24. New Years Eve

On an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, not far from the international dateline, a young man was sitting on a white sandy beach.

He shielded his eyes as a tall slender girl walked across the sand toward him.

“So how are you feeling?” she said, sitting down.

“I keep thinking I could have done more.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take over soon,” the girl gazed confidently across the turquoise blue sea.

“Okay, now you have to listen to this – it’s important,” he said.

The girl rested her chin on her knees and smiled dreamily.

For the next few hours, the boy told her all the things he’d seen in the last year, all the things he tried to do, and all the things he wanted to put right. The sun slid below the horizon and the island was lit only by the stars overhead. Gradually the hour of midnight approached.

“It’s time,” the girl’s eyes flashed with fear and excitement.

“Here it is,” the boy said, handing her a glowing ball, “Be careful with it.”

The girl took the ball and her heart soared.

“You look as excited as I was, a year ago,” the boy shook his head, “I didn’t believe the guy before me, just as you don’t believe me. We always think we can change the world.”

“Your job is not over. We still have twenty four hours together,” she whispered, sliding her arm through his.

The girl, the spirit of 2015 and the boy, the spirit of 2014, soared into the sky and over the invisible dateline, as they began their New Years Eve journey, cradling the precious new year between them.

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Happy New Year everyone! See you in 2015!

An exercise in micro-fiction – stories which run from zero to twenty four

For the whole series, click on the ‘Flash Fiction’ menu!

© 2014 M. C. Dulac