A Kind Word

t was getting late in the afternoon as David sealed the last of his letters with a sigh of resignation. Holding the envelope in his hands he paused and considered the moment. There was nothing left to do. Everything had been taken care of. He reached for his pen and deliberately scrawled the last name on the last letter.

David placed the last of the letters on the kitchen bench. It would be the first letter read. �Gail� was the only addressing note and it sat next to the letters for his mother and father, his brother, his best friend Jack and a woman who never knew he loved her. Gail would open his letter tomorrow as she prepared to clean his house. She would contact the appropriate people.

Closing the front door quietly he headed into the clear and bright day. Pulling his collar about him and burying his hands deep within his jacket David slowly walked towards the bus station without glancing behind him.

�That�ll be five dollars forty� croaked the old woman without looking at him.

David reached into his jeans and pulled out the only money he had, five dollars forty. He noticed the way the old woman�s fat arms jiggled as it journeyed from the large steering wheel to the ticket punching machine.

�Thanks� David spoke quietly as he took his eyes off the jiggling arms and looked about for a seat.

The bus was almost empty and David began to head towards the rear when the old lady called out to him.

�Hey!�

David turned and saw the driver�s eyes trained upon him with a glassy stare.

�You sure you�re not coming back?�

David gasped for a moment at the woman�s insight but immediately shook off his apprehension. �I�m sure� he returned with a gentle smile and moved on to take his seat at the rear of the bus.

he beach was almost deserted and the sun was quickly diving behind the surfers and the surf. A few people strolled about the car park at a leisurely pace. David approached the familiar ice cream van that served a teenage girl. She was in a hurry to get back to her seat on the dunes that over looked her boyfriend riding the reckless waves with reckless abandon.

As he silently passed them he thought it strange that they should both look up and catch his eye. Taking his hand from his jacket pocket David brushed a stray hair from his eyes. He thought they look sad.

Turning away from the van he headed up the carved stone hillside to the North of the car park. A strange fascination engaged his movements as each step seemed to be in slow motion.

�It�s not too late to turn back� came a voice from within the bushes half way through his climb.

Startled out of the fascination with his steps David stumbled for a moment as his eyes searched the bushes to his right. A man stood beside a tea tree with shovel in hand. He seemed frozen in time.

David laughed tentatively and wiped his brow having suddenly noticed he was sweating. But the man in his Ranger�s uniform was not laughing and had the same glassy look in his eyes.

�I know� David replied somberly and turned away to continue his assent.

David reached the top of the lookout just as the sun was setting. The color on the horizon was more beautiful than he could ever remember. He moved to the far end of the lookout and away from a young family who were holding a little girl on the wooden railing, pointing at the sunset. The young girl chatted excitedly but he could not hear what she said.

Leaning on the rail David looked out over the ocean. The handful of surfers fought the encroaching darkness and seized their last waves.

Glancing below he saw the jagged rocky foreshore yawning up at him. He could feel it�s salty breath on his face. He watched the dying sun for the last light. He watched the teenage girl on the dunes wrap herself around her heroic young surfer.

He felt the small hand tugging at his jeans.

Looking down David saw the little girl looking up at him. She would have been no more than 3 years old and had somehow escaped her parents for a moment. David smiled at her but the young girl had borrowed the adult stares that had met him at every turn that afternoon.

�I�m sorry� the mother said as she swooped the child up in her protective arms. The woman paused as she looked at David and opened her mouth to say something else but then promptly lost the words. In that moment David thought he recognized the woman. She reminded him of someone. She reminded him of everyone.

The woman offered him a smile and turned away with the child clutched to her chest. As she walked away from him the little girl looked at David from over her shoulder.

�I love you� she said.

The mother continued walking and patted her little girl�s head affectionately. Yet the little girl was not talking to her mother.

David watched the girl staring from over her mother�s shoulder until they rejoined her father and started back down the stairs. He watched her head bobbing momentarily and then disappear.

Turning back towards the ocean David knew it was almost time. The crimson sky had started turning dark and the first star found its way upon the canvas before him.

Breathing the ocean air deep into his lungs David firmly grasped the railing.