Chasing a Sunset (Short Stories and an update on Lifeguarding)

So I've virtually stopped wearing real clothes. In the mornings it's swimsuits, sweatshirts, and shorts and at night it's Cafe Rio uniform (so I guess I wear real clothes every night then). Oh . . . Je vous présente Monsieur Hulot ... il m'aide avec mon français. ;)

Today is a great day! I'm totally exhausted after guarding this morning, doing deep water spinals for lifeguard in-service and cleaning out filters under 10 feet of water. Not going to lie I have a bit of, what I call, a pressure headache, or basically a headache from too much water pressure on my eardrums. But it's no big deal cause I now have an hour or two to sleep it off. So the summer has been going great. I'm currently working two jobs. In the mornings I either Lifeguard or teach swim lessons. Right now I'm teaching two classes of the cutest kids ever! One class is entirely girls who love to squeal and tackle me and hug me and show me their newest pair of cute earrings. The other class is higher level and they're just fun, telling me how sharks mistake us for seals, their prey, and other random facts. I think their favorite phrase is "Hey teacher! Watch what I can do!" In the evenings I work at Cafe Rio (a Mexican grill) and am lucky enough to get to take home some food when I close. And during the days if I'm not asleep, then I'm practicing French, exercising, emailing/blogging/writing letters or hanging out with my siblings.

  Okay so now onto the Short Stories part. So my mom is currently gone in St. George. She's visiting her parents and helping out down there for 8 days so the rest of us have been here just doing our thing and figuring out how to survive. :) Yesterday we ended up going to lunch in the park so Jason could play and the rest of us could get out and I decided it was time to sit down and write my short story. (Spencer and I are going back and forth and this is the first one I've written being given only the first sentence to go on). Well, Tanner decided he wanted to join me so we spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside listening to music and comparing our stories. It was great! So this is what I came up with. I hope you all enjoy! :)

Chasing a Sunset

The sunset was more revealing than either of them thought. As it is with most paintings which tell a story none can seem to remember.

Marie often came looking for such paintings when she could escape the never-ending bore and sterility of her little French school. Marie lived in a little house, in a little town, where not even little dreams could grow. And inside that little house, in her little town, she lived with her “too-big” family, with “too big” of worries to pay attention to what her mother called, her “too-big” of dreams. So every Saturday afternoon Marie would pedal away to Paris, taking her “too-big” of dreams with her. She kept her “too-little” bike hidden in the bushes by the school’s front gate, which once white was now yellowed with age. There it sat poised and ready for the weekly adventure to the Louvre after the afternoon bell had rung, releasing her from her little schoolhouse.

After a particularly boring day at school (they had studied 5’s and 6’s in multiplication) Marie ran to the little clump of bushes and pulled out her bike, discovering a new scratch amongst all the others. The little bike once a bright periwinkle, was now chipped and faded, having been used by each of Marie’s six older sisters. Vague outlines of long-faded pink flowers were scattered amongst the chips of paint and a little bell rested by Marie’s hand, like a little-lost bird, trilling its tune amongst the nest of stubby handlebars and shredded streamers.  

According to Marie’s calculations, Paris and more importantly, the Louvre was a mere 6 ½ miles (or 20 minutes ride) away from her little house. So she clambered on her “too-little” bike and pedaled her “too-big” of dreams to Paris, and more importantly, the Louvre.

Today, Marie decided to explore the north-west wing and soon found herself snugly nestled amongst hundreds of scenic paintings with a thousand different colors. One painting, in particular, caught her eye. Walking over to the far corner she stared at the painting, the plaque underneath read, “Seaport at Sunset” Claude Lorrain, 1639.  At first glance it seemed like nothing special, just men standing at the dock waiting as the ships came in, looking for refuge from the night. But the sunset was more revealing than either of them thought, for Marie found herself angry that these men simply stood, not taking advantage, or even any notice of the enticing color, light, and symbolic opportunity of the sunset. All they could do was stand and wait for their stock, or merchandise, or any other number of profits the ships bore as cargo.

“Doesn’t anyone in this world care for anything but money and facts and figures?” Marie snapped out loud. Embarrassed, she quickly glanced around in hopes that no one had heard her outburst. Finding herself alone she decided to move on, grumbling that even if it were their last sunset they still just stand there waiting for their profit. Marie found no solace in the painting, but rather irritation, the itching in her soul she couldn’t seem to scratch.

Week after week Marie came to the Louvre and every week she would find the little painting and leave a little irritated. “Why must they just stand there?” She would wonder aloud. “If I were at a seaport at sunset I would find a boat and I would chase it.” With this decided she would pedal her “too-little” bike home wondering if she would return to find them gone away from their never-ending waiting, and secretly hoping that if they could escape to the sunset then perhaps, just perhaps, she could find a way there too.

-Natalie Cherie