In a Moment

She looked away quickly, the sight before her sending shivers down her back. The reality of what she was about to do hit her like a block of ice.

Stretching from her feet down towards the cold, unforgiving ground was the looming shadow of the monotonous cliff. Jagged rocks stuck out like nails through a floorboard and a lone tree grew out of it near the bottom. Its branches stretched towards the sun as though begging for a release from its sentence or longing to be free from the long years of its solitary life.

Below it laid the uncaring and merciless rocks, which poked into the sky like unwanted creatures howling in the night. Their endless forms of uneven grey spread out along the bottom of the cliff as though trying to underline an important word without a straight ruler.

Slowly the rocks began to be covered as the ravenous ocean worked its way in. Meaningful swirls of blue and green collided like an artwork gone wrong and churning, agitated waves crashed as they met the side of the cliff. The cold ocean spray hissed like a snake as it leaped onto the tree, the deep blue of the sea licking at its trunk.

From above, dark clouds had gathered to compliment the fierceness of the ocean. Wind grew strong, whipping through the sky like food in a blender, causing the tree to groan uncontrollably. Lightning cracked as thunder boomed and the will of the lone tree was broken as it was lost to the depth of the sea. The long years of its life- gone in a moment.

Silently the girl trembled and took a slow step towards the edge. As though in a trance, all was lost as she too gave in to the will of the ocean. The short years of her life- gone in a moment.