It was around midnight, but isn’t that usually
when darkness plays its evil hand? I couldn’t sleep so
I decided to take a walk on the beach down the block
from where we were renting a cottage for the summer. It
was a warm and overcast night with a soft breeze. I
was enjoying splashing my bare feet through the waves
that broke at the edge of the sand. I was mesmerized
by the rhythmic sound. Just then the clouds parted and
the moon revealed a shocking sight in the sand. A body
lay curled up along the shoreline. There was something
unnatural about it, so I walked up to it to see if he was
still breathing. I saw no signs of life. I did not bring
my phone with me, and I knew that it would soon be high tide.
I ran for home to call the police to report it before he was
washed out to sea. I sat at the house, awake for hours
waiting by the phone, but the police never called back.
I was never called in for a statement.
The next morning there was nothing in the local news
about a police report, and there were no reports of missing
persons. It was as if it never happened. I was left wondering
if it was just a nightmare, if I had imagined the whole thing.
I am not sure what took place that night, but I can tell you
that I never ventured out to walk the beach alone at
night again.
The rest of the month passed quietly. My husband and I
enjoyed the last weeks of our vacation without any other
incidents. It was time to pack up and head for home. I
still thought back to that night and could not let it go.
I knew that I did not imagine the body lying near the water’s
edge. Who was he? How did he die? Had the tide come in
before the police arrived? Did they ever arrive? Why didn’t
they call back to follow up on the report? I had given the
dispatcher all the information in detail. I needed to let
it go, but I could not.
It was midday so I decided to take one last walk on the
beach to say goodbye to the ocean before leaving. There were
very a few people around since it was October and midweek.
As I neared the spot where I had seen the body, I got an
eerie feeling. Suddenly, he jumped out of nowhere and
glared at me. “Do you remember me?” he said in a low voice.
It was him, the man I saw dead on the beach. I screamed but
it was too late. He grabbed me and placed his hand over my
mouth as he started to drag me towards the nearby pier. I
caught my wits, and gathered all my strength. I pushed my
entire body weight back into him and kicked him as hard as I
could in the kneecap. He released his grip to catch himself
from falling, and I took the opportunity to run as fast as I
could screaming loudly for help as I did.
Just then, two young men who were surf-fishing heard me
and came running. They noticed the man chasing me and tackled
him before he could turn around to escape. While one young
fisherman held him down, the other pulled out his cellphone to
call the police. This time the police arrived within ten
minutes. They hand-cuffed my attacker and proceeded to ask
questions. They asked me to go to the police station for a
full report. I did. I was shaking the entire time until the
ordeal was over and I was safely back home.
Almost a year had passed, and we were preparing for
vacation once again. I never forgot the events of last
year, but now they seemed like some distant bad dream.
After we unpacked and settled in for our annual autumn
vacation, I went out to shop for groceries. I grabbed a
local newspaper to bring back to the cottage with me.
There on the front page was the result of the recent trial
of the man who attacked me. He confessed everything. It
turns out that he was the twin brother of the dead man.
They were separated at birth. When the twin who attacked me
found out about his rich brother, he plotted to take over his
life and live as the rich one. That is why there was never any
‘Missing Person” report filed. It almost worked, but
unfortunately, I came upon him as he was trying to do away with
the body. He ran to hide under the pier, not knowing how much I
actually saw that night. He disposed of the body permanently
after I had left to go call the police. After that, he planned
to find me and do away with me, to cover all his tracks. The
two young men surf-fishing saved my life.
Needless to say, I still never walk alone on the beach
anymore, day or night, butespecially not at midnight!
Ann Christine Tabaka was nominated for the 2017 Pushcart Prize in Poetry, has been internationally published, and won poetry awards from numerous publications. She is the author of 9 poetry books. She has micro-fiction in several anthologies, and published flash fiction. Christine lives in Delaware, USA. She loves gardening and cooking. Chris lives with her husband and three cats. Her most recent credits are: CommuterLit; Spillwords; The Black Hair Press (Unravel Anthology, Apocalypse Anthology, Hate Anthology); Fantasia Divinity Publishing (Winds of Despair Anthology, Waters of Destruction Anthology, Earth of Oblivion Anthology); The Siren’s Call (drabbles); Potato Soup Journal: 10-word stories.
Ann Christine Tabaka, Poet & Writer – Pushcart Prize in Poetry Nominee
Website: https://annchristinetabaka.com/