Joyce is stood by the sea’s edge, holding her hands aloft in anticipation. For the first time in a long while I am unsure of what I’ve let myself in for. It’s five o’clock on a cold morning. Even the dog walkers aren’t out yet. Despite the wind the sea seems calm, with low white waves gently churning the green-blue water beneath the paling grey cloud-covered sky. Further along the beach a few photographers are gathered, perhaps also a cult dedicated to daily worship. Like Joyce, they are waiting for the sunrise. The difference is she looks for signs from the sea.
‘Here it comes,’ Joyce says quietly to me. ‘Watch the water.’
Issue 1
SHALLOW DRIFT
Seb Reilly is an award-winning published writer, fiction author, poet, and occasional musician. He is Editor of Seaside Gothic. From 2015–2020 he was Editor-in-Chief of Thanet Writers and in 2021 he was named Kent Columnist of the Year for his column in The Isle of Thanet News.