Low Tide
15 December 2021
Photos
“When the tide goes out, you can tell who’s been skinny dipping!” Tides, like moods, have their perks. This river receded – right where the fresh water and the sea water meet – leaving behind a mud flat. You wouldn’t see this… ordinarily. There would be a river here. Maybe even little boats on the river. You would look at the scene, file it away as a memory, an accurate reflection of of that place. The truth, if you will. You know what it looks like. Seen it, with your own eyes.
And then you come back at a different time, during a low tide, and the objective fact that was a reality and that you made your own, changed.
Tides are natures way of messing with mankind’s certainties.
You’d think we’d learn.

Peter van der Walt is a fiction author, although you may find some non-fiction and the odd essay out there. Fans can find his newsletter, posts, updates and developments at petervanderwalt.com. Currently, he is hard at work on his next story. When not writing, he has far too many interests to reasonably keep up with. He lives with his partner in Devon, England.