Of course, if you warned me then, I would have still soaked it all in. I had an incurable addiction to the glorious rays that made my skin glisten with the softest sheen of sweat. Pink cheeks, wind-blown hair and shimmering limbs made me irresistible to the shirtless, bronzed boys of summer.
Some of the girls preferred to get glammed up, head to toe and drenched in seductive scents stolen from their mother's mirrored vanity. I suppose some boys were into that look, if they were looking for that type of girl. (and that type of whirl)
Then, there were the ones who preferred the look I naturally sported. The ones who didn't mind swept-back ponytails, caked in sand. The ones who didn't mind chipped nails from climbing treehouses. The ones who rather enjoyed the taste of strawberry sorbet-smudged lips.
Then, there was the One who loved it all, and loved me best. For the last eleven years, we have relived those summers like teenagers rushing head-long into first kisses of the day, and final hugs of the night.
Yes, you could have warned me of the price of that sunshine, but those summers were worth every bit of the last six months of chemo and radiation. It won't be long now. I can see in the way he smooths my ponytail gently so it doesn't cause more hair to fall. My nails are no longer brittle from treehouses. And when he's kissing that strawberry sorbet from my lips, it's because I'm becoming too weak to eat properly.
But he doesn't mind. He still sees me as his shimmering sun goddess.
And he will always be my bronzed boy of summer, long after the winter steals me away.
Image from Pixabay
https://pixabay.com/photos/couple-beach-holding-hands-677585/
Nice to see you back @stormcharmer, I have missed your writing!!!
Thank you, my dear tomato cupcake friend.
:-)
This story reads as if it was written with a pen full of sunshine! Fun summer vibes and excellent descriptions. Great piece @stormcharmer.
How did you know about my secret sunshine pen? I thought I kept this magic pen as a secret!
Now I suppose I'll have to send you a parcel with your very own? :-)
I appreciate your beautiful comment. I hope you find my other piece called "Captured". That one might capture your attention!
If not that one, perhaps a cheeky one coming very soon about tea time! Think tea time can't be cheeky? Then you haven't met Kate. :-)
Your text makes me think about the contradictions of the world, @stormcharmer. Summer is not always innocuous. Your short text is filled with a symbolism of love for the natural and, in the end, an acceptance of the turn of your life, as well as gratitude for the presence of love. One senses possibilities in various directions of the construction of the story.
Thank you for your kind interpretation of my short story, Gracie. Love is the gift that is worth it all.
Wow do you remember me?!
How are you doing ☺
I missed your writing ✍ as for some other people apparently!
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Is it embarrassing that I hoped you would remember me?
:-)
Yes, I remember you. How did you see that I had written again? What a very wonderful way to be welcomed back after a long silence, seeing your greeting. I hope that you have been well?
Haha no it's not embarrassing. I find it funny!
Well I'm quite active lately, I try to engage more with my comments, so I'm watching my feed daily and I saw your post! I recognized your avatar in an instant 😄
I have been well thank you! Of course it has been quite a strange year but it's not affecting me too much.
What about you? Are you planning on being active again?
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Yes I think I'll be active again.
I wrote another comical, shorter fiction. I just have to find the right moment to submit. I think you'll enjoy the humour!
The year has been the strangest, however life finds its way! We just tag along for the ride! ha
The hawk eye. I'm glad it spied you! or you spied it.
You spied one another! ha
Nice! I'll check it out.
Yea life find its way as we say 🌱
We spied one another with the eye 😆 I've always thought it is the eye of a cat or a dragon. Is that it?
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This is perfectly calibrated to elicit emotion and yet not be sentimental. What a challenge that is for many writers. You balance the tension beautifully.
This story is very affecting. It of course has a practical interpretation, but the most memorable part is the enduring quality of love that sees the relationship mature from ideal and unblemished youth to the hard reality of illness.
Thank you for posting this very well-constructed and moving story in the Ink Well community.
Lovely to be here, and I am humbled by your appreciation.
Your post has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!
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I feel very encouraged and will be delighted to check out the encouragement program. I hope it explains how to use ecency to boost my growth, as I'd welcome the help!
Oh, my -- breathtaking, brief, glorious, tragic, and triumphant! Well done!
From your description, I can see you are a seasoned winner. High praise then, coming from you. Thank you for the commendation!
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The badges are lovely, thank you
You're welcome @stormcharmer
Support us back and vote for our witness.
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I'm so thankful. I will vote for your witness now. :-)
Can't wait to get your vote to send you your new badge.
I did do a vote, but it replied some error that it was duplicated. I will try again, but I'm not exactly sure what went wrong.
Success! It worked this time. I also gave others a witness vote based on a recommendation from a friend. Thank you again 😅
The badges are lovely, thank you
This is such a poignant story, @stormcharmer. At first blush, it appears to be a story about superficial beauty, but then it goes much deeper into enduring love that can withstand all the trials that a relationship undergoes in the face of cancer treatments. It took my breath away that she knows her days on the beach are coming to an end.
And simply ready to face them with all the gratitude of her heart. I fear her bronzed boy has the more difficult journey ahead of him.