Write the opening line of a story you will never finish

[Vieira50]

Every writer has a folder full of brilliant first lines that never went anywhere. A great opening sentence can come out of nowhere, in the shower or on a walk, and then the rest of the story refuses to follow. This thread is a home for those orphaned openings. No pressure to continue them, just share the line

Famous opening lines show how much a single sentence can do. It can set the tone, introduce a voice, raise a question or drop the reader straight into the action. Some openings are funny, some eerie and some quietly devastating. The best make you desperate to read the next sentence. First lines carry an enormous amount of weight

Here is one of mine that has been sitting unused for years. On the morning the sea disappeared, Mrs Patel still opened the beach café, because people would want tea while they stared at the sand. I love it, but I have no idea what happens next. Maybe someone here will

Please post your own original lines. If someone else's opening inspires you, feel free to write a second line for it, as long as the original writer does not mind. Who knows, a few of these might turn into collaborative stories

What is the opening line of the story you will never finish?