EDITH
The next day, Edith went for a dawn walk along the beach. The air was cool and still, carrying the faint scent of sea spray and damp sand. A soft haze hung over the water, blurring the line between sea and sky. The only sounds were the quiet rush of the tide and the cry of distant gulls. It was a beautiful June morning, and it promised a bright day ahead.
She sat on a rock, removed her trainers and gazed out at the sea, watching as the light spread through the sky, painting it lavender and peach. The waves rolled in, their repetitive movement nature’s heartbeat.
Alone on the beach, it felt otherworldly, and she was struck by how fragile life was, how fleeting a human life was in the grander scheme of things. Digging her bare toes into the cold sand, she grounded herself in the moment, breathing deep as the sense of loss and longing expanded.
Edith had been here so many times before, had thought about her life and what she’d lost as well as what she’d gained. But that sense that something was missing was there, a piece of brokenshell at the edge of her consciousness, a fragment washed smooth by time but never whole, never fitting back with the rest.
It didn’t matter how much she focused on her business, her friendships, her life… there would always be a hollow place that Wyatt had once filled. Before him, she hadn’t been aware of the emptiness. Afterwards, it had been obvious that she’d created a space in her heart for him, and try as she might, she couldn’t fill it with anything else. She had come to accept that because she was powerless to change it. And didn’t everyone who passed through a person’s life shape them in some way, just as the sea shaped the land?
Yesterday, the coasteering with Wyatt and the group had been wonderful. Edith had felt something inside her shifting, as if doing something so daring had helped to heal a part of her. But on waking this morning, she’d tossed and turned as she’d tried to go back to sleep because the ache was back and it had returned with a vengeance. It was grief, she knew that much, and she missed what they’d had, missed how warm it had made her feel and how safe and secure.
She pulled her knees up and hugged them as a swell of emotion flooded through her. Time was slipping away like sand in an hourglass, and she didn’t want to waste a second of it. The worst thing that could happen was to look back at life and regret something, and Edith didn’t want to regret a thing. She wanted to feel the way she did when Wyatt was around, but she didn’t know if they could ever turn back the clock.
Movement in the water caught her attention. She frowned, narrowing her eyes against the pale light as she tried to see more clearly. Something was gliding through the sea — a sleek shape cutting across the surface. A dolphin, perhaps, or a porpoise. Maybe even a seal. But then she realised it was human. Thefigure turned, swimming purposefully towards the shore, arms lifting and slicing cleanly through the water in a steady front crawl.
A moment later, they were wading through the shallows, droplets streaming from their body, before stepping onto the sand. The swimmer bent to pick up a towel and wrapped it around herself, movements brisk and unselfconscious.
It was Rosie; she was sure of it. She raised a hand in greeting so the girl wouldn’t be startled by her presence in the dawn light.
Rosie spotted her and waved back and then she walked towards her, the towel still around her shoulders.
‘Hello,’ Edith said. ‘You’re up early.’
Rosie nodded as she sat on a rock next to Edith. ‘I couldn’t sleep.’
‘School pressures?’ Edith asked, aware that Rosie had exams this year.
‘Yeah.’ Rosie pushed a hand through her wet hair and stared out at the water.
‘Anything I can help with?’
Rosie shook her head then rubbed her eyes. ‘It will be fine. I’ve just been busy, and the only thing that helps is swimming.’
Edith wondered if Rosie’s parents knew she was swimming alone this early in the day but refrained from asking. Rosie was a friendly and polite girl, but Edith knew teenagers hated to be treated like children.
‘They say exercise is good for beating stress,’ she said. ‘It’s why I walk so much.’
Edith noticed the dark shadows under the girl’s eyes, the fine line between her brows. ‘Are you sure I can’t help? Do you need to talk about anything? I’m a great listener.’
Rosie shifted on the rock and sighed. ‘I… I can’t. You’re my dad’s friend and wedding planner. I can’t talk to you about it.’
‘If you need to talk to someone, Icanlisten. It’s possible that I might even be able to help.’ Edith watched Rosie carefully, seeing her parents in her features. Finn was evident more than Thora in her looks, but she could see Thora in Rosie’s mannerisms.
‘Really?’ Rosie asked.
Edith gave a small nod. ‘You might be surprised.’
‘It’s… It’s not school. I mean, that’s all been hard and there’s more to come, but I can cope with that. It’s just life. There’s so much change all the time.’
‘And that can be overwhelming, right?’ Edith said.
‘Completely.’ Rosie worried at her bottom lip. ‘I’m really happy for my mum and my dad both having relationships, but sometimes I wish everything would just slow down and stay the same.’
‘I was having a very similar thought when you appeared,’ Edith said.
‘Were you?’ Rosie asked. ‘But you seem so happy and confident. You’re strong and successful and you know what you want out of life.’
