Answer the call of a deserted beach. Welcome the silence filled with memories of her. Look not for phantom footprints washed away by rolling tide. Instead, endure the pain. Suffer the change her leaving brings. Let it shape the man inside. Be him.
Remember the day she left. Blow a kiss. Au revoir, mon amour. Au revoir does not mean goodbye. Futile wishes foster hope but then collapse like castles made of sand.
Laughter.
A hand tugs. ‘Dad?’
Embrace him. Capture his grin. Revisit the love that made him.
‘Race me!’
Smile. Accept his challenge. Make this moment about him.
Copyright (2023) MJ Christie
First Published in Microfiction Monday Magazine