Lilly Island

Patrick sat on a rock staring out into nowhere and everywhere. This place had been his so called for many years but his heart and soul was somewhere far away. The calm inlet lay still against its safe secure harbor. It shimmered a magnificent reflection as seagulls squawked in the clouds. The boat's bobbed in the water secured to the wharfs as a parent holding a child's hand. Patrick thought of his Elizabeth in a shallow grave far away. Whenever he was lonely he would always think of her, it was almost as if it were magic. He would feel down and his thoughts would be replaced by her memory. The same Atlantic waves lapped the shore to where she lay. Instantly he is taken back in time, her hair bouncing around her face and rosy cheeks. He remembers her features so well, he remembers her so well. Her enchanting giggle the first time he noticed her, covering her smile to hide it as if it were a crime to laugh. She was picking blueberries on Knob's Point, kneeling amidst clumps of berry bushes with a tin bucket, brushing the hair from her face and swatting at flies. She looked delightful and he remembers almost instantly loving her. Married in the tiny church overlooking the harbor on a bright June morning, he promised to love her forever.

The lines drew in Patrick's face, age showed years of worry and heartache. Life had played cruel jokes on him over time. Love ripped from his grasp. Patrick pulls himself up and makes his way back to his lonely dwelling. Unlatching the door he walks inside when a familiar smell fills him. He looks around but knows that everything is as he left it. He walks through the kitchen and sits at the table. The same scent fills him, he feels at peace.