There are two lovers on the beach.

I watch them from where I am

sat high up on the steps.

They hug while I cry

and collect rocks for keeps.

A mouse runs across the steps.

There are runners on the beach.

Two men approach me from behind.

I stand up on the steps,

so the runners might see me

if something happens.

Please don’t push me down the steps.

The mouse finds a friend

or a foe, or a cricket or a bird,

and the noise is louder than the waves.

More men approach

and still

they do not push me down the steps.

This fiction prose story was written as part of my MLitt in Creative Writing at The University of Aberdeen.