Saoirse could smell the ocean salt clinging to his skin. She could still see the sunlight reflecting in his hazel eyes. This was where Julian belonged.
It hadn’t been good enough.
He had the ocean in his soul but around here the dark corners echoed of empty promises far louder.
She begged him. He answered their call anyway.
If I could go back, Saoirse wondered, when was the moment you decided?
His mother wiped her tears away.
“This is where he was happiest.”
Saoirse inhaled the ocean air and tilted the urn. They watched as the waves carried Julian away.

Word count: 100
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A touching scene and a bittersweet farewell. Nicely done.
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Thank you!
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A tearful final goodbye. Heart touching.
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Thank you!
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Touching piece. I have to wonder, though, what the cell phone call was about that led to tragedy…
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It’s part of the mystery. Thank you for reading
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Tragic. Nicely written 🙂
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Thank you
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Beautifully done – so poignant!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you Susan
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Beautifully done, Kelley.
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Thank you Dale!
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Such a moving tale. Sad, yet in a way, beautiful.
My go at Friday Fictioneers!
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Thank you Keith
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A poignant story with a whisper of mystery to it. Nicely done!
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Thank you Brenda!
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Pulled at my heart….I remember scattering my husband’s ashes in the Smoky Mountains he loved. Thank you for sharing this tender story.
DB McNicol
author, traveler, shutterbug
Author Blog
Personal Blog
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that it struck a chord. I’m sorry you lost your husband.
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This is beautiful and so sad. I almost saw him as a male mermaid.
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Thank you for reading. Maybe he gets another life and will be a mermaid
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A sad story, well told.
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Thank you for reading!
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So sad, especially her desire to go back to the moment where he turned away. If only we could change the past, just tweak it a little so that things took a different path.
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But how drastically would those small changes alter the future? Maybe if we could change the past, we wouldn’t. Thank you for reading!
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