The Glass Savior

Corinne is stranded on a deserted island, or so she thinks, until she discovers a message in a bottle that changes her life forever...

                                                      Another Day Stranded, Mid-Morning

Dear Diary;

     Have I mentioned lately how very blessed I am to have you, this pen, and my sanity?  I know I have, of course, but I also know for a fact I’ve not done it often enough.   When I  was packing for Rhett’s and my vacation to the islands, I almost didn’t bring you, but I thought, No!  I cannot possibly go on such an adventure without my dearest possession and friend!  And I was, indeed, correct.  If I hadn’t brought you, Diary, I would have been more lost than I’d ever been; and, your paper is quite handy.  I absolutely dread tearing out your precious pages for hopeless letters drifting out to their briny deaths, but I cannot risk otherwise.  If I were to be trapped here forever, what would I do, Diary?  I simply do not know…

 

     I suppose, even so, I can still consider myself fortunate.  I survived the private jet crash.  It still really hurts me that we lost Ted, the pilot, but at least I gave him the best burial I could.  I feel horrible about his family, too.  He was a good man, you know?  He didn’t deserve such a death, just as we don’t deserve such life, Diary.   Still, it hurts, though.  You remember how Rhett left me right before the flight?  I’m still hurting from that, too, Diary, and I have more time to dwell on the situation now than ever…  I feel so alone.  If that witch hadn't--

   

Clink.. Clink…  Came a noise from the rocky side of the riverbank, very near where Corinne had been writing in her diary, as she always did each morning.  When she was found -- if she was found-- her rescuers would have to pry it from her broken body, dead or alive, although more likely dead.

 

Clink.. Clink… Came the sound again.  “What the--?” Corrine rasped.  It had been so long since she’d spoken aloud; she barely recognized her own voice.  It was still croaky from her first day on the island, when she’d screamed all that day and night, hoping to find help or civilization; she’d found neither. 

 

Corrine leaned over the edge of the bank, fearful of what the cause might have been.  As far as she knew, it could have been anything -- A killer raptor, come to eat her?  Bring it on!

 

What Corinne saw instead, shocked her.  It was no raptor; it was a small glass bottle, caught in the rocks, but then she remembered; she herself had set that bottle to sea but a day ago, and it had come back, hadn’t it? 

Corinne couldn’t bear the thought of another failure;  she reached down for the bottle, praying it was not hers, praying it was her salvation after all. 

As she pulled the small bottle from the stones, hope surged through her.  This isn’t my bottle, Corinne squealed to herself.  I’m saved!

Giggling in a euphoric high that could have been considered something near insanity, Corrine gently twisted off the cap of the precious Glass Savior, and tenderly, removed the worn paper letter from within. 

Greedily, Corinne unfolded it with the swiftest, most delicate motions she could muster.  It read:

         
To Whomever Misfortunate Enough to Discover this;

    I have survived on this island for what feels like years now, alongside my only son, Isaiah, but he is gone now; and very soon, I will join him.  Together, we have seen the sun rise and fall, and the moon wax and wan, and the seasons come and go.  I fear I cannot go on without him.  There is too much here to face alone; I’m afraid I don’t have the strength in me.  I’ve not seen my daughter, Helena, in what feels like a lifetime.  She was seventeen when I was forced into this bloody hell.  I’ve probably missed her wedding, her first child… No, I won’t think of these things anymore.  Soon, I will be with her, if only in spirit, and Isaiah, too.  I give my utmost appreciation to whomever is reading this.  I just needed to let everything out, to have some sort of witness to my death, as once I die, I will leave her completely without living family.  My wife, Susannah, died when Helena was very young, in labour with Isaiah.  Isaiah and I were all she had, and now we, too, will soon be gone, together.  All I ask is that you withhold the most gruesome details of my death, as I know it would be cruel to tell her, but I will tell you my plan, for I cannot bear for no one to know at all. 

    It will commence at what I would presume to be noon, today, at the largest waterfall on the isle.  I have examined the stony ridges at the bottom, and I believe this would provide the quickest, least painful way to die, or as much as I am to hope for, anyhow.  If you find this before I am to die, please, do not try to stop me.  As much I would love the company of another soul, I simply cannot bear another day here.

My Sincerest Apologies,
     Dr. Henry Williams

Corinne gasped as the amber-aged paper drifted from her hands and into the river;  she hadn’t meant to drop it, but the idea of life here, other than herself, was too much for her, to bear.  How had she missed it? 

 

Either way, Corinne knew what she had to do.  She had to find him.

This was no longer just a message in a bottle.  This was fate; this was destiny.

 

She would accept it gracefully, of course.  She was going to save this man.  Corinne had found her purpose here, and it brought an adrenaline rush like no other.

   
But first, there were a few things that needed a little sorting…

 

Thinking back to herself, Corinne had recalled passing a few waterfalls.  She hadn’t paid them much more attention than a quick admiration of their beauty, but she was thankful she’d recalled the larger one. 

Taking a quick glance at the sky, Corinne realized she was nearly out of time.  It was almost noon.  She had to hurry if she was going to save Dr. Williams.

 

Corinne raced through the forest along the riverbank; she knew exactly where the waterfall lay.  It wasn’t far, as long as she didn’t trip and--

 

“Aw, Fff---!” Corinne cried, as a vine snaked out of nowhere and coiled itself around her ankle, causing her to fall on a rather large pointed rock. 

 

She’d bloodied her knee, but it could have been much, much worse.  

Corinne stood and tried to run again, but she couldn’t keep pace, not like before.  Her eyes welled with tears as she realized what it would cost her if she were too late.

One life.  One soul.  One friend.

Time was running out.

The tears, alongside the reality at stake, gave Corinne courage, and she ran like she’d never run before.

Just ahead, Corinne could see the path that led to the edge of the waterfall.  She could see a dark figure.  Henry, the doctor. 

“Wait!” She screamed, half out of breath.  Adrenaline kept her focused, kept her moving.  “Please, don’t jump!”

The dark figure turned, and from a distance, Corinne could see him squinting, trying to recognize her.  He stood there, a moment, debating, as Corinne approached.

She let out a huge breath of relief once she reached him.  He was an attractive man, mid-forties, a nice dark head of hair, strong physique, and subtle crows feet lined gentle honey eyes. 

“Hello, I’m--” Corinne started.

“No,”  He said quickly.

“No?” She croaked, uncertain.

“I don’t want to learn your name.  If I am to die here today, as I am.  I cannot know who you are.  I am sorry for the pain I will selfishly throw upon you.  My  deepest apologies.” 

Corinne realized he had an English accent.  A strange thing to realize at a time like this, she scolded.

“But--”

“No more.  Silence.” He interrupted stiffly, his kind eyes dark, filled with something that wasn‘t hatred, but wasn‘t quite anger, either. A darker passion, maybe?

 

And just when Corinne expected him to turn away from her, he stepped forward, and his hand came gently to cup her cheek, tracing to her smooth lips.  She wasn't able to speak as he leaned in slowly, taking her lips with his own, in a slow, desperate kiss.  Her heart fluttered in her chest as she realized for the first time in the twenty-three years of her life what it was to kiss a true man;  her chest burned and there was a warm ache, low, in the pit of her stomach, but instead of pursuing more, he pulled back and turned away, leaving Corinne utterly breathless, aching, and alone.

And with those last few words and a kiss to seal his fate, Dr.  Henry Williams ran and threw himself over the edge, into the waterfall.  A scream caught in her throat, and Corinne could swear that her heart stopped beating as she watched him soar to the rocky bottom, landing head-first with a sickening crunch that reverberated through the forest. 

She ran to the edge, shrieking in horror.  Her heart was beating again --racing, and she felt it pulsate through her body as she contemplated joining him at the bottom of the watery grave.

It was, after all, large enough for two.

And she would have jumped, too, had the cracking of his skull and the snapping of his neck not echoed deafeningly in her hears, abolishing all courage that might have existed, and paralysis overtook her.  Corinne couldn’t move. The Doctor’s forever-still body sloshing against the current of the river was too much for her.  She still wanted to jump, but the fear of what lay beyond this life was too strong to let her take the easy way out.  So many fears consumed her…

Instead, Corinne fell to her knees at the edge of the waterfall, mortally alive, but dead inside.  Her lips still sore with passion, she would never forget this day.  She would never forget her cowardice. She would never forget watching a man take his own life, and the way she had just watched helplessly. 

Rolling over, onto the ground in heartache and agony, Corinne curled into the tightest ball she could manage, not caring whether her lungs got air.  Nothing mattered, not anymore. 

Long blonde hair twisted around her, and blue eyes, grey with numbness, Corinne sobbed for the handsome man with the kisses to die for, whom she’d never come to know.

 

“He didn’t even know my name…” She mourned to herself in a whisper, her consciousness  fading.

A dizzying darkness whirled around her, and she collapsed into a deep, trauma-induced slumber, praying she’d never have to face the day ever again.

 

And as for the waterfall, it wasn’t just a mysterious beauty anymore; it was the Dark Queen of Death herself, and she cackled triumphantly at Corinne's loss, victorious.

 

Hours later, Corinne awoke cold and broken.  She knew there was only one thing she could do, only one thing she needed to do: write out the pain. And so she walked back to her sanctuary by the river, far from the treacherous waterfall, and began to write:

 

                                                                             Still Stranded, Evening

Dear Diary;

 

     Forget what I'd said about hurting this morning, Diary.  It's a thousand times worse now...  You see, I met a man here.  A man!  He kissed me, Diary, and it was a real kiss-- a passionate kiss, one that I'd never experienced before, but she got to him, Diary.  She killed him!  It doesn't matter.  Wherever I go, she finds me, and she won't ever stop until I my heart stops dead, until it just can't take anymore pain.  And this time, Diary, she may have won.  Only now do I truly know my destiny, as that bottle certainly was apart of it, but not in a way I'd expected.  Diary, I'll never lift this curse...

 

     I'll never find true love.

Sincerely Me,

    Corinne Hayes

 

Corinne let out a heavy sigh as she closed the weathered folds of the cover containing her diary's beloved pages.  She knew this wasn't the end; it was merely the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

Written for a contest...
My first short-story in a very long time.
Tell me what you think!

Reviews

[Piper Sullivan]

Wow, this was definitely different. While there were a few stylistic things that I would have changed, that's merely nitpicking and not worth mentioning. Overall I really enjoyed it. I've never read something like this before and I like how open-ended you concluded it; I do wonder about the fate of Corinne now, but I appreciate that this is stand alone and open to interpretation. However, I felt that the ending was a little rushed, especially the transition from the second to last paragraph and the final one. I had to read it a couple times for it to actually sink in and even now I feel that it wasn't as strong as I was expecting.

All in all, it was engaging and an interesting read. Well done :)

[Lynx]

A really good piece, and unexpected, non-cliche. Most stories like this would have the man stay, etc. It isn't as descriptive as I would've liked, but very inspiring all the same. Keep writing, this was awesome!

[Oxonian]

Brilliant piece. I got into it and was intrigued. I love the absences and lack of explanations, allowing me to draw my own conclusions and shape my own story out of your words.

'Corinne gasped as the amber-aged paper drifted from her hands and into the river; she hadn't meant to drop it, but the idea of life here, other than herself, was too much for her, to bear. How had she missed it?'

I loved this line. It fits in well with the Dr ending his life. In one line you have destroyed his existence and then go on to describe him doing the same. Brilliant.

'And she would have jumped, too, had the cracking of his skull and the snapping of his neck not echoed deafeningly in her hears, abolishing all courage that might have existed, and paralysis overtook her. Corinne couldn't move. The Doctor's forever-still body sloshing against the current of the river was too much for her. She still wanted to jump, but the fear of what lay beyond this life was too strong to let her take the easy way out. So many fears consumed her�'
Well described and powerful.

Thank you for sharing this, well done.

[Cardinal Robin]

I think you've got your natural narrative and dialog "DOWN"
Fin Bluddy Ossum!
Robin

[Nick Erickson]

An excellent cliff hanger, and sorry for the pun. The story was gripping from the start and held me to the end. I like the twist of being stranded on an island and never seeing the other person until it's too late.
Well done!!

[Cristal Reviewess]

this is wonderful.
I really like the ending.
I didnt see it coming!

[cmaynard]

Well, that was very, enjoyable???, if you can say that about such a dark piece. It was interesting in that is stirred up emotion in the reader. Being a short story it did well as it was very concise. The use of the diary to gain insight into the character in such a short amount of time, to build repore, was used very effectively, excellently even, definately a good choice. The use of unknowns, in the second character, without extrapolation drew interest and intrigue. if you meant it or not the kiss before the jump turned out to be nice and symbolic; 'The kiss of Death' as it were. Which could have been given to her and thus the rest of her life as she is now left dead inside.
I must say that I wish I was better at creating stories, alas only poetry for me at the moment.

[Kaleidoscope Apocalypse]

I like the revisions you've made to this piece. It helps to draw the reader in more, and gives the piece a little something extra. I love how you tied the "Dark Queen of Death" into the beginning as well. I do feel there was a bit of a rush put into the last few paragraphs, but with a little work I believe that could be either fixed or rearranged to make them more powerful.. ..I guess I'm agreeing with what a few others have said, so it's a little redundant, I suppose.. However, I do think that you have an amazing piece on your hands and you should certainly try to write short stories more often.

[Michael]

The ending caught me off guard, and I'm still not sure how to respond except to say that I enjoyed it very much. A story that stimulates the imagination and then leaves something open really excites the senses!

[Poetic Injustice]

I'm so emotionally moved yet I find it hard to precisely put those emotions into words ... just yet. The technical side of my mind appreciates how well written the piece is (though, admittedly, I'm not as adept or experienced as the other reviewers). This is your first? Don't make it your last.

[Vincent Weathers]

"Long blonde hair, twisted around her, and blue eyes, grey with numbness"
maybe the comma between hair and twisted can be removed. I think it isn't necessary.

This is quite different from your usual writing-maybe you should write more short stories. Its interesting that you left the ending for interpretation--yet the story is still not resolved, it still could continue on and on until Corinne figures out how to get off the island and to civilization or if she decides she cannot handle the silence anymore and wants to make some waves at the bottom of a waterfall.
Piper mentions that the ending paragraphs--I think before the diary entry--might be rushed. If so, I wonder if you can blend those last two paragraphs, save the "write out the pain" at the end.

"Hours later, when Corinne awoke cold and broken, she knew there was only one thing she could do. Write out the pain. So, she walked back to her sanctuary by the river, far from the the treacherous waterfall, and began to write..."

different interpretation.
"Hours later, when Corinne awoke cold and broken, she returned to her sanctuary by the river, far from the treacherous waterfall to do the only thing she could do. Write out the pain. And so she began to write:" {I don't expect you to use this, but its something to get you thinking... what if?}

Either way, I found the story enjoyable. The diary entries are a very nice touch to connecting the readers to the character. Personal information like that is not easily blended in the story when it is not a diary. It would seem like a lot sidestepping or walking in circles or something.

You should write some more short stories. You're doing well. ; )