Treasure

A fade of spectacular orange hues announces the approaching night. The tide has ceased its retreat and will soon follow the moon’s command to invade the shore. I am here at every low tide, rain or shine, in daylight and darkness, combing this section of beach, hoping the sea will return what it has stolen.

This stretch of beach has been my home since the day I was born. My parents brought me here as a toddler to play in the sand and learn to swim. I spent my time fishing, collecting shells, flying kites, and eventually scuba diving. It is also where I met Annie.

Her parents moved into a house down the street from ours when I was ten years old. I was shy and we probably never would have met if she hadn’t walked across the sand one day and said, “Hi, my name is Annie. What are you building?”

“Hi, Annie. I’m Jack, and this will be a medieval castle when I’m done.”

“Can I help you build it?”

I looked apprehensively at my new friend. “It’s not as easy as it looks. One wrong move and the entire castle will fall apart. Are you sure I can trust you?”

Annie stared at me with her deep blue eyes. “Jack, you’ll always be able to trust me.”

That one act of curiosity began a relationship that lasted over sixty-five years. We spent our summers playing on the beach and swimming in the ocean. We were in the same classes in school and although she went to college and I joined the Air Force, distance never separated us. On the day she graduated, we walked along the shore. It was over by those dunes that I asked her to marry me and gave her the best ring I could afford. My heart soared when she said yes.

We exchanged vows standing on the sand along with a few friends, some seagulls, and the incoming tide as our witnesses. We bought my parent’s house when they moved south and have lived here ever since. It didn’t matter that we could not have children. We filled our lives with work, travel, daily walks along the shoreline, and each other’s company.

Time is a fair-weather friend that stealthily slips away unnoticed. You go to bed with your whole life waiting to be lived and wake up wondering where your youth has gone. We were no exception. What made things worse for us was the day we were told Annie had cancer. There was no cure for this fast-moving assassin. Once the initial shock wore off, we lived each day as though it was our last. She was too sick to travel far, but we continued our daily walks on the beach.

Her weight loss was dramatic. Everything hung on her as though it belonged to someone else. It disheartened me to watch my love fade away, helpless to cure her. It happened on what was to be our last walk on the beach together. Annie was tossing bread to the gulls when her wedding ring flew off her finger and into the encroaching tide. She sobbed uncontrollably as we walked back to the house. I promised her I would find her ring if it was the last thing I did. A calm washed over her and she said, “I trust you, Jack, I always will.” She died that night. Now you know why I’ve been out here at every low tide for the past five years.

Once again, my trusty machine has found something. I dig under the sand with my fingers and gasp in disbelief. It’s Annie’s ring! I hear a soft voice say, “Are you going to keep it or put it on my finger?” I turn on wobbly legs and see a twenty-year-old Annie, left hand extended, waiting for her ring. Wavering between shock and jubilation, I slide the ring on her finger. She smiles and says, “Now it’s time for you to join me. Take my hand so we may continue our journey together.”

I do as she asks, and an icy shiver runs through me. Gazing at my crumpled shell being washed out to sea by the tide, I have transformed into my twenty-year-old self. Hand in hand, we stroll into the mist to continue our story.

(I could use some input from the Vocal community. I'm considering entering this story or one called Wanna Get Away which I've already posted on Vocal into a local newspaper contest. They provided the pictures, I provide the stories. I can only enter one story. Which one should I choose or should I dump both and try again? Thanks for your help)