"For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one." - Khalil Gibran
Myra's shoe got stuck in a hole in the cobble street during her run. She gave not a sound of panic however, for she was far too engaged in the chase, and freed herself with a swift tug of her leg. She hurried after her younger, lighter-haired cousin, Eileen, who babbled and screamed out of excitement from their game. Their laughter intermingled and echoed down the pathways they traveled along, occasionally darting around slow-moving neighbors or strangers.
"No!" Eileen exclaimed amidst a laugh. She looked over her shoulder to a swiftly advancing Myra, who then lunged out to grasp at Eileen's shoulder.
"You're it!" Myra said. Eileen started to pretend-wail. "You can't tag back yet, you have to let me run away first."
"Myra! That's not fair!" Eileen replied. "You're faster than me!"
No sooner had the retort been given, Myra's swift feet paced against the cobble once again. Yet this was not the case for long. Eileen chased after her older cousin, screeching at her like a mad bird in her haste.
They fled for the docks where the sailors labored away. The sounds of the two girls playing and scampering trailed over the ears of the working men, who did no more than grumble because of the chirping, pitchy cries. Little heeled shoes clacked and thunked against wooden panels.
"Stop, stop!" Eileen said. Myra giggled as she ran while Eileen panted and whined from behind. The light-haired Eileen gave a final "Stop!" before skidding to a halt.
"No whining!" Myra exclaimed over her shoulder. Her feet skipped over a hole in the dock's walkway. "Come on, it's not hard." She took another careful hop to the next portion of the dock. "Like my pa said, remember? Just watch your feet."
"My bow's fallen off, Myra. It's gone."
"No it has not. No way."
"Yeah it has. Mum's gonna kill me."
"She won't," Myra replied. She abandoned her post with the same pattern of step-hops and hop-steps that she did before to cross; and made her way to her younger cousin. "We'll find it. When'd you feel it fall?"
Eileen sniffled, pointing to a space just a few strides back from where she was standing. Myra peeked beyond her cousin's shoulder. Though when she looked, she spotted Eileen's hair ribbon tucked away under her hair. Eileen's hand then shot out, trying to reach out to Myra who hastily gave a cry of surprise and hurried away again.
"Oh, Myriam! Myriam!" Eileen called."Gonna get you!"
Myra branched off from the main pathway to trek down one of the older, less used docks. The boards were dark, moldy, rotten and creaked underfoot. Eileen followed after for a few paces, but ceased when a board she landed on whined in protest from her little weight. Myra kept going, not even looking back.
The sky was a bleak grey, filled with clouds that hung overcast. The sea faintly sounded near Eileen's feet and bellowed under Myra's sprinting ones. Her dark hair bounced with her, swaying side to side; dress skirt flowing behind her.
"Myriam," Eileen called in hesitation. She tried again, "Myriam!"
Myra remained determined and only believed her dear Eileen to be joking. Yet the entire run down the dock had been taken blindly in her youthful adrenaline-filled excitement. Myra's eyes kept ahead and watched the horizon; watched as the sea went on and on, never ending. Her foot landed on the gap that marked between two boards, two panels which were barely in-tact, beginning to dangle--that is, until Myra fell through them.
Her chin smacked against the splintered, broken panel in front of her. Three long slivers of lumber shrapnel cut and scratched against her chin. She heard Eileen's young, infantile voice reach out to her, yet it sounded miles away. Myra hit the water in a fumble, front-first, and tumbled in a twirl into the water. It snatcher her up like a cat upon a mouse.
She saw stars dancing around her, a family of rose, white, black and blue spots that swirled in the water taunting her. Her dress weighed her down. She waved her arms around her in heavy, anchored motions. Eileen was screaming.
The water filled Myra's ears, her nose, her mouth. She was screaming, too. Her fingers broke the surface, but her legs failed her. Her dress hugged around her young body, pulled her down.
"Help! Someone help!" Eileen pleaded with tears rising in her eyes. She cried out to the sailors who at first made no hurry. "Help, please! Help!"
Myra's reaching, clambering hands couldn't keep her above water. She inhaled seawater over and over. She couldn't cough it up. She was weak; the water was strong. It slowly pulled her down by her ankles into its dark clutches, strangled her and silenced her. Her body stilled and gently bobbed in the water. The sun broke through the clouds and shone down upon her raven crown.
