Beyond the Rising Tide by Sarah Beard

Author:Sarah Beard [Beard, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781462118748
Amazon: 1462118747
Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published: 2016-06-13T23:00:00+00:00

he next morning, I pass row after row of vines at Isadora’s vineyard, peering down the alley between each one in search of Kai. The sun is peeking over the rolling horizon, and the tops of the vines are gilded with light. The air is crisp and clean, full of the possibilities of a new day.

I woke this morning with a surge of newfound courage to take back the life I discarded six months ago. Mom was still sleeping, so I left her a note, and then went to Dad’s where I put on a surf tee and board shorts, packed a beach bag, and strapped two surfboards to the top of my Cherokee. I’m not sure how this day is going to go, but I’m optimistically prepared.

Down at the end of one of the rows, I glimpse a wooden gate with a lavender field and a little cottage behind it. I pause, wondering if that’s where Kai is staying. And then I hear something. Faint music, coming from the direction of the cottage. I follow the sound down the row of vines, and it gets more distinct the closer I get to the cottage. Guitar strings, being plucked in a downpour of melancholy notes, and I don’t have to see Kai now to know exactly where he is.

The gate squeaks loudly as I pass through, but Kai must not hear because there’s no pause in his music. I approach the front of the cottage slowly, wanting to listen without him knowing I’m here. When I reach the bottom of the porch steps, I see him through the screen door. He’s sitting on the cottage floor, bent dejectedly over the guitar in his lap. His voice joins the guitar, the sounds entwining in a divine duet, and I hold my breath because the only thing I want to hear is him.

“Weak heart and untimely fate … await me at this broken gate.”

His tones travel the distance between us and spill into my chest, as though through his voice, I feel what he’s feeling. His eyes are shut tight as he sings, his brow a series of ripples that reminds me of a restless sea right before a storm.

“Forbid heaven to alter; For her, I would die but not falter.”

I rest my head against the porch post and watch him through the screen, thinking how I could stand here and listen to him all day. And then I wonder who he’s singing about, what memories are inspiring such deep emotion. Maybe it’s for a girl he loves. Or something to do with what he told me yesterday, about not having a place to call home. I find myself moving slowly toward him, questioning myself with each step. I feel like I’m intruding, because I’ve never seen him quite so vulnerable, so unmasked.

A wooden board creaks under my step, and the music stops. His head snaps up, and I glimpse the pain in his eyes before he quickly composes his expression into pleasant surprise.

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.