A little bit of flash fiction, written for a flash challenge on UKAuthors. If you like writing, pay them a visit, it’s a really supportive group of writers, with weekly and monthly challenges to take you out of your comfort zone.
Got to the beach just in time, as the first shuttle was mooring to the pier, the big white cruise ship standing like a big, ugly building in the bay. The first group, Americans by the look of them, half old and fat, half young and thin. I spot a little group of six younger adults with a clutch of boys and girls, maybe 5 to 12 years old. “Welcome to Loyalty Island! You want to see caves? Fantastic caves, like you never seen. Only 10 dollars.” I show them the little book of pictures; the kids crowd round, start clamouring to their parents. One of the adults takes a decision, nods. “Ok, you got us. Ten dollars, right?” He brings a big roll of money out of his pocket. “Only for adults. Children free.” My way of saying it’s $10 each. He hesitates, not wanting to seem cheap, counts out $30, hands it to me. Roughly half what it should be. “That do you?” He mutters something to his friend, second word sounds like ‘fucker’. I smile. “Ok, deal. This way.” They follow me past the beach, to the point, where the cliffs rise from the sea. The best cave is past the point, but I take them to the smaller one. The little kids whoop and run into the cave, start climbing down, holding the rope. Inside it’s dark, the water black, and cool. The adults hurry after the kids, shout at them to stay in sight. After they’re all in I head back to the beach, to find some other tourists. They should be able to find their way back. If they’d paid me what I asked I would have stayed, helped them explore, but if they want my time, they need to pay for it.
scrievin 