We went straight down to the sea, James and I. I made a picnic breakfast of bread and jam and juice and together we cavorted on the sand, already warm at sunrise, the sea touching the sleeping shore like a considerate spouse, withdrawing to breathe, returning to caress. Shore a buttery yellow, the colour of proper ice cream, the sea calm and cold, diamond transparent. James, a solemn little toddler, not quite two, set to work collecting shells, seagull feathers and pieces of driftwood, muttering over each discovery, refusing, dog-like, to leave anything behind.
Issue 3
LIVING FLOTSAM
Melissa Todd is a writer and performer with weekly columns in the Thanet Extra and Love It. Her first novel, My Body is My Business, was published in 2021, while a short story collection, The Experiments, appeared in 2023. She lives in Broadstairs with her husband and two cats.