One Day At A Time
by Chya
Van stared sightlessly at the sun setting over the sharp rocky silhouettes of the mountainous shoreline.
As so often happened a case ended with tragic consequences, a by-product of the kind of investigations they took on, and Van couldn't help but regret the web of lies spun to trap her, which had ultimately led to her death. That she refused to be taken alive was little consolation, so he'd sought refuge on one of Billie's toys annexed to the Candy Store, a small gin palace moored at Baja with it's own ignorant civilian crew of two.
He could hear them talking in low voices over bourbon and soft tokes, a murmur that receded to background noise overlaid by waves lapping gently at the boat now anchored by an offshore reef.
In this moment of solitude, all the lies dropped away to leave just Donovan Ray, the man that hid behind the smoke and mirrors of his frenetic and false lifestyle. He looked down at himself and at first only saw a sad excuse for a cop clad in an old battered wetsuit whose top half swung limply from his waist.
Gaze strayed to darkening water, red sparks glinting bloody on the tiny wave tips. It would be so easy to drown here. He knew where the riptides ran, and maybe it was time to kill the lie.
But he loved the water too much and his indignant subconscious crashed through maudlin thoughts to remind him of his spirit, both the righteous and the smaller serene part that took comfort and joy from a scene like this, infused him with the strength to carry on.
And in his own eyes he could begin to see himself as strong again, that he could only ever do his best and hope it was good enough, because despite what Billie said, or threatened, it took a special kind of strength to do what he did and survive and they both knew it.
As Van's wavering belief in himself strengthened, the girl's dying eyes haunted him less and less, until his own eyes finally saw the setting sun. He knew there would come a day when he wouldn't be able to do this, wouldn't be able to reconcile the lies with the truth, but it wasn't today, and that was all that mattered.
FINIS
by Chya
Van stared sightlessly at the sun setting over the sharp rocky silhouettes of the mountainous shoreline.
As so often happened a case ended with tragic consequences, a by-product of the kind of investigations they took on, and Van couldn't help but regret the web of lies spun to trap her, which had ultimately led to her death. That she refused to be taken alive was little consolation, so he'd sought refuge on one of Billie's toys annexed to the Candy Store, a small gin palace moored at Baja with it's own ignorant civilian crew of two.
He could hear them talking in low voices over bourbon and soft tokes, a murmur that receded to background noise overlaid by waves lapping gently at the boat now anchored by an offshore reef.
In this moment of solitude, all the lies dropped away to leave just Donovan Ray, the man that hid behind the smoke and mirrors of his frenetic and false lifestyle. He looked down at himself and at first only saw a sad excuse for a cop clad in an old battered wetsuit whose top half swung limply from his waist.
Gaze strayed to darkening water, red sparks glinting bloody on the tiny wave tips. It would be so easy to drown here. He knew where the riptides ran, and maybe it was time to kill the lie.
But he loved the water too much and his indignant subconscious crashed through maudlin thoughts to remind him of his spirit, both the righteous and the smaller serene part that took comfort and joy from a scene like this, infused him with the strength to carry on.
And in his own eyes he could begin to see himself as strong again, that he could only ever do his best and hope it was good enough, because despite what Billie said, or threatened, it took a special kind of strength to do what he did and survive and they both knew it.
As Van's wavering belief in himself strengthened, the girl's dying eyes haunted him less and less, until his own eyes finally saw the setting sun. He knew there would come a day when he wouldn't be able to do this, wouldn't be able to reconcile the lies with the truth, but it wasn't today, and that was all that mattered.
FINIS