Last Stroll on the Beach

The old man sat on the pier’s old wooden bench, hands clasp together, eyes fixed on the rhythmic motion of the waves as they rolled and crashed ashore. He was vaguely aware of the gulls that hung in the air dangling as if on string waiting to see if he had brought a morsel of food to share. The gusting ocean breeze ran its fingers through his hair and gently caressed his weathered face. Motionless he sat looking more like a carved figure of stone than a man of flesh and bone.

The old man’s mind journeyed back in time to his youth when each day delivered an array of endless possibilities, and hope. A time when he was full of vigor and the desire for adventure, discovery, and new experiences aroused his imagination, and energized his spirit. To a day when a shy, bubbly kid awkwardly and nervously reached to take the soft warm hand of the one that danced in his dreams.

The first ray of dawning light peeked over the distant horizon and greeted the old man’s aging eyes as it had thousands of times before, but this time he did not raise his head to welcome his old friend, and sat as if frozen in place. Images of times past slowly strolled along the beach lost in the moment of each others gaze. The delicate frame of her lovely face remained etched on the window of his mind. Happy just to have her hand folded within his own. The first tender kiss when he thought his heart would break open his chest, and fall to the sand.

The images began to fade away just as footsteps in the sand are erased with wind and wave. The colors that were so vivid now faintly evaporated into the atmosphere until all but the memory remained.

The sun leaped from hiding and revealed its full face. The beach began to fill with the morning joggers, people walking their dogs, and vacationers scavenging for shells. Early fishermen toting fishing gear made their way down the pier to try their luck. The world was awakening to start of another day, and the silence was shattered with the sounds of life.

A young fisherman spoke to the old man, but was greeted with silence. He spoke louder, but the old man did not acknowledge or as much as stir. He reached and touched the old man on the arm, but the old man just sat, eyes open and fixated on the beaches edge.

The old man had slipped quietly away to join his beloved for one last stroll on the beach. This time as he gently kissed her lips, his heart broke free of its bond as a butterfly from its cocoon spread his wings and the two flew away. Together they caught the ocean breeze and soared over the dawning horizon.