The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Solitude
by Rie Sheridan Rose

Cladira reclined on the sand of the tropical island she had always dreamed of visiting. It was a perfect day. The sky was a cloudy blue that mirrored the restless Caribbean waters behind her. The sand was soft as silk as she let it run through her hand. The sun kissed the bronze of her skin with a lover’s caress. Just perfect.

Only one thing marred her pleasure. There was no one to share the beauty with. Marvin was supposed to be here with her. They had started the cruise together. It was his twentieth anniversary gift to her.

She had tried to get him to come with her, but he looked at her and shook his head, backing away from her as if she’d grown another head herself. All she’d done was set a small charge in the cargo hold so the ship would sink and they wouldn’t have to go home. Oh, and shoot the captain when he tried to stop her. But she’d done it all for Marvin.

Why hadn’t he understood? She’d really hated shooting him too.

Oh, well. She’d managed to stock a lifeboat and bribe someone to lower it for her—before the explosion left him nowhere to spend his ill-gotten gains. She’d been long gone by then.

She had enough to keep her going until she established herself on this deserted island.

She liked solitude.

Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Overheard in Hell:
Dark Poetry

Poems exploring hell and damnation. Tales of sorrow, vengeance, betrayal, and redemption. Ghosts, ghouls, and demons stalk these pages. Don’t read in a lonely house…in a darkened room by a single candle…

…unless you like the touch of an icy finger up your spine.

Available on Amazon!