Dark Thoughts and Pleasant Dreams (short story) to Accompany | My Fractal and Stable Diffusion Art Project

I sat staring at the waves rushing toward me, then breaking gently before they reached the shore. Moving my feet to coincide with their calculated rhythm, thoughts of Deborah lingers always. In the distance, the lighthouse signaled that she was waiting. She'd made the first move. It was now up to me to cast off the past.

I could have declined to participate. But I didn't want to lose what she offered away from the beach. Could I now look to the future while still harboring hatred for the deceit?

I discovered we'd both been pawns in a dangerous game of "chicken". If only she'd warned me.

But then she had always played innocent tricks and inconsequential games, as she labeled them, to spice up our relationship. She'd attempt to dismiss the events whenever she sensed I'd reach my tolerance. Those times, I'd distance myself, not accepting her calls for days. The longest holdout was two weeks.

Dark brunette with flickers of ruby red strains, Deborah always tossed her hair whenever any male paid attention. Long, thick lashes headed toward her cheeks, slowly opened to reveal silver tinted eyes. Thin shapely legs wrapped into an equally curved figure created an enticing female pleasing to any male's eyes. And she played upon those assets.

I realize now our relationship was toxic. Ecstatic for several months, then lower than low for a few. I should've broken it off with her months ago. I couldn't figure out the deep connection that pulled, then locked in my passionate feelings to the point I always came back.

On this very shore six months ago near Big Sur, golden rays mixed with dark clouds rapidly approached. Moisture rode in on the waves.

"Don't be chicken, Alphonse. Man up and join the game!" she taunted, as her four friends joined in, then quickly gulped their beer.

I refused to drink. Parents who indulged to the point of requiring counseling provided the incentive I needed to say "no" whenever prompted to indulge. All my friends knew and respected my decision. But these were Deborah's close friends.

I could tell she was slightly intoxicated as she winked, then planted a deep wet and salty alcohol kiss before breaking away from my embrace, so I begged her not to go. When she was in a mood for dark fun, nothing could stop her.

I didn't know how dark her idea of fun was on this outing.

Laughing, she joined her friends. Holding hands as if creating a unbroken chain, they stumbled rounding the cove, then rushed into a surfers' delight.

My heart felt as if it had rotated ninety degrees. I started praying as I sat and watched them disappear into the giant wave.

Immediately I heard were screams originating from the direction they disappeared. Thinking Deborah was in danger, I jumped up from the blanket and rushed to the edge of the water, yelling her name.

Only ripples answered.

I felt a tug at my feet. Panicked, on first thought, I remembered the "JAWS" movie and the woman in the woman, head bobbing as the shark attacked.

Dread overcame me as I attempted to pull away. A watery death I'd never imagined as my shoulders then disappeared. Desperately trying to stay afloat, I kicked with all my strength, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

I yelled again, hoping she could hear me.

Silence.

Murky water prevented me seeing what was attacking and dragging me underneath the waves.

I didn't feel any pain as though a sea creature was devouring my lower limbs. That's when I realized hands were the culprit holding onto my legs and dragging me down. Kicking as hard as I could, I managed to free myself from their grip.

By the time my head broke the water's skin, two life guards were securing my shoulders and arms and pulling me ashore. After performing CPR, they kept inquiring whether others were also in danger.

Dazed, I glanced around for Deborah and her friends. There they silent within a foot facing me. I felt a weird vibe as I noticed them looking at each other. None rushed to see if I was hurt.

Thankfully, I wasn't seriously injured.

I never knew, and discovered a month after the incident, that Deborah and her group were once members of a local swim team. Excellent aquatic skills, they could remain underwater for extended periods.

I didn't want to believe that she was part of the "chicken" scheme. She assured me she wasn't; however, my doubts lingered.

As I said earlier, I could have declined to participate and join them that day at the beach. The joke was on me.

But it wasn't a joke because I nearly drowned.

Will I answer Deborah's call? I'm trying not to. The next time, I may not be so lucky.

For my current fractal art project, my theme is Dark thoughts and happy dreams. This theme provided me the opportunity to explore inside a person's mind. Do dark thoughts dwell there? What about happy thoughts? Which ones do you act on or give credence to? Each person is diversely different in his approach to handling either good or bad thoughts on any given situation. It's how we handle these pressures determine whether we're emotionally intelligent.

I wanted to highlight in this project another of my pure fractals I created in Apophysis. This software is an open-sourced, fractal rendering program. With it I can create amazing fractals whose iterations are not only beautiful, but thought-provoking.

For my first fractal I included in my project, I named it "Twirls Upon Twirls*. It's resembles a three-dimensional space object consisting of spikes intertwining on different levels. For this project, I felt it represented the numerous thoughts, some overlapping. Immediately after rendering the flame, I knew I'd use the image combined with other fractals and art types.

The next art images I included in my project I created with stable diffusion programs, Night Cafe and StarryAI. The first image represents a confused man whose head opens up so that we can see his emotions actually inspired my short story. The second image represents the woman in his life.

Below are my steps:

Finally, I included several other of my pure fractals to enhance the setting. Utilizing Canva, I was able to blend the fractals and diffusion art pieces.