I Do

• Samantha Salkeld , Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2020

I sit on the uncomfortable wooden dock, with my legs dangling off the edge. I look up at the beautiful ocean and see how far it stretches beyond the shore. The sun is starting to set and the sky lights up in all different shades of orange and pink. I feel the cool breeze of the ocean ruffle through my hair as I stare out at the beautiful sight in front of me.
The dock starts to creak as someone walks on it, towards me. I hear him curse at the dock for being so loud and I smile. How I miss when we stayed out here until it was too dark to see. The nights, although they were so cold made me feel warm inside. I feel the weight of someone sit next to me but we don’t utter a word to each other. Barely strangers, we sit next to each other and watch the sun go down. The sky changing from orange to black and the stars begin to shine. I play with the ring on my finger and remember the vows I made 20 years ago, on this very dock. I start to whisper them under my breath and I smile as I remember that day and how it made me light up like the stars in the sky.
“As I see you standing here in front of me, there is nothing more than I can say, except…” I whisper and I feel his body shift closer to me as he takes his hand in mine and says,
“I do.”