The Sketching Coincidence

She sat on her favorite rock looking out at the ocean. The cold air made her cheeks sting more than usual. Tear stained cheeks added to the biting air. She was frozen from the wind and with fear from losing her job. She stood up and made her way back to her little red car. Driving home, she kept going over in her mind what her boss said. You’re always behind, you’re not focused, You’re not quick enough! The girls at work would laugh and whisper. “I should be relieved to be out of there,” she said out loud to herself. As she pulled into the driveway she could see her father through the window sitting in his chair. Closing the door, she heard him say “Well, how did it go today?” “It didn’t go well, I was let go,” she said with a sigh. “It’s your hair…your mother always said people are jealous of your hair, He said pushing himself out of his chair. He walked over to her and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry…something will come along…we will be alright. He kissed her forehead. “I don’t think it’s my hair dad…I’m sorry”, she said quietly. “You’re a talented girl you should sell your ahht,” he said in a thick New England accent. He stirred the stew on the stove adding more pepper. “Tomorrow will be a new day and luck will be on your side!” he said with a wink. “I think the wine is talking”, she laughed pointing at his half empty glass. “Let’s cheers to you leaving that crappy job!! He held his glass up. “Grab the bottle, you’ll need a big glass of wine”, he said pouring the last of his glass in the stew.

She sat on her bed staring at the wall in front of her. Her mind was racing. She always drew at night to calm herself. She picked up her black mole skin sketch book and grabbed her pencils. As she opened her book she slowly flipped through the pages. Page after page. She stopped. She started to flip to back pages and back further. She stopped. As she looked at her sketches she noticed something peculiar. Everything that had happened to her in the past year was drawn a year prior. She always dated her sketches. The red car she bought, was a sketch she did of a car she wanted. The blue dress she created with a cerulean blue pencil, she bought a week ago. All drawn a year before? The dark-haired man who works at the café with chestnut brown eyes was in her book. She realized he was the spitting image of the one she created. She created his portrait last year. He started his job yesterday serving her coffee with a big smile. She sat back and leaned against her pillow. “Am I going crazy?” she said out loud. Again, she slowly flipped through the pages. She came to her drawing of her favorite rock that she sits on at her secret spot…as she calls it. A small path leads to a hidden cove where rounded weathered rocks sit close to the water. Her sketch depicted the shapes and shadows of the rocks, the cedar trees arching at the end of the path like an entrance to a cathedral and the small arch beneath the rock shaped like a heart. As she looked closer a box was there. She remembered drawing in the sketch of a treasure chest and wrote next to it 20 GRAND!! An arrow was pointing at it. Her mouth opened in awe, her eyes widen. The date was a year ago from tomorrows date. She closed the sketch book and stood up. “Is this real?” she whispered. She walked over to the window and looked out. It was dark, and she could her the fog horn in the distance. Its faint lonely sound. “It’s too dark to go to the rock, I’ll wait until morning,” she said to herself. “this is mad”, she whispered. She laid down on her bed and slowly drifted asleep.

She was wakened by the birds outside in the trees and with anticipation she sat up and quickly remembered that she needed to get to the cove. She dressed in her jeans, sweater and boots and tipped toed down the stairs remembering not to hit the squeaky spots. The fog was still thick as she drove down the dirt road to the cove. The path to the cove was hard to see as she maneuvered her way to the beach. There through the mist she could make out her rock. As she walked towards it she could see a small box under the arch. Her heart started to beat faster. She bent down and picked it up and carried it to her spot. As she sat down she looked over her shoulders. It was silent. The only sound was water lapping onto the beach. She looked at the box. It was the size of a cigar box, weathered gray. She looked out at the water and closed her eyes. Slowly she opened the box. She looked down and saw an envelope. She held her breath and opened it. There inside was green. Green cash. Lots of it! 20 thousand dollars to be exact! She grabbed her black mole skin sketch book and quickly drew a picture of her father in a hammock wearing a straw hat holding a Pina Colada. She drew herself in leaning against a palm tree smiling. She put her pencil down and looked out at the ocean. This time no tears…just a big smile on her face.

The End