Written by Daylight by Howard John

Author:Howard, John [Howard, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction.Dark Fantasy/Supernatural, Collection.Single Author, Fiction.Horror, Short Fiction
ISBN: 9780956658784
Google: wsTCngEACAAJ
Amazon: 0956658784
Goodreads: 17910686
Publisher: Swan River Press
Published: 2015-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

I walked up and down the promenade above the rowers’ quay. I tried to act casual, as if I were just wandering around, taking in the sun and the fresh salty breeze blowing in from the sea. But I’m sure no-one else on the promenade who took any notice of me would have been fooled.

I leaned on the marble parapet near the steps and gazed down at the quay. Then I noticed my acquaintance from the bar making his way carefully down the steps. At the bottom he looked up at me, shielding his eyes. I thought he’d seen me and was waving; I saluted him back. Perhaps I saw him nod and smile, but the sunlight was strong and I might have been mistaken. He walked over to where two rowers were standing by their moored boats talking. He spoke to one of the boatmen and they shook hands. My acquaintance handed the rower his suitcase and was helped into the boat. Then they rowed away from the quay. I followed their progress as the boat became smaller and smaller, before finally into a black dot which was lost against the bright green and brown of one of the islands. As I stood there in the hot sunlight I suddenly felt an empty yearning, as if I’d just lost another close and dear friend.

The rower who’d remained on the quay pointed at me, and when he saw that I’d noticed him, beckoned me down. He was slim, taller than me and much younger, wiry and muscular. He wore a white shirt unbuttoned almost to his waist, and with the sleeves rolled high up over his biceps. His skin was tanned by the sun, but looked smooth and clear: not the skin of someone who spent his working days outside in fresh air and sea spray. As we shook hands I felt his strength and the power in his arms.

“You want to go to the islands, one of them out there.”

“I think so, yes.”

“You do.”

The rower looked me up and down. It was the old feeling of being flayed out of my clothes. My mind cycled through the usual imaginings. After long moments he smiled and nodded, and held out his hand again. I hesitated to take it.

“What will it cost?” I asked.

“What do you wish to pay?”

I did a quick mental calculation. If I left the hotel tomorrow, and then travelled straight home again after my return from the island... I named a sum. He nodded, and we shook hands again.

“Come here this time tomorrow,” he said. “And you will find out if you wish to pay.”

The rower turned away before I could ask what he meant. I gazed at his broad shoulders straining the fabric of his shirt as he walked back to the edge of the quay.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.