Myrtle Beach

The ocean was gone.

The smell of seaweed no longer flavored the air.

Myrtle laid claim to the beach and stretched its hungry fingers to what was once the ocean’s floor.

Natural and unnatural debris concealed the skeletons of the marine creatures. The great whales lay buried in the ruins of the kelp forest. Vines twisted around the kelp’s corpses, camouflaging the death underneath.

Sea gulls no longer flew across the ocean’s expanse. They no longer sounded their cries.

The wind blew across the myrtled beach, whispering.

When the wind fell silent, all was still.

July 2019 Writing Prompts