This is a new challenge from @kaliju - for whom it is already Friday!
We are to use an original photo and then do a freewrite (minimum 300 words.)
This week's topic:
At Night
This theme is difficult because I have yet to have a camera that can handle night scenes well, but maybe this sunset one will do.
(The Turnaround in Seaside, Oregon. Nov 2013.)
Kirsta parked in her usual spot a few blocks away from the city center, as she always did when she visited for a mystery shopping exercise.
She locked the car and began the familiar short walk to all the fun things that she could do in an afternoon in Seaside.
Today's mission had been a product retrieval, where she had to collect a faulty product (apparently, there was some hair in the pot pie) and ship it overnight (with dry ice) back to the manufacturer.
That mission had been quick and straight-forward enough. She wasn't sure why there was no one closer to Seaside, whereas she had to drive a couple of hours from the Willamette Valley to do the task.
Not that she minded.
These product retrievals comprised one of her best-paid gigs at the moment, and could often be used as a launch pad for a weekend away from the city, with minimal out-of-pocket expense.
Kirsta started at her favorite place - the Seaside Aquarium. She had been going there since she was a small child, hiding behind her mother when feeding the seals. She did the same today, except she no longer needed to hide behind someone.
She bought the bag of fish and started throwing them, one at a time to the seal that she thought looked happiest, saddest, left out... or whatever.
"Kirsta?" came a voice behind her, nearly spooking her.
She turned to see a man about her age. He was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place the name. He clearly worked at the aquarium.
"Don't you remember me?" he asked.
"Gunnar!" she exclaimed, giving him a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you at first!"
"It has been 10 years!" he reminded her. "I guess we've all grown up now."
"Yeah," she said with a hint of the bitterness she felt about the passage of time.
"Sounds like the time hasn't met with your expectations," Gunnar replied.
"Not exactly," Kirsta replied.
"I get off in an hour. How about you come and find me then?" he suggested. "Then we can talk about it."
"Sounds good," she said.
"But first, can I give you the tour? I need to practice my spiel anyway."
"Sure."
The tour was brief - the Seaside Aquarium is not very large afterall, but it was nice to learn about all the recent antics Sally their octopus had been getting up to.
"She loves to get out and find a tank we've not secured correctly, then gets in and eats the inhabitants of the tank!" he said.
"Sally sounds smart!" Kirsta answered.
"Octopi are some of the cleverest creatures in the ocean, you know! Anyway, come back in forty-five minutes and I'll treat you to a round of mini-golf. What do you think?"
"Sure! I haven't played in ages!"
Kirsta left and sat on a bench near the Turnaround. She watched the sun beginning its descent as she ate the snack she'd brought with her. She found herself stalling for time.
Finally, the appointed time came. She met Gunnar at the door.
"I was half afraid you'd stand me up!" he said.
"Why would I do that?" Kirsta asked.
"I seem to remember you doing that so some poor guy in high school," he said teasingly.
Kirsta blushed. "I still feel terrible about that! My friends made me feel bad about accepting a date from Mark. I couldn't bear to be the brunt of gossip."
"So, what happened with you?" Gunnar asked as they walked towards the mini-golf place.
"Same ole, I guess. Married, divorced, no kids... I feel like I've gone nowhere."
"I've gone nowhere as well, but I didn't try as hard. No marriage or anything. You know what I do for a living. What about you?" Gunnar asked.
"I am a mystery shopper. I got into it when my ex-husband was struggling to make ends meet with his job. It's fun, pays the bills and gives me plenty of variety," Kirsta replied.
"Sounds like fun anyway," Gunnar said. "Would you look at that!" he exclaimed with disappointment as they reached the mini-golf place only to find that it was closed.
"Oh well, I guess we'll just have to find something else to do," Kirsta said optimistically.
"Let's find some bad-for-you snacks and walk along the beach," Gunnar suggested.
"Sure," Kirsta agreed.
A few minutes later, snacks in hand, they walked to the Turnaround, then down the steps to the side.
"I see the tide is out," Kirsta said as they walked through the soft mounds of sand towards the flatter, surf-beaten sand next to the water line. The sun was sitting on the water.
Gunnar took Kirsta's hand as they walked along. He told her about what he had been doing, how he'd got his job at the aquarium and how he was always learning about the amazing creatures.
"You know, I had a crush on you in school," he said to her.
"I never knew that," Kirsta said, squeezing his hand in reply.
"I was too shy to tell you," he said.
She wasn't sure what to say to that. Would she have accepted him had he told her then? She wasn't sure.
"The only reason why I tell you this now is because I've lived with the regret of never telling you. Not giving you the chance to accept or reject me."
"Okay," she replied.
He stopped and picked up a sand dollar. "This is my lucky charm," he said.
Kirsta laughed. "I've never heard of someone claiming that before! It's been years since I had a sand dollar though."
"Right now, walking along the beach with you, watching the sun going down over the Pacific... I want you to know that I never got over my crush on you. It's still as strong as it was then. But now, I have the courage..."
He pulled Kirsta to him and touched his lips to hers. When he gave her the second kiss, Kirsta returned it with her own.
The sun slipped below the horizon.
Gunnar handed her the sand dollar. "In memory of our kiss. But I want you to know that you still have a home here in Seaside. And maybe you'd consider building it with me."
Kirsta smiled at him with tears in her eyes. She had never known a love so sweet, didn't know it was in Seaside. She wasn't sure what to say, and when she spoke, she was shaky.
"Let's go and find out," she whispered.
With that, he put his arm around her again and they walked back up the beach towards their future.
Author's Notes:
I didn't grow up in Seaside, but the best years of my upbringing were spent a mere 20 miles East of there. I drew from my experiences being in Seaside. The Aquarium is still a major attraction with Harbor Seals you can feed - and yes, even a mischievous octopus! My mother is a mystery shopper and tells me about some of her shops from time to time, so I drew from that experience as well.
Even the characters' names reflects the very strong Scandinavian heritage of the whole Astoria, Oregon, area.
Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual
Banner by @shai-hulud
