A gentle breeze rustling through the grasses and the distant shushing of waves on the beach were the only things to disturb the perfect quiet.

She meandered along the winding path down to the coast, trailing her fingers through the waving fronds that edged the sandy trail and closed her eyes, breathing deep the warm air and enjoying the heat of the afternoon sun on her eyelids. She loved these moments of solitude. The summer air trailed languorous fingertips over her skin, raising the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck with a whisper of sea-scented breath.

As the path disappeared into the dunes, she slid her feet from her sandals and stepped onto the gold, powdered sand. She felt the sun-warmed grains shift under her feet, as if urging her on to the sea. Emerging from the shelter of the dunes, the wind picked up. Her hair lifted on the current around her as her sinking footsteps carried her to the water’s edge, leaving a wandering trail behind her.

The ocean’s foam kissed her toes.

She stood in worshipful silence, cocooned in the world’s rapturous embrace, as white horses danced toward her, bringing the song of the sea.

“You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable,” she pleaded. “Something beautiful and full of monsters.”

Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Inspired by Erin Morgenstern’s Flax-Golden Tales, I have decided to embark on my own creative writing blog series, “Wild & Improbable Tales”, as a way to write more freely and more frequently. At least once a week, I will choose a card at random from The School Of Life‘s ‘Small Pleasures’ box and use the image and/or writing on the back to inspire a short piece of creative writing. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.