The Drifter

Part 5 of 6 by Joseph Ridgwell

To the east the dunes stretched infinitely onwards, like a voluptuous yellow snake slithering sexily into the fuzzy horizons of the future, while in the west the sun shot out arrogant rays of perfect precision. I gazed straight into our nearest star, becoming blind and disoriented. I fell over and tumbled down the bank of the dune like rolling dice. When I stood up the left side of my face was covered in sand grains and I brushed them off and squinted at the trembling ocean. For some inexplicable reason the roar of the surf sounded terrifying and an intense feeling of panic washed over me like an ocean wave. Then an acute moment of clarity revealed that we are all born to die, the phrase repeating itself over and over in my head, born to die, born to die, born to die!

6S

Joseph Ridgwell lives and writes in London. Look for the conclusion of The Drifter on Sunday, June 3rd.