Down by the Bay: A Southern Gothic Short Story

By Rebecca Amiss

Luellen Temperence fled from her small hometown of Duckett, Louisiana at the age of sixteen. She is haunted by the memories of her best friend Tessie's drowning at Hangman's Bay six years prior, for which she was wrongfully blamed. 

 

Now thirty, Luellen lives paycheck to paycheck working at a small casino in Atlanta, Georgia. Her comfortable life is shattered however, when she receives a letter from her mother begging her to come home, telling Luellen there is something she needs to know right away. Luellen reluctantly returns home, sharing an emotional reunion with her mother and facing the townsfolk, and the boy who got away that she had left behind. But as the twentieth anniversary of Tessie's death looms ahead, Luellen still fights with a long buried secret. Something she never told anyone. Something that has made her feel extreme guilt for twenty years.

 

As Luellen reconnects with her past, the memories of that horrific night flood back to her. The questions she so desperately wanted answered, gnaw at her. Can she be forgiven? Most importantly, can she forgive herself?

 

*Originally published in The Write Launch oline literary magazine (September 2019).

*Quarter-finalist in Screencraft's Cinematic Short Story Contest (January 2020).

 

**CONTENT WARNING: This story contains subjects that may be sensitive to readers such as child sexual abuse and child death. Please read at your own discretion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca Amiss
• Release date: Apr 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393619024

Book preview

July 15, 1954.

Duckett, Louisiana.

The waves crashed against the dock of Hangman’s Bay, sloshing water on its rickety edge. The sun had long gone down and now all that lit the way was a small star barely peeking through the thick fog.

Luellen Temperance and Tessie Sinclair screeched in freed delight as they ran faster than their ten-year-old legs could carry them. They bound for the old dock that held all their shared whispers and secrets. Some being of childhood fantasies like what they want to be when they grow up, and some being so deep and personal that only them and the waves knew what they shared.

No one ever came out to the bay at this time of night, and that’s why Luellen and Tessie loved it so much. They could sneak out of their houses and dance on the dock and splash their feet in the water, and no one would ever see them. To everyone else in their small Louisiana town including their parents, they were invisible to the world at this moment, and that’s just the way they liked it.

There was a chill in the air, which was unusual for a summer night in July. That didn’t stop Luellen and Tessie, however.

As they ran, laughing and singing silly songs, Tessie sprang ahead and ran full speed, disappearing into the fog.

Come and catch me, Lu! Her giggle floated in the air. 

Wait up! Luellen shouted over the loud crash of the waves.

She sprinted after Tessie, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of sharp blonde hair and let out a laugh.

Found you! Luellen hollered. I’m gonna git you now!

Luellen ran towards the blonde flash and picked up her speed only to run out of breath. She panted as she rested her hands on her knees, listening to Tessie’s laughter getting farther away.

Lu! Tessie beckoned.

Tessie! Wait! Luellen called out.

Come on! Tessie teased out in the distance. She began singing Yes! We Have No Bananas Today, at the top of her lungs.

It’s too dark! I can’t see through the fog! Luellen shouted. Wait right there!

She started walking cautiously towards the sound of Tessie’s buoyant laughs and off-key singing, keeping her arms stretched out in front of her to guide herself.

Her feet shuffled against the wood, until a shrill scream pierced through the air, causing her knees to buckle beneath her.

Tessie? Luellen shrieked, her heart jumping into her throat.

For a second, she thought she couldn’t move. She was paralyzed with fear.

Another scream came and the adrenaline that had fizzled out surged through her body, and she picked up her legs again, running towards the edge of the dock. Another scream was drowned out by the sound of a crashing wave.

Tessie! She screeched, pumping her arms back and forth.

Luellen ran as hard and fast as she could, her feet pounding against the cedarwood, until she reached the end of the dock, nearly losing her balance.

Luellen squinted, looking below. All she could see was the black pit of water splashing beneath her feet. She knelt down and bent over the edge, not caring that she was getting her nightgown all wet. She reached her hand as far down as it could go, hoping with all her might that she would feel Tessie’s hand grab onto hers. When all she felt was the hot summer breeze against her hand, she sat up, whimpering helplessly as she stared out at the thick fog covered sky.

Tessie! She screamed again. But no answer came. Tessie was gone.

July 6, 1974.

Atlanta, Georgia.

Iwas almost finished with my shift when my boss, Clyde Blackwell asked me if I could stay for another few hours.

I looked over at a rowdy bachelor party coming into the small casino where I worked as a cocktail waitress. They were all dressed in cowboy hats and boots and looked like they had had a few already.

I sighed thinking about my warm bed that I was looking forward to crawling into once my shift ended in fifteen minutes. But money was tight, and I took whatever hours I could get.   

Luellen? Clyde urged, a touch of impatience on his equally exhausted face.

I nodded, holding on to my tray filled with drinks and tips.

I know it’s last minute, he said, but them boys over there look like they’re gonna give us a lot to deal with tonight.

It’s no problem. I shrugged my shoulders.

Thanks, ‘ppreciate it, he said, before walking off.

I walked over to the boys who were hooting and hollering at a slot