From sea to shore

As he stood on the deck outside his cabin, trying to see what lay in front of him. He strained and squinted to make out something, make out anything but all he could see was the inky blue sea that mirrored the inkyness of the night sky, rising and falling to its own rhythm, and with it the ship rolled, as if to keep in tune with the sea.

He strained to look landward, where he had plotted land would be, cause land was his heart lay. Though sea was his mistress, his heart belonged to another, and land was she would be, the owner of his heart, the purpose of his existence. Ladies may have thrown themselves for a man in uniform, at every port he visited, even some men too, but he belonged to another and he would have no other.

He missed her badly. What would he not give to have her by his side, to hold her in his arms and never let go. But he knew the sea was not where she belonged, the sea wasn’t her home, the sea wasn’t a place to raise a life together, to raise a family. She had her life to live, her career, her goals, her ambitions. It would be cruel and selfish to take that away from her, as much it would be selfish if she asked him to stay back and never sail. He was proud of her every achievements, the way she managed her life and the family, when he was not around.

He had spoken to her only a while ago, but know those few moments seemed like ages, he already missed her. Although he knew that reaching port, he would get on a plane and fly to her, but those moments seemed to go by so slowly leaving him flustered and frustrated. If he could, he would jump into the ocean and swim it all the way to her. He could swim across the oceans, climb the highest mountains, make it across the deepest valleys, just to be with her.

But he would needed to console himself by staring at the sea, hoping that time would just fly by, till she was in his arms. And so continued to stare landwards, from sea to shore.