Rocks

She walked the beaten path of stones and pebbles along the beachside. A wave of sentiment came over her as she saw a pale blue bucket in the sand. She picked it up and remembered the days when she used to play with her brother in the sand. Seagulls would caw overhead and the wind would blow their hair around until they looked like clowns. Nowadays the only time they looked like clowns was in the workplace. She took off her shoes and sank her feet into the sand letting it run freely over her skin. She started strolling, bucket in hand, shoes in the bucket, hair loose, heart heavy. She breathed in the salty air and started walking towards the coastline, closer to the waves. When the sand got softer, she sat down and laid on her back, turning her face towards the sun. Eventually, she dozed off and when she woke up again the sun was setting and the air was getting chilly. She memorized the scene around her. The smooth stones, the soft sand, the warm pinks and oranges of the sky, the deep blue of the sea and the calm that surrounded her at that moment. Smiling to herself, she looked at the sand around her to see if there was a seashell that she could take home with her. She wandered back to the rockier part of the beach and found one. Perfectly round and smooth except for one little crack on the side. Like Chip from "Beauty and the Beast". She added the shell to her bucket and went back to the path, putting her shoes back on when the ground became too rocky. Her car unlocked with a chirp and she put the bucket with the seashell in the backseat on top of a sheaf of divorce papers that she was supposed to deliver. Oh well. Guess the bastard would have to wait. She started up her car and drove off. At the stop sign, she stopped and looked from left to right. Not seeing anybody, she turned right. She continued driving. It was a straight road until the highway and she would get off in a couple of exits to drop off the papers. She was stopped at a traffic light, pondering the degree to which she could push the envelope in her relationship when from the right a car came careening around the bend and slammed into hers. In seconds she was out.