Fireflies were dancing in the nearby wood, while the peaceful beach sang an old tune that was performed by the soothing waves. The lazy clouds painted the crimson sky with billows of serenity, as the weary sun descended, slowly, beneath the rippling horizon. Such scenery was nothing new to the residents of the port, who lived their peaceful lives only to wait. They toiled from morning till evening, and surrendered themselves to repose just so that they could continue to wait for yet another day.
It was during one certain evening, which the port had seen for countless of times in its past. The bar was receiving its first stream of customers, and the bartender turned on the old radio to accompany the heavy scent of liquor. Nothing had changed over the years in this particular watering hole, but that was precisely what its regulars sought for every single day in their effort to unwind from their daily activities.
“The usual?” the bartender asked in a low tone.
“Yup,” a tired man, who had just taken a seat, nodded at him after taking a short glance.
The mug of ale was set on the counter after a short while, and the man lifted it up immediately to take a sip. Before the sweetness of the drink could disperse from his mouth, however, someone with a raspy voice had greeted him and taken the seat beside the weary man. He wasn’t expecting anyone to drink with him, but when one had been in the port for a very long time, there were bound to be some familiar faces in the bar.
“How was your day?” asked the burly man who had just arrived.
“Not much to tell, Brad,” his friend answered him.
“Well, I wish I could say the same,” the burly man sighed. The unusual response piqued the curiosity of the weary man. His thoughts began to form a few wild guesses, while the bartender put down a mug of beer for his friend.
“What happened?” he asked, right after Brad had taken a large gulp of his drink to quench his thirst.
With another sigh, the downhearted man simply said, “Randy was called by the captain just now.”
“I see,” the weary man seemed to understand, and replied in resignation. “And when is his departure time?” he asked again.
“His ship left the port 3 hours ago, Josh,” Brad emphasized on the important detail.
“Why?” Josh responded almost instantly. There was a hint of agitation in his tone, but his friend understood that everyone in the port would’ve reacted in a similar way, if they had been presented with the same news.
“No idea,” he answered. “He was alone in the mine when the captain gave him the ticket.”
“And nobody asked him about it when he came out?” Josh retorted, skeptically.
“Of course, we did,” the miner declared, firmly. “But he had no clue about it too.”
Their conversation came to a pause, and the sudden absence of words seemed to magnify the gravity of the matter. Josh merely nodded, and let out a sigh to express his helplessness. The constant noise from the other customers began to fill the gap between their breaths, until they were satisfied with their unanimous mourning, and ready to continue their mellow descent.
“So, I guess the mining company has to personally investigate this incident now,” Josh remarked. But Brad agreed simply with a nod, and said nothing else. “Won’t that affect your job?” he asked him out of concern.
“Yes, but not really,” Brad explained. “They’ll just move me to a different location.”
“Somewhere safer, I presume?” Josh smiled at him, wearily.
“It doesn’t matter,” the burly man scoffed. “We’re going to leave this port sooner or later anyway.”
The indifferent reply from Brad wasn’t surprising at all to his friend. For Josh too agreed with what he had said, and took another swig of his ale to dull his feelings even further. He had actually planned to keep quiet about what had recently happened to him. But after hearing about Randy, he felt that it was perhaps the right moment to tell someone about it.
“You know, Brad,” he hesitated. “Marie received her ticket last week.”
“Are you serious?” his friend exclaimed. An expression of utter shock was painted on his face, and a slight stutter in his speech revealed his genuine worry for the man who was sitting next to him. “W-why?” he asked.
“The result is not out yet,” Josh answered. “But the doctor said that he would try his best.”
“When will her ship depart?” Brad inquired again.
The listless man sighed, heavily, and said, “In another six months.”
The heavy atmosphere around them came to a complete stop, and began to swirl again right at the very next moment. A wistful song was being broadcasted through the air, and the timing couldn’t have been more impeccable. It was a day like any other. The bartender seemed to be listening to their conversation, but the melancholic mood on his countenance went unnoticed by anyone in the bar.
“Does Jerry know about this?” the burly man asked with furrowed brow.
“Yes, we’ve tried to explain it to him,” said Josh. “But I think he’s still too young to fully understand the situation.”
“Well, I’ll certainly find a time to visit you and Marie,” Brad sighed. “It has been a while too since I last saw your son.”
“Sure,” his friend gave him a faint smile. “If you take too long, he might forget about you.”
They shared their laughter over their drinks, until their mugs were empty and their troubles become vanities. The two men went home, under the cool breeze of the night, with sound joy and reasonable sadness.
The walk towards his house was quiet. Josh had gone through the same sets of stairs and the same numbers of cobblestones almost every day of his life. The loud foghorn of a ship was nothing new to him. But on this particular night, there was something different inside of him that sparked a faint smile on his lips when his ears were filled by the distant blare. He held onto that strange yet comfortable feeling, and continued his way back to his loved ones.
As he opened the front door of his house, Josh was greeted by an energetic young child. The voice of his only son dispelled the weariness of his bones, and his strength returned to him just so that he could lift the boy up into the air. The child ran to his mother as soon as his father had put him down again, and his innocent giggles filled the entire house. Josh didn’t know that he had a grin on his face. But he realized that even though it had lasted for only a short moment, he was able to find rest from all of his worries.
“Did you go to the bar again?” his wife sighed at him as he stepped into their living room. “Go and take a bath first. I’ll heat up your dinner.” Those were the same words that he had heard for so many times. But one day, it would be his last. The urge to express his gratitude towards this beautiful woman welled up inside him. Nevertheless, his mouth was unable to utter even the slightest sound, while his wife walked past him and went to the kitchen.
Refreshed from taking a bath after a long day of work, Josh managed to clear his head as well, and work out a detailed essay in his mind that he had planned to recite in front of his life partner. Unfortunately, all of his elaborate sentences disappeared into thin air when he was finally sitting together with her at the dining table.
“I met Brad just now,” the awkward husband began to speak. “He told me about Randy.”
“What happened?” Marie asked him with a concerned look. And so, her husband told her everything that he had heard from his friend. The patient woman listened to him until the end, while she kept her eyes on their son, who was playing by himself on the floor, at the same time. “Did they manage to contact his family members in time?” she asked him again.
“I have no idea,” he answered.
“Mom, look, a firefly!” their son exclaimed, suddenly. He pointed his finger at the lone insect that had somehow entered their home, and began to fix his curious round eyes at the glowing creature.
“Yes, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” his mother remarked.
The evening hushed down as a result, and soon, even the sound of cutlery came to a complete stop. Beneath the dim light of the lantern, the firefly had charmed its spectators with its fleeting glimmer. It might have even been the perfect picture of romance to some. Josh tried to come up with something to say, but nothing seemed fitting for the situation. He was about to lose his chance again when Marie attempted to take his plate away, since he had taken his last bite. But he decided to just open his mouth and speak. He spoke with sincerity.
“Thank you,” he said.
“That’s rare,” his wife glanced at him, but her focus returned to the empty plate again right away.
“No, I mean, not only for the dinner,” Josh explained. His earnest voice finally caught her attention, and she realized that her husband was acting out of the ordinary. “Thank you, for everything,” he said.
“This is about my ticket, isn’t it?” she smiled.
“Or maybe I’m just drunk,” Josh chuckled, nervously. It dawned on him that perhaps things would be better for his wife, if he acted like his usual self. “You don’t have to think too deep about this,” he added.
“It would’ve been nice, if you had learned to say those two words from the time we were married,” she sneered. Marie stood up after that, and took the dirty dishes to the kitchen sink. Her husband felt guilty after hearing her words, but it was undeniable that he had always wanted to make her happy. And that feeling had never changed.
“Dad, can we go to the beach?” Jerry requested out of the blue.
The voice of his son brought his mind back to the present. Josh bent down to bring his face closer to his child, and responded with a tender smile. “Do you want to see the ships again?” he asked the young boy.
“Yup,” Jerry exclaimed. “Ships!”
“I don’t know if we can,” Josh answered him, hesitantly. He didn’t want to disappoint his son, but he also didn’t want to leave his wife at home by herself. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave your mother alone on the weekend,” he explained. Jerry stared at his father with hopeful eyes, and despite what he had heard, he didn’t break eye contact, hoping that his father would change his mind.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” Marie chimed in. “Tomorrow is Saturday after all.”
“But-” although Josh wanted to object, his wife was determined with her decision.
“I’ll come as well,” she added, which surprised her reluctant husband.
“Are you sure?” he asked. Marie simply smiled at him, weakly, and Josh understood. He turned to his son with a smile, and told him that they would indeed go to the beach tomorrow morning, together.
An excited child was jumping up and down on his bed, while his parents waited for him to calm down. Neither of them was in a hurry, and they looked at each other without saying a single word, because their son was constantly rambling about the things that he would like to do on the next day. When the child was finally ready to sleep, they kissed him and made sure that the young boy wouldn’t catch a cold. Oblivious to the worries of his parents, he drifted into his slumber, eager for the arrival of the next sunrise.
Jerry’s expectation was met with the perfect weather for an outing. The sand was smooth and fine, while the waves were rolling in an endless harmony. Surrounded by other people who were there to witness the beauty of nature, Josh and Marie watched over their son as he stared in awe at the distant ships.
“Mom, which ship is yours?” he asked.
“Your mother doesn’t own a ship, Jerry,” his father answered him, but he knew what his son was trying to ask. He heaved a pensive sigh, trying to explain the difficult subject to the five years old boy, while Marie listened to them quietly. “Mom is going to board a very special ship that will take her to a very beautiful place,” said the wistful man. “She is not going to stay on the ship forever.”
“More beautiful than here?” Jerry responded.
“Yes,” his father replied.
“How?” the curious boy continued his playful interrogation.
“Well, you can ask the captain directly when you meet him,” Josh smiled at his son. “He is the only one who has ever been there.”
The child had a mountain of questions, even though it was still too difficult for his young mind to understand the true meaning behind the entire subject. So, he pondered and wondered, and came to a conclusion that perhaps he just needed to ask even more questions.
“Can we go together with Mom?” he inquired.
Jerry waited for an answer, but his father couldn’t hide the painful smile that had emerged on his countenance because of what he had heard from his innocent child. A frown began to replace the faint curls on his lip, yet the man realized it quickly, and forced himself to smile again.
“No,” he shook his head. “We can’t.”
The young boy felt a strong urge inside him to ask his father for the reason, but the unusual expression of his father made him think twice. Maybe he was afraid that he might get into trouble. Maybe he sensed that his question might sadden his parents. But it was without a doubt that the boy had begun to feel the weight of the solemn conversation. At last, the innocent boy decided to go straight to the heart of the matter.
“When will Mom come back?” the little boy asked for his mother, nervously.
Josh racked his brain for an answer that could satisfy his son and remain truthful at the same time. But time was running out, and the nervous boy was starting to shift uneasily with every passing second. So, the loving father opened his mouth carefully, and with his simple discretion he said, “She is not going to come back, my son. But one day, we shall board the same ship and go to her.”
The timeless melody of the rolling waves stifled the complicated emotions between the weary father and his oblivious son. Marie clapped her hands once, and with her cheerful voice, she told them that it was time to have some fun. The glaring contrast of their immediate surroundings startled them, as if she had pulled them back from a murky reverie.
Jerry cast his eyes towards the ocean, and his attention was once again taken away by the distant ships that were floating on top of the deep blue. The gorgeous vessels sailed across the horizon without a care in the world, and soon, the enchanted boy forgot about all his worries too. The family of three played and swam in the water. They built sandcastle, and enjoyed the presence of each other. Like the sand that they were treading upon, and like the footprints that were washed away by the sea, so was their precious time that flowed down in the hourglass of life. Each grain that had fallen could never return to its former place. And before they knew it, the appointed day had finally arrived.
“There it is,” Marie pointed towards the sunset. “The captain is coming with his ship.”
“Our home is going to feel empty without you,” her husband remarked.
Six months had passed, but it seemed like only a second to Josh and his wife. Their family and friends stood behind them to see Marie off, while their son was captivated by the incoming ship. The couple looked at each other, and expressed their inexpressible emotions through their glistening eyes. Their whispers were affectionate, and their hearts were devoid of hate. Everything faded away for the two of them, until the gentle voice of the captain soothed their yearning souls.
“It’s time to go, my daughter,” the captain called her.
The couple smiled at the man who was standing on top of the ship, and then looked at each other again for one last time. “Find yourself another good woman,” Marie told her husband, playfully. But Josh simply chuckled, and affirmed his love for her in a tender whisper.
As the people waved solemnly at the only person who boarded the ship, Josh refused to avert his eyes until the ship had disappeared into the far distance. He held the hand of his only son, and remained silent for a long time. His stoical expression was heartbreaking to behold.
“When will we see Mom again?” Jerry asked his father, timidly.
“I don’t know,” answered the woeful man. “But I know that it won’t be long, my son. It won’t be long,” he repeated his words as if he were trying to convince the young boy. But unbeknown to the child, he was seeking to reassure no one but himself.
The sky was clear on that day, and there wasn’t a single cloud to hide the brilliant shade of fiery ember that enclosed the poignant scenery. Nevertheless, the rosy cheeks of a certain man, who was standing on the pier with his beloved son, were covered with tears that had been left unshed for days untold.
~ First Edition, by D.S. Rain