He

• Rachel Sawyer, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2010

As summer tans fade, and leaves begin to fall. I watch as the wave’s lesson into nothing more than a ripple. I feel the gentle breeze blow through my hair as I walk slowly along the boardwalk. I wonder if I’ll ever see him again, that man I fell for. I pray he is still ok. I make myself believe he is. When I reach my porch, I slowly climb the stairs, feeling nothing but loneliness. I sit down at my piano, playing that song we used to play. Starring out at the horizon.

The phone rings, I jump to my feet. “Hello!!” I yell. But it was a wrong number. I sit back down at the piano, the notes don’t sound the same as when we used to play. It begins to rain, I walk to the window, and sit on the ledge. I could stare for hours. A letter arrives, it is from him, I almost cry, but I hold back the tears, as I read about how things are there. He describes everything from the smell, to the sounds and tastes. It sounds so wonderful. At the end like always he signs with a kiss.

It has been almost 1 year since I have seen his beautiful smile, and smelled his wonderful smell, he always smelled like fresh mown grass, or the breeze after a summer storm. I sit down at the table with my dinner. As I crunch down on the cabbage, I read his letter over and over. He hasn’t mentioned anything about coming home, I start to feel sad, so I stop.

I walk down the boardwalk again, it’s now autumn leaves are a million shades of browns and oranges, they lay softly on the ground. The sun begins to set, but it is still shining brightly in the sky, still enough for people to be out on the water in their boats, or on their surfboards. I stop to smell the few flowers that are left, they’re slowly losing their scent.

The Irish Bar has just opened its doors, and people flock in. Cars slowly drive past and children are running around. I decide to keep walking, along the boardwalk, the sun is getting lower, it’s now a gorgeous orangey yellow. I decide to start heading back up towards my home, but something catches my eye, there is some dolphins, jumping happily in and out of the water, I laugh, they’re so beautiful.

I turn slowly around, keeping my eyes on the dolphins, but as I look up there he is, Standing in front of me, holding sunflowers, my favorites, smiling at me, tears fill up in my eyes, I can’t stop crying. I run in for a hug, He wraps his long arms around me, he kisses my head, I laugh lightly, I look up at him and he kisses me again, only on the lips. They’re just how I remember them. He is home, He is safe, He is mine.