This guy narrates the death of a surfing buddy, but here's the thing. He tells the story three times, each time remembering additional important details and events. When the whole story comes into focus, we’re left wondering what other details were left out, and where this story, or any story for that matter, actually begins and ends.

We’d finally convinced him to come to the beach with us. He’d been backing out again and again but that day the sun was really bright. He said that maybe it would do him good to get a little burnt, whatever that meant. There was this crazy low tide that day, and he was obsessed with sea glass and the sand dollars and crabs so we just figured we’d start out without him and see if he’d join us. I was riding serious A-frames out there, I didn’t even really notice that he was laying still on the sand until there were people surrounding him and shouting for help.

Read the full story, along with other great fiction, in Etchings Magazine, Issue 4, from Ilura Press. Or click here for my copy.

Labels: fiction