Lyrics

Here is my newest short short.

Lyrics


It had been two hours since they left. Alisa was in the backseat listening to her iPod. Neither of her parents had spoken the whole time. Of course, that wasn't unusual. Alisa could see the space between them like a giant bubble neither one wanted to pop. So the car slowly dragged on in silence. Alisa turned the dial on her iPod and played

"Tainted Love" by Soft Cell.

When they finally arrived in Santa Cruz, Alisa was relieved to get out and stretch. The group slowly marched up to the faded entrance to the Boardwalk. A young man with long, golden hair and a nice tan walked towards the parking lot. Alisa noticed him, and though he was far older than her, she held his gaze. He seemed to understand and gave a soft glance back. After he passed by Alisa turned the dial again to the song

"Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna.

The group slowly marched out toward the beach. Her mother was crying now, though she tried not to. Alisa saw, but couldn't fully appreciate it. It was too rare a site to see. She just turned the dial again and played

"Cryin'" by Aerosmith.

Alisa started to look around. It was a sunny day and all the people on the amusement rides were smiling and laughing. Alisa wanted to ride the Big Dipper and then maybe ride in a bumper car. Or go down the Log Ride. Everyone seemed to be wearing bright colors. There was a man in a blue and yellow tie dye standing in line next to a man in orange capri pants. Alisa thought it was interesting that among all these various colors her family stood out the most. Alisa was wearing a pair of black slacks with black heeled shoes. Her mother wore a simple black dress she had also worn out for her anniversary two months earlier. Her dad wore a black suite and shiny black shoes. As a few wandering tourists looked at them, Alisa again turned her dial and played

"Sick Cycle Carousel" by Lifehouse.

Finally they reached the stairs to the beach and made their way down. When her feet reached the sand, Alisa wanted to take off her shoes and run to the water. Instead she struggled to walk in her heels and pushed her way through the sand to the shore. Her mother had stopped crying now and was walking somberly through the sand like a zombie. Alisa's dad tried to steady her, but it was just a gesture and meant nothing. Finally they reached the edge of the waves. Alisa breathed in the salty air and played one last song before she took out the headphones from her ears.

"Atlantic" by Keane.

She felt dirty from the sand and the mist, but she stood silent waiting for her parents. Then her mom held up the urn. It was blue with intricate white floral designs around it. Inside the urn was what was left of the grandmother Alisa never knew. She had heard stories that implied her grandmother had been slightly insane or some kind of drug addict. It was clear she had hurt Alisa's mom in some way that was beyond repair. They hadn't spoken in years. Then out of the blue, Alisa's mom got a letter saying her mom had passed away and that her last request was that Alisa's mom spread her ashes across Santa Cruz beach. Alisa didn't know why her mom had chosen to do so. Or why she insisted Alisa and her father come along. All Alisa knew was that in this moment she felt loss. Not the loss of her grandmother, but the loss of her own mother. Her mom was like a distant wave she could never reach. Alisa was stranded on a shore and could only look out to sea as she made her way along the current. Alisa turned to face her mom who had opened the urn. Soft powder flowed from it into the air and mixed into the water and foam. Then shutting out her thoughts, Alisa closed her eyes, and listened to the song

"Loss at the Ocean" by God.