Turtle Taking a Breath……………………………………………..………………………….…………………….Mark Price, IV, Cover Sand Dunes……………………………………………………..……………………………Rafael Rodriguez-Montgomery, IV

reincarnated in Mike. He would be able to carry on the duty that I no longer had the strength or will to fulfill. Yeah, I probably wouldn’t be missed all that bad.

I pulled out my phone, looked through my contacts, and came to the name “Ted West,” the captain. But, before I had the chance to press call, my phone started buzzing, and displayed the name, “Jessica.” I stared at the screen for a moment, just registering the fact that she was finally calling me back. I pressed the green button to answer her.

“Hello?” I said, pretending for a moment to not know who was on the other end of the call.

“Hey Dad,” She responded in a low tone. “Listen… I know that I really haven’t been keeping in touch, but I need to talk to you. I’m getting married in five weeks.”

“That’s amazing, Jess,” I said back. If she was telling me this, it probably meant that I was invited. “Where is it? Down in Florida?”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be down here,” She said. “I would really like you to make it down for it. I know we haven’t really talked that mu-”

“Of course I’m coming,” I said to her, cutting her off. “Don’t even worry about it. I'll be there.”

“Thanks, Dad,” She said with a sigh of relief. “Alright, I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you.” This would be the first time I would see her in years now. I looked down at my phone, now back on the contacts screen, and once again saw Ted’s name sitting there. That was one more reason to retire. If I retire, I could see her every day. That sounded nice to me.

Without looking back I pressed call.

“Hello?” Ted’s voice sounded from the phone.

“Hey Ted, it’s Sean. Listen, I gotta talk to you. I think I’d like to retire.” And with those words, I felt what seemed like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders.

Sand Dunes, Rafael Rodriguez- Montgomery