By: Desireè

I arrived at the beach at my usual time, laying my towel in the sand in the shade. I sat down and watched as the rough waves broke on the shoreline. They were unusually quiet for it being so rough. I turned my head as I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

A short, chubby brunette who always comes shortly after me appeared. Today, she was in black shorts and a tank top. She set up her towel, setting her YETI water bottle on one side to weigh it down against the wind and her beach bag on the other side. I knew what she kept in there. In her bag there was a book, a journal, an extra towel, a speaker, her phone and keys. The question was whether she would pull out any of those items while she is there on any given day. I rarely see her pull out her phone, except to photograph sailboats. She seemed to have quite an affinity for them. Her journal, or whatever her latest book was, usually made a far more frequent appearance.

You would think with her and I coming to the same beach, sitting so close together, I would know her name by now and her mine. We would be fast friends. However, I am extremely shy. You could consider me to be more of an observer.

If anyone talks to her she happily speaks with them. In fact, she lights up like a sun beam when people talk to her. Her smile is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Odd to say that to a stranger though, isn’t it? Most of the time she looks sad. Not depressed just... down. Sometimes, I swear I see her crying.

Two sailboats passed in front of us. I watched her normal routine of lighting up at the sight of them, grabbing her phone, running down to the shoreline and taking pictures before making her way back to her towel. I am curious as to why sailboats made her so happy.

My eyes drifted back to the waves. I loved the way they curl and roll in, building in momentum before finally crashing down into the sand. It’s such a beautiful sight to see. I caught someone in my periphery. A man much taller than the normal beach goers. He stopped in front of the woman’s towel. My neck quickly turned in surprise. I couldn’t help but watch.

The woman looked up at him. He smiled at her, clearly happy to see her. “May I sit down?”

My eyes couldn’t help but fall to her to see her reaction. No smile. She wasn’t scared. Instead, she scooted over and patted the towel next to her. I wondered if she was in trouble. An ex that she didn’t like perhaps?

He sat on the towel, keeping some distance between him and her.

“Three years.” Was all the woman said, her voice almost stern. She just stared straight ahead at the ocean.

“I’m sorry it took me a while. It was never my intention to leave you alone for so long .” He sounded sincere.

The woman’s chest began to heave. She clearly was fighting back a well of emotions. “It doesn’t matter. You kept your promise. You came back.”

Holy moly, she waited three years for this guy? He was good looking. Tall, nicely built, dark hair and eyes, olive skin. But you don’t wait three years for someone who is only good looking. No wonder she always looked down. She was heart sick.

He reached to comfort her and then hesitated, putting his hand back down. I wanted to scream at him, “Comfort her, you fool! Comfort her!” She was longing for comfort.

“I thought you would be happy to see me.” His voice was quiet. Almost in disbelief.

The dam broke; her body started shaking with tears. “I am happy to see you.”

His eyes grew wide in surprise and he pulled her into a tight hug. I started crying as I watched the two of them, the emotion in the air was palpable.

Her arms wrapped around him as she cried. That woman sobbed into his shoulder like she had been holding back tears for the entirety of the three years. Every possible emotion bubbled out of her at that point. The only time I could hear him was when she stopped to take a breath; he was repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m here now, I’m here to stay. I’m not leaving you ever again.”

I kept crying as I watched. I couldn’t help but feel her pain, her sorrow and finally her relief that he was back with her again. Her tears eventually calmed. I took a shaky breath as they finally kissed before turning back to face the water.

“Look at the sailboats.” He pointed at them. They hadn’t gotten far in the time since the woman had taken the picture.

She wiped the tears from her face, sniffling and nodding. “That is how I knew you would come back.”

He looked at her with a bit of confusion.

“Anytime, I doubted or was upset, the sailboats would appear.” She explained. “And your voice would echo in my head. That I was your lighthouse. You would always find your way home to me.”

As I heard that, I started crying again. That was the sweetest thing I had ever heard. No wonder she waited for him.

They sat there together holding each other watching the sailboats drift by. Eventually they packed up. Headed towards the exit hand in hand. I sat on my towel stunned by what I had just witnessed. Moved. It made me believe in love again. Not the kind that disappears. The kind that stays.

I wiped my eyes and went back to watching the waves roll in and crash on the shore. Reaching for my journal, I started to write. Except, I kept getting distracted looking for sailboats.