The Sea Noose

The Sea Noose


I smiled at Cian as we walked down the shore side, a small pail between us filled with an assortment of sea shells and sand dollars. The colors of them all meshed together, the purples, the blues, the pale whites and shimmery greens. It looked like one tiny pail of mixed paint. I crouched down and brushed away the sand, picking up another shell and adding it to the bucket as we continued to move along. Cian swung the pail lightly as he walked, smiling at me as I picked up each new shell with the joy of a child, adding them to the pail.

“I like seeing you like this.” I looked up at him from my once again crouching position.

“Like what?” he smiled and took the shell from my hands, allowing me to gather some more underneath me.

“Carefree. Smiling. Having fun.” my cheeks flushed lightly.

“I like being like this too.” I smiled up at him, tossing another shell into the pail and moving on. He moved the pail to his other hand and gently grasped mine, twining our fingers together. I moved closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder as our steps fell in sync with each other. I sighed softly as we kept walking, our foot steps slowing to the rhythm of the waves as they crashed against the shore and slipped back out to sea.

Cian tightened his hand around mine softly, his thumb starting to stroke the back of my hand. I smiled and pressed closer against him, enjoying the warmth coming from his body. He was wearing loose cotton bottoms like mine, wearing no shirt. I was wearing a loose tank top and we were both barefoot, the sand squashing underneath our feet and in between our toes. The small grains rubbing roughly against our skin, soothing the ache felt on the balls of our feet from walking on stiff floors. I closed my eyes, the slightly salty breeze making my eyes sting. My footsteps never faltered as I continued to walk blindly next to Cian, using the movements of his body to guide mine.

He let go of my hand and twined his arm around my waist, like the vines of a forest winding around the thick trunks of the trees. I smiled and tried to press closer, my hip bumping against his slightly as our steps fell out of sync then back into sync once more. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of my head as we continued walking in the sand. I took a deep breath of the salt air, the slightly bitter after taste hitting me hard. I coughed softly and Cian stoked my side.

“Are you all right, Kassy?” I nodded, wiping the tear or two from my eyes.

“Yeah, the after taste just, sort of... took me by surprise for some reason.” he chuckled warmly.

“You would have thought that after living here for so long you would have gotten used to it by now.” I poked his stomach.

“I haven't lived here for so long. It's just been about six years since after I finished college.” he nodded.

“Yes, which to most other people, seems like an eternity.” I rolled my eyes and stepped out of his embrace, crouching and picked up another shell.

“Yes, well, to most people, drawing for a living sounds absurd with nothing else to do.”

“They wouldn't think it so absurd if they knew how much a single painting of yours ran for.” I nodded and stepped closer to him again.

“True, I suppose.” he wrapped his arm back around my waist and held me close, offering the pail for the new shell to be added. I tossed it in, taking the pail from his hand to look down at the shells we had collected.

“I think we have enough shells to do what I was thinking.” I looked up at him. “What do you think?” he looked down into the pail.

“I think we might have enough and even if we don't, we could always come back out and get some more.” I smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, you're right. We can always come back for some more if we need it.” I held out my hand, smiling bigger as he took it and started on our way back to the house. I swung our joined hands between us, swinging the pail in my other. He smiled at me and shook his head, amused at my behavior. I stuck my tongue out at him and let go of his hand, running up the small bank and through the golden grass, along the worn stone path to the white gate.

I looked behind me, expecting to see Cian running after to me, but I didn't him anywhere. I set the pail down and walked to the beginning of the golden grass and looked out. I didn't see him. I turned quickly when I heard a soft rustling in the grass, and screamed like a little girl as Cian jumped out and picked me up.

“Let me go!” I swatted at his arms and giggled as he swung me about. He laughed with me and set me down, both of our cheeks flushed and happy. I lightly smacked his arm.

“What did you do that for?” he grinned and kissed my cheek, taking my hand and leading us to the gate once more.

“I just wanted to make you laugh again.” I smiled and and grabbed the pail from where I had sat it and allowed myself to be led into the house. He pushed me towards the living room, and went into the kitchen.

I stood in the doorway and looked around the living room. The couch was pushed against one wall, with Vitas lying on it, dozing quietly. The rug in front of the fire place was rolled up and shoved against the bottom of the wall next to the couch. The floor was bare, everything that had once been spaced out, pushed together tightly against one wall. The book shelf that held a countless number of books on its shelfs, on anything and everything had been moved. About ten feet in front of the fireplace was bare, the hard wood floor stripped of its cover.

I walked into the room and set the pail down, staring at the bare wall surrounding the fireplace. The previous night Cian and I had painted the wall a bright white and it was completely dry now and ready for what I wanted to do. I emptied the pail on the sheet of plastic covering the floor and sat down, sorting the shells by their color with the other shells already there from previous walks down the beach. Cian came into the room, holding a plate with a few ham and cheese sandwich's and two bottles of water. He sat down next to me, placing the plate in between us.

I took a sandwich and smiled at him in thanks, taking a bite and continuing to sort the shells. He took a sandwich himself and helped me finished the sorting.

“Now what do you want to do?” I looked at the wall and randomly picked up a shell. I stood and walked over to it, holding the shell up to the wall and stared at it for a minute.

“Do you have a pencil?” he shuffled about behind me for a moment before a pencil was handed to me over my shoulder. I took it and smiled at him as he sat back down, grabbing another sandwich. I turned back to the wall and lightly traced the shell onto the white wall, the lead barely visible when I pulled the shell away.

“Ok, so what I'm going to do, it number the shells, and number the outlines of the shells that I'm going to make like so.” I drew a number one lightly on the wall and drew the same number on the inside of the shell I was holding. I held it up for him to see. “See? Then, we're going to glue all of the shells on the wall and then, I am going to paint the background to it. Get it?” he nodded and took another bite of his sandwich.

“Yeah, I get it. And I'll be here, not touching anything, because I know if I do, I'll mess something up.” I nodded. “But, if you need more shells, I'll be available to go and get more so you can keep working.” I smiled.

“Yep, and when every thing's all numbered, you get to help glue them on.” he smiled.

“I can do that. As long as they're numbered.” I layed the shell on the plastic tarp and grabbed a few more, repeating the process over again. Cian nodded and finished his sandwich, watching me for the time being and handing me more shells as I needed them.


When all the shells had been numbered and outlined on the wall and around the fireplace and stood back and looked at it.

“I think we might need a few more shells, Cian. Why don't you go out and find some more while I start gluing them on, okay?” he nodded and stood up, shaking the stiffness from his legs.

“I'll take Vitas with me. He seems to just be so bored from lying there and watching you.” he looked at Vitas and patted his leg. Vitas perked up and jumped from the couch, coming to stand next to Cian. I smiled and nodded, picking up the small can of can of glue with a paintbrush in it.

“I'll be back soon, Kassy.” I nodded and started slowly painted the shells and sand dollars with glue and matching them up with their numbers. I managed to get about a third way through with the shells I had numbered when Cian returned, placing the pail with more shells next to me. I smiled at him, shaking my hand slightly.

“Thanks, Cian.” he kissed my cheek and took Vitas into the kitchen to get him some fresh food and water. I abandoned gluing the shells to trace and number the new shells over the fire place and at the corner of the wall. I looked up as he walked back into the room and smiled.

“You can grab another brush and start gluing the shells on the wall, remember to match up their numbers and you won't screw it up.” he nodded and dipped a new brush into the blue and started gluing the shells onto the wall with me. Within the next hour, all of the shells were glued to the wall. We stopped, setting the brushes next to the blue can and sat on the couch. I smiled at Cian as his eyes traveled over all of the shells.

“You know... I'm starting to see what you were talking about.” I stretched, my arms reaching above my head as far as they could go.

“That's good. Because now the last thing we have to do it let the glue dry and put the blue painters tape around the shells, so then I can paint the background and we're done.” he smiled and stretched, keeping his arms behind his head.

“I can't wait to see what this looks like when you're finished with the painting.” I nodded.

“Yeah, me neither. And I expect you to be the one to take the picture of it at the end to submit it to the art gallery and home decorator people, so then they'll know what I can do if they have someone willing to pay enough money for me to do this kind of thing for them.” he nodded.

“I expected as much. I really think that some people would love to have the finished product in their living room or bedroom or something. It'd look absolutely amazing.” I smiled.

“I'm hoping it will look good and, if I'm right, in another hour or so, the glue will be dry enough for us to put the tape on and for me to start painting the background. It's going to be a challenge for me. I've never done a background on a whole wall before.” he smiled at me warmly.

“I know you can do it, Kassy. I have faith in you. I'm sure that it's going to be truly spectacular when everything is done.” I yawned quietly and stood.

“I'll be right back. I want to get something to eat again.” he nodded and closed his eyes as I left the room to enter the kitchen. I picked up an apple and cut it into even slices I put them on a small plate and went back into the living room to find Cian dozing softly. I smiled at the sight and sat on the floor with my apples, staring at the white wall across from me with colored shells glued on to it in a slight pattern all along the wall.

I nodded off a little while later, my head resting on the couch next to Cian's thigh.