Short Prose Piece: Sunlight

[Messalina]

Sunlight and waves.
Nothing else.
If the whole world consisted of sunlight and waves she would be happy.
Perfectly happy.
She sat in the rising sun and wished for nothing more.
The lit cigarette in her fingers reminded her of yellow stained walls and ash dusted carpets and the nicotine patches in an unopened box in the drawer by the sink. She sighed and raised it to her lips.
The sand around her shifted as the winds came in off the sea.
Her hair, of similar color to the sand, moved too and curled into her line of sight.
As it curled away again she was reminded of the world behind her.
Of the walls and carpets and drawers that filled a house on a hill.
She turned slightly over her shoulder and saw the house was still in shadow and the warm clean light had not touched it yet.
Nothing motivated her to stand but she did and moved closer to the ocean and away from the house.
She seated herself again and buried her toes in the sand.
It was slow and almost silent but she knew he had arrived.
Sunlight touched her arm and leaned into her and warmed her from the cold night she had spent mostly outside. It was growing lighter and lighter.
He smiled and turned to her, trying to speak.
She did not let him talk, but held up her hand and pointed to the ocean again.
The cigarette was nearly gone and she took another drag to ease the haze from her mind.
He nodded and watched the waves.
He felt the sun and the wind.
He thought about the house and worried about the sparks filling the ashtrays and falling onto the carpet and the floor.
She thought about the same things and listened as the gulls woke up and began the day long hunt for food.
The sun and morning, the wind and shadows curled together around the house behind them and they were left on the light side.
Her silence.
His silence.
And the smoke that rose from her cigarette that caught the sun.



Any advice or remarks or corrections are more than welcome/encouraged! Thanks guys!