The Ocean, The Monster
The ocean is a monster, Georgie told Judy when he watched her throw a sand dollar into the water. How many is that now? he asked.
Judy sighed, looked to the sky and counted. Twelve, she said. No, thirteen. Thirteen. She threw another sand dollar and they watched the waves suck it up. Georgie popped his gum and picked up a stick, drew his name in the sand. This was the first time their parents let them be at the beach by themselves, so long as Georgie and Judy promised not to touch the water.
Look, Judy whispered, pointing at the couple walking in their direction. They sat quietly and watched. Just from the couple’s clothes you could tell they weren’t from around town. People probably not rich enough to live in places like the Hamptons but doing well enough to be a snowbird and travel south when their hometown gets cold. They laid their towels across the sand and delicately dropped their things, stiff smiles planted across their faces like they were just arguing and trying to get along for the audience that was Georgie and Judy. The couple each took their clothes off, revealing ill-fitting swimsuits and horrendous sunburns underneath.
Judy stared at them. She wondered if these strangers knew about the ocean, about who it had become. She suspected they probably didn’t, since nobody could watch the news anymore and those who didn’t live near the coasts truly understood what was happening.
The woman, now rubbing sunscreen across her arms, noticed Judy and paused, stared back. She waved with an exasperated look on her face that said, What the hell are you looking at?
Judy turned around to Georgie.
It’s your turn, she told him, tossing sand across her legs.
Georgie popped his gum again and stood up. He made his way to the water, getting close but not so that it could touch him. Letting the water actually touch him would ruin the plan. After a few moments he jumped back and ran screaming to the couple.
Help! Help! he cried, waving his arms around hysterically. Judy watched her brother and tried not to laugh; this part always cracked her up. She widened her eyes, pretended to be in shock, biting her tongue so hard she tasted iron.
The man and woman straightened their backs.
What’s wrong kid? the woman asked.
There’s something in the water! It almost grabbed me, it almost ate me! I think it’s a shark!
The couple inched forward to look out across the horizon, hands across their forehead to block the sun even though they wore sunglasses and hats.
I don’t see anything, the man muttered.
Georgie burst into tears. It was his specialty, crying on command. He’d gotten Judy in trouble lots of times because of it, to which she always sought vengeance and made him cry for real. I swear there’s something, he said. It almost got me. Please look. Please! He wiped his nose and rubbed his eyes with his fist.
Where are your parents? the woman asked.
George rubbed the tears from his eyes with his fists. They’re not here. My sister and I, he pointed at Judy, we’re alone today. I’m so scared. Please help. Please.
Okay, okay, the man said. Stop your crying.
The man pulled himself up and Georgie showed him where the shark was. The woman stood but stayed on her towel, watching. The man stood on the shore, covering the sun from his eyes and staring across the horizon. Georgie stood behind him, a certain distance away from the water.
I still don’t see anything, kid, the man said.
I swear it was there, Georgie said between stifled sobs.
The man turned around. I think you’re just imagining things. Why don’t you just -
Suddenly the waves thickened and rose, crashing against the man’s legs. With his feet submerged, he fell as if something yanked him under. He thrashed, screamed so loud it hurt Georgie’s ears. The man’s arms sputtered across the water. He was drowning until he wasn’t. His body disappeared. Georgie put his hands on his head in despair and Judy stood up, screaming something unintelligible.
The woman rolled her eyes. Really? she asked her drowned husband. Come on. I told you to be careful with these tides. Christ.
It was after a few minutes passed and he still hadn’t appeared that the woman began to panic. She jogged over to the shore and called out her husband’s name.
Watch out for the shark! Judy cried.
There’s no shark! the woman yelled. She crouched down and ran her hands through the water like she was looking for a sock in a pile of laundry. Except whenever she did that, she was never able to find the right sock, and right now she wasn’t able to find her husband. Tears streamed down her face. She threw her sunglasses in the sand.
She turned around, her eyes red and mascara smeared. The woman screamed, made her way towards the children. What did you do to him! What did you do!
Both Georgie and Judy screamed: I don’t know!
The woman was about to repeat herself when the ocean greeted her. It had gotten closer and bigger in the last few minutes, as if it was crawling across the sand. It snatched her, pulled her to her chest. She screamed for help, but Georgie and Judy could only watch, frozen in fear of what would happen if they themselves got any closer. They had to admit, as fun as pretending there was a shark, as fun as it was to see the tide pull all these yuppies down, they didn’t like this. This part, even though they always expected it, even though their parents always warned them about it, this part was always a shock. The ocean was angry, Judy and Georgie knew that much. They also knew that it no longer liked humans.
The woman clutched the sand, as if that would help her. Hopeless, in an act Judy found pathetic, the woman grew limp and let go of the sand. Georgie stepped backwards until he reached his sister, both watching the woman fade away into the now calm, gently rolling waves.
Judy and Georgie looked at each other, stepped back a few inches from where the ocean now rested, and sat down again. Georgie picked up his stick and drew his name in the sand, then a picture of the sun and a shark. Judy picked up two more sand dollars and tossed them, watched them sputter in the ocean before the tides sucked them up.
For a moment they were quiet.
Then Judy said, Fifteen.
About the author
Courtney Ackerman is a writer currently living in the Nevada desert. She recently received her Bachelor's degree in English literature.