. People still have so much to share, even when they’re in a difficult stage. I’ve heard so many stories. Funny ones too. There was this one person who told me about how they got attacked by a gang of kittens at the animal café once. Something about how they didn’t bring milk to share with them.”
“Oh yeah, those cats don’t fuck around.”
“No, they don’t. Being cute is a serious business.”
“True.” Eria sat on the sand just close enough to let the water touch their toes. “How bout your art?”
“It’s meh, to be honest. Music isn’t really going anywhere, can’t write for shit.”
“Painting?”
“Well, that’s all the same, y’know? Trees and sunsets and whatever.”
Eria sat for a minute, thinking about that. Painting was one of their own favorite things to do, something that filled up quite a bit of their free time. It was difficult to imagine the possibility of running out of things to paint. There wasn’t really anything to say at the moment, so they just sat there looking for the emerging stars. Venus was already visible in it’s familiar dull-white glow. After a minute, they looked over at Kei with a smile and said, “sounds like it’s time for a voyage.”
Kei shoveled a big piece of sand with their foot and heaved it towards the ocean. “Dammit Eri, you know me waayyy too well.”
Kei took in a big gulp of air, as if Eria had found a nice pressure point during a massage, and let out a sigh.
“I can’t do this, not right now.”
“Just think about it, ok?” Eria said with a reassuring smile. “It’ll probably do you some good to just see a few other things out there.”
Kei dug out another toeful of sand. A tiny pool of water had begun to form as the waves rolled in.
“Yeah yeah yeah. Until then, you gotta help me out. Can’t take a break if I’m too busy, y’know.”
“O’course! Anything you need. What’s first on the list?”
“Well, we need a goalkeeper in a few days…”
“Oh no…” Eria wasn’t usually the type to play beachball.
“Oh YEAH! You did say anything, right?”
“But seriously, that?” “What are friends for, Eria?” Kei replied with a wink.
“I know. But hey, I just remembered I’ve got some incredibly important furniture to arrange back at the commons.”
“Of course you do! But don’t forget. Two days from now, mid-morning!”
Eria gave Kei a playful pretend shove and headed off, as the waves continued to roll in along the darkened beach.
3.
“Kei is so amazing,” Eria wrote in her diary. “They’ve got so many talents, and it seems like they never use them. If I was half as fast, or half as strong, I could go so many places! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jealous, but I do genuinely want them to find happiness. It’s too bad happiness, for them most likely exists away from this particular island. It’s not like I’d be a great partner or anything though.”
Eria let out a little gasp at writing the p-word, because it wasn’t exactly something they had considered in Kei until that moment. Instantly, they felt a slight bit of regret. For one thing, Key enjoyed sex, and having it quite regularly with multiple partners. Eria didn’t enjoy sex, and tended to prefer one partner. That being said, Eria didn’t see themselves exactly as the romantic type either. They’d prefer really to just have a bestie to hang with, share a place with. If the other person had multiple partners, that was fine as long as at the end of the day they wanted to stay besties and maybe cuddle once in a while.
4.
It was mid morning, and the sun would usually be very bright by this point, but it was blocked by a few clouds, providing some shade to the pitch. It felt like a good day to ball around a bit.
As usual, there were only a few people at first, maybe just kicking or throwing a medium-sized ball made from materials found around the island, as well as some plastics that had washed up on the shore from long ago. Usually, if you found plastics, you could take them to a plastismith and they would shape an object for you using their melting tools, and the most likely request a ball.
Ball was one of the most popular pastimes on all the islands. It didn’t have a particular name, because there were no particular rules, other than using a ball (and even that was up for debate). Some areas had big fields to play in, some had small flat streets. In some places, people liked to use their feet, in some places, people liked to use their hands. Some people liked to use goals and keep a score, some people didn’t. One thing that was common was that there were no “teams,” and no tournaments. People from one island might like to play together, but they were happy to play with people from other islands as well. Anyone who wanted to play was welcome to play, and the game would adapt its rules to fit the players. If there was a player that could not use their legs, people would find a way to play a game of Ball sitting down. If a player had slow mobility, everyone would also play slowly. These variations were what made the game interesting, dynamic, changing.
Games weren’t usually scheduled, but they were most common when harvests were ended and there was plenty of time to eat, play and relax. Which made today a little unusual, since it was still in the middle of growing season. But the weather was nice, and sure enough, one could see people gathering towards the pitch like wandering clouds.
pen paper etc. 