She gazed longingly at him and his natural ability to walk on water while everyone else sank like poorly skipped stones. No need for suspension of disbelief necessary. Of course, he could do anything! Who would ever doubt?
She set out in her paddle boat, peddling her way after him, panting in the august sun. What was effortless for him simply took her breath away. A little whisper dashed through her mind, questioning how, but she brushed it aside for the gnat that it was, a nuisance floating along the humid breeze.
He beckoned to her, luring, teasing. She peddled all the harder against the waves, slowly, laboriously progressing towards her idol. He wore a halo of sunlight.
After days of paddling, or perhaps even weeks, her boat stalled. A stray cloud stole his halo. She looked away, searching the waters for what he lost, but a handful of sand breached the surface. A post-storm berm halted her in her tracks and she finally saw his crooked smile for what it was – crooked.
The trip back to shore was not as long as the trip out had been, but was all the more challenging given the salt burning her eyes. As she pulled herself from the water, she vowed to invest in some disbelief going forward, determined to armor herself in suspense.
Ivory Calla 