We’re delighted to publish the winners and runners-up from our 2022 short story competition for Irish teens, in association with Tertulia Books. This year our theme was “Belonging” and our guest judge was Claire Hennessy.
The Memories She Made by Ava Bracken (age 13) was a runner-up in our junior category.
The Memories She Made
She sat on the fence and wiped her eyes. She hadn’t been here in so long she’d forgotten the feeling this land gave her: the overwhelming emotion she felt just sitting here. The wind blew gently but had enough power to sway the wildflowers back and forth to a soft flow, the dandelions and daisies and buttercups moving in time like a wonderful melody. The fence had been given a fresh coat of paint since she’d last been here, the chestnut brown was the exact shade of the horse Bella who she used to escape out here with, to ride free for a while, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The waves rush against the far end of the beach, just at the edge before the sand meets the grass. The waves are calm today and gentle, pleasing to watch. She wished she could paint it and capture the moment to hang it on her wall and gaze at it later, if only she was talented enough. These waves know her so well, many a time she came here to calm herself, cheer herself up, to laugh with friends, spend time with her mother, swim with her lover, take out her anger, escape for a while, to clear her mind or to just have a walk. These waves had helped her wash away her sadness and anger and replace it with joy and tranquillity. The grass was a lush green and it padded the soil around the wildflowers like a green quilt. At the edge of the field, the fence had been taken away so the grass blended into the sand of the beach.
To her right was another field, this one had a few horses belonging to the neighbour Daniel, she used to help him feed them when she was younger before she went to college. He used to tell her she was great with horses, that she seemed to understand them and they understood her. She must call into him later on, maybe bring him a few scones. The field on the left was filled with yellow bales ready to be wrapped, she remembered climbing on those bales with her cousins, there was a grainy old photo in a frame on the mantelpiece at home of her cousin Siobhain and herself up on the bales, smiling and joking with each other. It felt like such a long time ago and the memory gave her an ache of nostalgia in her heart. Behind her was a small country lane that led back to the farm that was so thin, god help you if you met another car along it. She had cycled to school along that lane every day in all weathers, wearing her wellies when it was wet and her sandals in summer before they finished up for summer break. Oh, she used to live for summer break, finally being freed from the stuffy classroom and let loose into the fields to play all day after the chores were done. Then came the bog, footing turf in the hot sun, sweat pouring off them, then the delicious picnic and riding home along the bumpy road in the trailer, holding on for dear life. Holidays were not as extravagant as they are now but instead a simple trip down to Kerry with her siblings to visit Granny, and being free from chores and Mam and Dad for a fleeting but joyous four days, and returning home with containers with homemade scones and pots of jam made with the fresh strawberries and gooseberries from Granny’s backyard. Then when summer came to an end herself and her three younger siblings would go back to school while her elder brother went off to work on the farm with Dad. They would cycle down the lane and park their bikes by the church and run into the yard to start another school year. This would be the case until she graduated and went off to college to study teaching.
How she had missed this place when she was gone, even thinking about her siblings, how annoying they were, used to cause an ache in her heart. When she came home she had faced the heartbreaking news that her youngest sibling Billy had drowned in the lake. Oh, how she had cried that day, Billy was her favourite growing up, as he was timid and meek and bullied at school, but she had stood up for him and he had a special place in her heart. She remembers him now, the memory of them running home in the rain laughing and giggling and dancing through the field, mother had scolded them but it had been worth it to see Billy’s face light up again after it being so sad. Whenever she was sad she told Billy she would come here and sit on the fence and watch the waves, after that she had often found him sitting in the same spot and he would sing softly under his breath and then would return home calm. Although she and her siblings fought a lot growing up they were always there for each other and they kept each other’s secrets and invented games, and then when they became adults they had held that strong bond meeting often to catch up, and making phone calls overseas when someone was away.
Her family was precious to her, she was especially close to her mother as she had helped her frequently when the others refused. She admired her father more than anything, he was kind and reminded her often of Billy. The sound of the waves brought her back to reality but as she looked down the far end of the beach to the small cave, another memory awoke. This one, of her first love. John was a tall, sporty boy and had a kind soul. He was popular in the class but had never really acknowledged her before until they met out swimming in the sea. She had told him a joke and he had let out a beautiful melodic laugh that filled the whole beach. As they walked out of the sea, he told her that her hair looked pretty down and that she shouldn’t tie it up all the time. She had smiled at this. Her mother always told her to tie it up or else it looked like a right bird’s nest. He had asked her if they could meet up here again the next weekend, and so it was arranged. They met here every Saturday and went for a swim, then walked along the beach to the cave where they sometimes had a picnic. She grew fond of John and began to develop a crush on him. John had always liked her, as he later revealed, but he had never shown her any signs until one Saturday just after school had ended, when he met her on the beach. She specifically remembered it had been a rainy day and they had cut their swim short and ran down to the cave as they sat down, their arms had touched and John had pulled her in for a kiss. He smiled sheepishly as he pulled away from her.
“Sorry,” he said.
“No, it was— It was nice,” she said and he smiled at her his dimples showing as they gazed at each other. The rain had stopped and the sun’s rays had reached inside the cave and warmed the two of them. John had laughed, “race you back” and they ran down the beach, the sun shining.
As they grew older, their connection grew stronger and when she moved away to college he had called her every Saturday at the same time they used to meet up on the beach, and when she had finished college and come home, John had been working on his dad’s farm, and they resumed their meetings on the beach. And the day after her 23rd birthday he had proposed to her in the same cave where they had first kissed. She, of course, said yes. A year later they moved into the old cottage beside John’s farm which they had renovated and she had begun work in the local schoolhouse as the teacher, and they had stayed there happily ever since. Now seven years later, they have three kids and are the happiest they have ever been. She hadn’t been back to the beach or the field up until now. She looked around her, the wind had picked up and her hair was blowing wildly around her face. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to John as he sat beside her.
“God, when was the last time we were here?” he said, a smile on his face as the memories flooded back to him. “John?” she asked.
“Yes, darling.”
“When I die, I want to be buried here.”
He was still smiling, but curiously now. “What’s brought this on dear, you’re not planning to go die on me now?”
She laughed. “No, no. I was just thinking about all the memories I made here and I just feel as if… as if I belong to this land, you know? And I thought that when I’m gone I’d love to be buried here so that I can forever be here and become a part of the land.”
“That’s a lovely thought. This place always felt special. I think I shall be buried alongside you, my love,” he said, his voice battling against the wind.
She smiled at him and as she wrapped her arms around him, she felt in her heart that she had finally found the place she truly belonged, and she felt glad that her kids would grow up here on the land that had given her so many dear memories. “You know, the kids have never seen this place before,” she said.
“Well, we’ll pack a picnic and bring them down here tomorrow. They’ll love it,” he declared.
“They will,” she agreed.
“Let’s head back. It’s getting cold,” he said.
“You go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a minute,” she said.
He hopped off the fence and made his way home as she closed her eyes, her mind at ease as she listened to the waves, just like she’d done all those times growing up and hoped to continue to do so many more times until she was grey and old, and then she would be laid to rest and become a part of this land to which she belonged.
