Jayden’s head hurt mildly as he scrunched his eyes. The sun was blazing, but he savoured the warmth on his skin. He shuddered as he remembered the cold, whooshing waves, the briny waters invading his nostrils, the blood-rush throbbing in his ears, and his feeble, garbled voice crying for help. And then, a nebulous lamina between the water and his breath until darkness swallowed him whole.

Lying on the palm-fringed beach, Jayden felt alive, happy, and liberated. He wondered how long he had lain there. He last remembered the relentless rains – now, it was a balmy summer. He had cheated death…defied fate’s decree…and he was determined to make up for the time lost. Especially to Eliana, his beloved wife.

He travelled for days before he could reach home. Enroute, Jayden occasionally found the world appear distant, fuzzy, almost like a dream. He tried reaching out to people – he was met with indifferent glances and dismissive gestures. Ignoring them, he doggedly moved ahead till he reached his picturesque, sea-facing villa. His and Eliana’s dream home.

Jayden rushed inside, his heart drumming in happiness. And then, he saw them. Sashaying down the hallway was Eliana, wrapped around his business partner Steve, a huge rock glinting on her ring finger. Jayden cried, and waved frantically at them. They moved ahead unseeingly, lost in their own fairy-tale world. A world which he was no longer a part of.

Jayden’s heart splintered. Feeling alive was not quite the same as being alive, he realised ruefully.

(Story only – 250 words)

Image: my own