The Dock at The Cliffs of Moher

The wind howled like a wolf in the distance. The waves crashed as if ravenous animals were dueling in front of her. She held her breath as she crept forward on the dock, dragging her feet forward as if in a perverse dance with fate. Another rippling wave encased the dock in shadow and drenched Emma’s arm, causing her to shriek in pain. Emma felt as if her skin was burning due to the combination of the cool air and frigid water. Emma stopped and hesitantly peered behind her; she could no longer see the cliffs. Emma refused to go back now, so she continued forward.

2 years ago, Emma’s brother Lucas went missing on a solo-backpacking trip to Ireland. The last conversation Emma had with him, Lucas excitedly mentioned he would go to the Moher Cliffs, a place they always dreamed about going as children. In their conversation, Lucas said he would check it out and once she graduates college, he would bring her, it was a classic Lucas promise, as he never breaks a promise. The excitement in his voice has haunted Emma ever since. Memories of Lucas were now haunting because Emma heard the excitement in her brother’s voice every time she thought of him. The thunderous crash of lightning broke Emma’s concentration and she flashed back to reality. The mist and darkness calmed enough for Emma to see a small human figure a few yards away. The small figure appeared to be a child, no more than ten years old, but Emma still felt a shiver down her spine, and her breathing quickened. Emma then saw the child raise one arm and motion for her to come closer. As Emma approached, she saw the child had an expressionless face. The child brought a finger up to their face and made a shushing motion. The child then casually stepped to the left, off the dock, into the raging water. Emma screamed as she ran to the edge of the dock where the child walked off. Emma kneeled, peering into the raging water; she saw nothing but rippling waves and darkness. Emma began to cry.

464 days is how long it took Emma to save up to take this trip while she worked through college. The police, who investigated Lucas’s disappearance, concluded that Lucas committed suicide as his personal effects were discovered, neatly packed, on the dock next to the pier, at The Cliffs of Moher. Emma could not believe Lucas would do that, as he never broke a promise. She had to continue, something must have stopped him. Emma did not feel safe curled on the floor of the aging dock as that amplified the sound of the raging water below. Emma slowly climbed back to her feet but she could not shake the feeling as if that would be the last time she would do so. Emma remembered climbing aboard the plane three days prior. The first time she had ever been on a plane. Flying was her biggest fear. She would give anything to be back on that plane, but she had to find out what happened to Lucas, again she continued forward.

The further Emma continued the less stable the dock felt. Emma could even hear the crunching of the aged wood of the dock as it rocked back and forth in the unstable water. The wind seemed to increase in intensity as Emma proceeded further from shore, as if it were telling her to turn back. Emma knew her brother walked to the end of this dock, she didn’t know why or how she knew, she just knew. As Emma’s right foot lurched forward along the slippery, wobbling dock, a board snapped, sucking Emma down back to the floor of the dock. Emma felt her right leg hit the frigid water, but her knee was unsettlingly warm. Then there was a burning pain. Emma slowly found her footing with her left leg and planted her hands on the somewhat stable boards around the hole she just made. Due to the crashing waves and the stormy weather, Emma could barely see her leg as she lifted herself out of the hole. Emma placed her foot back on the dock and reached down to touch her knee, causing her to shriek in pain. As she brought her hand up to her face, she saw her hand was partially bloody and she could smell the iron in the salty air. Emma knew her knee was cut, but she couldn’t tell the extent of the damage. When she planted her right foot back down on the dock, there was a sharp pain from her knee down to her shin. She could still walk and that is all she cared about, so she decided to continue. As Emma took another step forward, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She froze.

Emma realized she had two choices, she could turn around or she could run as fast as she could. If she ran, it could be dangerous as she can barely see six inches in front of her, and she is already in pain. Emma decided to turn around. Emma stepped forward and started to turn. When she turned around, she did not see anything. Emma continued to turn in case she misjudged the degree of her turn. After spinning around a few times, Emma couldn’t see anybody. Emma shouted “Hello”, but there was no response. “First that child and now this, what the hell” Emma thought to herself. Composing herself, Emma was now confused which way was forward. Emma decided to look for the hole that she just fell in, in order to figure out which way she came. Emma dropped down to her knees forgetting about her wound, she yelped and leaned on her left knee. After crawling a few feet, she was not able to find the hole, so she figured this was the way forward. Emma looked down, in order to gain her footing to stand back up. As she stood up, an older woman’s expressionless face was uncomfortably close to hers. Emma leaped backwards, too petrified to make a sound, falling back down to the ground. The older woman didn’t change her muted facial expression, but then brought her pointer finger up in a shushing motion, the same as the child. The old woman then calmly walked off the dock into the raging water. Emma began to sob as she didn’t understand, but the crashing waves against the dock, silenced her. Emma decided that she should return to land and continue this when the storm died down.

Emma flipped back over to her left knee and crawled forward, feeling she moved about twenty feet, she was not able to find the hole. Emma turned around and crawled what she believed was forty feet; she again could not find the hole. Emma was unsure which direction to go, so she decided to wait until a possible clearing in the storm as it happened earlier. As Emma sat on the dock, she remembered when she first arrived at The Cliffs of Moher. It was a Saturday, so the cliffs were crowded with tourists. After walking around for a few hours, Emma located a tour guide who advised her of the direction to the pier. The tour guide advised that it was too late in the day to go to the pier and Emma could return tomorrow. Emma did not want to wait and headed in the direction the tour guide advised. After walking for 20 minutes, Emma discovered a cavern entrance. Emma entered the cavern and walked down the stone-carved stairs. Emma could not see the pier or the dock, but she continued, knowing that it would be there. By the time, she reached the seas edge, she saw the dock, and it began to rain. Emma read the weather report and knew light rain was possible, but the storm would not start until midday Sunday. Emma, not worried about the weather, began to walk down the dock.

Emma was brought out of her memory as the storm began to clear around her. The wind and rain continued but to a lesser extent. As Emma looked ahead, she could not see the hole, or any land. Emma turned around, and again, could not see the hole, or any land. Emma knew she had to make a choice, so she decided to proceed in the direction she was facing. As soon as she began to walk, she heard her brother’s voice ahead of her. Emma was startled and didn’t understand. She screamed her brother’s name, and then she heard her brother scream her name. She still couldn’t see him, but she decided to move quicker. She knew it didn’t make any sense, two years and he is still on this dock, that couldn’t be possible, but she knew his voice, more than she knew her own. Emma continued to move forward, but couldn’t contain her excitement. Emma started to sprint, ignoring the pain in her leg, still screaming her brother’s name. After running for what seemed like forever, Lucas’s voice was not getting any closer. Emma didn’t understand, so she did the only thing that made sense in her mind, she stopped running and screamed his name. Emma again felt a hand on her shoulder.

Emma felt a shiver go down her spine, but she already made up her mind, she was too tired to run. She stepped forward and turned around. Lucas, Lucas was right in front of her, but he was expressionless. Emma screamed and leaped forward, hugging Lucas, but he did not hug her back. As Emma began crying, she didn’t notice that the rain stopped and the water calmed. There was now a cooling mist all around Emma and Lucas. As Emma composed herself, she stepped away from Lucas and noticed that his face was still expressionless. Lucas then brought his pointer finger up in a shushing motion, the same as the child and old woman. Emma was confused as to why Lucas didn’t say anything, and remembering what the child and old woman did, she grabbed his shoulder. Lucas slowly turned and started to walk off the dock. Emma held onto him begging him not to go, then she heard Lucas say, “It’s alright, you can come too”. Emma asked Lucas to explain; Lucas again turned to face her, brought his finger back up in a shushing motion and grabbed her hand with his free hand. Emma didn’t understand but trusted her brother as she walked off the edge of the dock.

Margaret sat on the couch in her living room, on her laptop, as she casually looked through her photo album. It was always emotional for her, as she flipped through the years of memories of her husband, son, and daughter. Her husband, Paul, was on his way home from work. Margaret thought to herself as she pondered what the next few days would bring. She remembered her children as she bought two tickets to Ireland, for herself and Paul. Margaret’s son, Lucas, went missing five years ago and her daughter, Emma, went missing three years ago. Margaret and Paul were determined to find out what happened to their children, as they couldn’t believe both children would commit suicide. The only thing the police ever found of them is their personal effects, neatly packed, on the dock next to the pier, at The Cliffs of Moher.