The folds of her dress billowed around her while her hair tied itself in knots, caressing her cheeks. She tucked it behind her ears and looked out to sea.
Clear, blue water glinted in the sun, a deceptive veil hiding its sheer power. She looked to the tides and followed them as they crept forward. Crests of pure white frothed and churned. She longed to follow the path down to the shore and feel her feet soothed by the sea.
But no, she had to stay where she was, lest she missed it - the first glimpse of the ship that was bringing him back to her.
She cast her mind back to when she saw the ship for the first time. She placed it now, just so, on the horizon. She heard the sound of its horn signalling its arrival.
She had been much younger then. Sixteen, fresh-faced, anticipating the return of her father. But then she saw him, glorious him, for the first time. her father had taken him under his wing. But it was years before he truly saw her for the first time.
And it was just in time. She thought she knew where she was going, but truly she was lost. It took someone whose life was rooted in impermanence to help her struggle through nights that were fraught with uncertainty.
She remembered the way the lanterns flickered in the trees when he pressed his lips to her cheek for the first time. The smell of the spring rain when he uttered the three words she had been yearning for. The gloomy grey of the clouds when he told her he had to leave.
The compelling music of his promise to return. And her pain that she couldn't trust it.
Still, she looked to the horizon. Twisted the silver band around her finger. Felt the life spring within her when she finally spotted the ship that had brought so much more with it than brave men and women.
Love. Hope. Promises that were kept. She counted the precious hours they had together this time and allowed herself to smile freely.
