White Water, White Noise

She stood by the gate at the end of her sloping garden and stared out to the sea. She had always loved the sea, the sound, the smell, the feel. That's what the big draw with this cottage was, it was by the sea. She walked through the gate and down the little path onto the sand and almost to the water's edge.

There was no one around, there never was at this time of year. Occasionally a dog walker, rarely a couple wrapped up warm walking hand in hand along the sand.
She was always there though, whenever she could be. Only this time she knew she wouldn't be alone as usual. It was time to share, time to open up the doors, time to let someone else in.

She took a walk along the water watching the waves as they rolled in and onto the sand leaving behind foam and a renewed sense of change. White water. The sea looked murky, yet still as the tops crashed down to morph with the rest the white water was formed and rolled in towards her feet. White water. A sense of something new, something different, something as yet untried.

All around her was a cacophony of sounds, the wind, the sea, the soft crunch of her shoes across the hardened wet sand. Yet she seemed to block all of these out, either that or they all merged together to create static. Like when the radio isn't tuned in. White noise. Through this hiss she could just make out snippets of past conversations.

Calming words, soothing comments, the promise of an outing, the declaration of love.

Love. White water. White noise. Love.

As she turned her back on the sea, the voices seemed to grow louder and she was swept back into candle light dinners, walks in the park holding hands, sitting on the sofa cuddled up talking rubbish while some old movie played in the background.

She looked up towards the cottage, she could just make out a familiar figure against the setting of the sun. Her heart skipped a beat, her stomach flipped. She took a deep breath and stepped back through the gate.
White water. White noise.