A Note From The Deep...A Short Story

 

 

The Weekly Writing Prompt Returns!

Last week I did not write a story for the weekly writing challenge. It's the first week I missed in several months. I thought I'd re-start the tradition. The picture is a good one--so much potential for stories. If you'd like to try one yourself, here are the rules:

1) Use the photo and the 5 words provided in your story
2) Keep your word count 500 words or less.
3) You have until next Tuesday to link up your post.
4) Link up your story at these sites: Nicole, Carrie, Leanne, or Tena.  

5) Have fun, don’t stress, let those creative juices flow.

This Week's Words:

 

Letter

Velcro

Planet

Fever

Shopping

 

Here you go!

 

A Note From The Deep

 

Somehow she knew the when the phone rang this was no ordinary call. "Lori...um, they found something." She thought she had adequately prepared for the day when the news would reach her. She thought wrong.

 

"The main section of Bill's ship was located two miles down, about a half mile from his last transmission. Incredibly, it's mostly intact." Skip, Bill's best friend dreaded making the call to the now confirmed widow, but he knew she would want to know. Hopefully she could cherish his memory instead of embracing a false hope. Skip's mouth went dry as he spoke. He wasn't sure how much she would want to know, so he just kept talking.

 

"We had the ALVIN check as many compartments as possible. There's a hole on the starboard side--possibly from an explosion. We sent the video to San Diego and they think one of the internal ballast tanks might have burst, but unless we raise it, we'll probably never know."

Lori sat at her kitchen table, groceries, her shopping list and the kid's dishes from lunch sat as silent symbols of her continued life without her husband. The eyeless objects screamed of a nomalcy that didn't exist.

"Skip?" Lori cut him off. "Were you able to salvage anything?"

"Not anything of value." 

Of course, thought Lori. Bill never could cure the fever the open ocean gave him. He spent almost a million dollars on his research vessel. It had now become the one of the most expensive corral incubators on the planet.

"No Skip. I didn't think so. Anything, you know...personal?"

"Yeah, amazingly we did. We were able to maneuver the ALVIN inside his cabin and there was a plastic bag attached to a wall by Velcro. We snagged it because we thought we saw something in it."

Lori's hand began to shake as she waited for Skip to continue.

"Lori? Lori? You still there?"

"I'm here," she managed to say. "Um...what was in the bag?"

"It's an unopened letter. It's addressed to you."

"Did you open it?" she finally said.

"No. Of course not. We wouldn't do that."

"Do you have the letter with you?"

"I got it right here."

"You think you could open it and read it to me?"

"Lori," Skip hesitated. "I don't  know. I mean, it's your letter..."

"Skip..." Her strong voice masked her vulnerability. "You loved him too. Besides, there were no secrets between us three." 

 

She heard Skip set the phone down and open the letter. The horrors of the past ninety days raced to her mind and she heard her husband's best friend read the message intended for her. She closed her eyes and allowed the words to cleanse her tormented heart.

Word Count: 457