We’re delighted to publish the winning entries, and the runners up, from our 2021 short story competition. Young writers from all over Ireland competed for prizes of €250, sponsored by Tertulia Books in association with Spot-Lit EU. The competition’s theme, “Waves”, inspired work of an extremely high standard. The winners were selected by acclaimed YA author and guest judge Deirdre Sullivan. We thank all who entered and we encourage everyone to keep writing.
Carrowniskey Dreamer by Joe Reidy (17) was a runner-up in the senior category.
Carrowniskey Dreamer by Joe Reidy
Marie’s pencil scratched graphite curls into her notebook. Gulls squalled overhead as she swished and smudged. She held up her book. A sketch of a breaking wave.
It’s a bit shit.
She wasn’t far wrong. It was missing...something. Colour maybe? Depth. How could she capture the furious beauty of the waves with one pencil? She rolled up her notebook and shoved it into her hoodie pocket. She heaved herself off the rock, her legs stiff.
The weather was overcast and pallid. The girls shivered in bikinis, trying in vain to tan. Siobhán from school was there, of course, the big mouth on her. The lads wore football shorts and looked bored. They all drank cans. Marie eyed them with a mixture of disapproval and envy. The aul ones walked up and down the beach unsmiling in their coats.
She noticed a tall guy walking by. He had blond curly hair. He wore swimming togs and a t-shirt that said ‘California Dreamer’ on it. She had never seen him before and he was really hot. He belonged on Bondi Beach, but here he was, in Carrowniskey. He caught her looking at him.
He strolled over, making sure to step on flat stones.
Oh, god, oh fuck.
‘How you doin’?’
‘Good? H-Hi’ she stammered
‘Great beach, huh?’
She looked at the grey sky. Felt the stones through her thin Converse soles. The waves thrashed.
‘Yeah’
‘Nature doesn’t hold back. There’s a, like, ferocity to it?’ His eyes moved to the horizon.
She felt a rush of bravery. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Brendan. You?’
‘Marie’
‘Beautiful name, Marie’
Wait. Is he flirting?
‘It’s alright’
‘You drawing something?’
‘Not much’ She took out the notebook and showed it to him. ‘It’s not great’
‘It’s amazing!’ He said it like he meant it. She felt her ears turn red, despite the cold.
He turned to her. ‘You ever surf?’
She nodded. ‘School Trip’.
Transition Year. She mostly remembered falling off. And Siobhán Simons getting stung by a jellyfish.
He smiled. ‘I do a good bit of it. This picture captures something. You know?’
She looked over her drawing again. Maybe she had judged it too harshly. There was something there, in its simplicity.
‘Do you want to go for a walk?’ she asked. ‘Just along the beach?’
She felt his eyes on her. He wore a shark tooth necklace.
‘Sure’
He picked his way down the stones onto the hard sand. She followed. The ocean churned and crashed as they walked along the beach. Could the girls see? She could get a lad too.
His eyes lit up. You know what your drawing reminds me of?
‘No?’
‘The Great Wave’
‘What?’
‘The big one. That every surfer dreams of.’
She was silent. Brendan looked at her expectantly.
‘I caught one. About this time last year. It was amazing.’
He looked towards the sea.
‘It was dark. The wind was howling, and the sea was rough’
Marie looked at the waves crashing into the shore. They looked angry today.
‘That sounds dangerous.’And pretty fucking stupid.
‘You gotta live your life, you know?’
‘Doing my best’
He laughed, but it sounded hollow.
‘Were you by yourself?’
‘Yeah’
‘Doesn’t sound like the best idea’
‘If I’d turned back, I’d be in the old folks home, regretting it’
‘At least you’d live long!’ She said, hoping to sound flirty.
‘That’s not living, man!’
‘You weren’t scared?’
‘I suppose I was?’
She nodded.
‘But I wasn’t gonna chicken out! The big wave? The stuff dreams are made of!’
Marie never remembered her dreams.
‘So I run in the water and fall on my board. I’m paddling like my life depends on it. I feel the swell of the sea, and I’m lifted up, up up, like 20 feet easy’
‘20 feet?’
‘Yup. So, I stand up and jump’
‘Seriously?’
‘It was a trick jump’
Show-off.
‘I land on the crest of the wave and ride down the face of it. It’s crazy. The wind’s blowing in my face, and I’m surrounded by like, walls of water? I surf through the barrel, just hoping to make it out alive’
‘I’m guessing you did’
‘The wave crashes down around me as I ride out. Best night of my life’
They walked a while in silence.
‘Are you going in today? They’re renting boards up there’
He considered.
‘It’s the weather. The waves just aren’t big enough’
‘Ah come on. They’re pretty fierce’
He gestured at the sea. ‘See those waves? They’re choppy but small. Like a chihuahua.’ He turned back to her. ‘I need big and steady. A Great Dane’
She studied the sea. She could almost imagine chihuahuas just under the surface, snapping. Like chubby piranhas. She noticed a young boy struggling on what looked like a surfboard. She pointed.
‘Sure, isn’t he out surfing?’
His eyes followed her finger.
‘Woah! That’s a bodyboard!’
‘Sorry?’
You did not just call that surfing?’
She flushed red. ‘What’s the difference?’
‘You don’t stand up! You just lie there and paddle. I mean, what’s the point?’
They walked on some more. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and they were almost at the end of the beach.
‘That kid’s pretty far out’ Marie said. The child was paddling fiercely, as a wave swelled beneath him.
‘Yeah’
‘Do you think he’s ok?’
He looked out to sea. ‘Sure. That’s how you learn.’
The wave crashed, and the boy was swept off his board. She jerked away from him.
‘Brendan! Help him!’
‘He stood still, as if paralysed. The kid made a grab for the board, but it was snatched away. She turned to him, and screamed.
‘Why aren’t you helping!’
His face was frozen. He seemed to forget how his tongue worked. Then finally-
‘I’m not’ he gulped. ‘great at swimming’
‘What?’ But you just said-’
‘I might have got carried away. I was trying to impress you’
Her stomach flipped, and she clenched her fist. He stood there, a statue.
‘Fuck you’
A wave engulfed the child, and he disappeared. What felt like an age passed, until he came up, spluttering. Marie pulled off her hoodie and ran into the violent water. It was biting cold.
Where were the parents?
When it was up to her knees, she fell forwards and started swimming. It was far from the controlled technique she’d learned in the pool. It was something desperate and primal. The waves crashed into her, and she swallowed water. The salt stung the back of her throat.
The kid was a mess of thrashing limbs and gargled screams. She grabbed his arm and lifted him up. But he was panicking. He grabbed her t-shirt. He was heavy and pulled her under.
She ripped his hand off her clothes. He screamed. A wave hit, and the salt water stung her eyes.
Oh God. Where is he?
He surfaced again and she saw someone catch him. Brendan. He’d come. She swam towards them, and taking one of the child’s arms, together they began to pull him to shore.
A small crowd had gathered on the beach. The boy ran into the arms of a teary couple, who couldn’t stop thanking them. The people from school were there, and the aul ones, whispering.
Siobhán ran up to Brendan, gushing about what a hero he was. Brendan had a slightly dazed smile on his face.
Well, she can have him.
‘Marie?’ It was a crowd of popular girls from school with some lads she didn’t know.
‘Fair play to ya’ said one of the lads.
‘Do you want my towel?’ Saoirse from Home Ec asked. She’d never spoken to her before. Marie nodded, shivering.
‘Come up the rocks. We’ve got hot coffee as well’
‘Thanks’
She picked up her hoodie and her notebook fell out. She ripped out the wave sketch. It really wasn’t great. She rolled it into a ball, and followed Saoirse.
