Laura couldn’t help but spin and twirl in the spring air. The garden was alive with color. She couldn’t wait to show Philip her work. Her mother had taught her all about the garden and Laura had tended to it diligently all summer and winter.
Her father stood on the patio with the mail courier. The look on his face sent a shiver down her spine. What would make father so upset? The courier left and yet her father stood still. She walked up silently, curious as to what the problem was. She noticed her mother inside, silently sobbing. This was not good.
Her father placed his hand on her shoulder and pulled her close. He wrapped his arms around her. “Something has happened. Philip’s ship was caught in the storm by the shore.”
She could hear the thunder even from their home, miles from the shore, all morning. “But Philip’s ship wasn’t due for another month?”
“They were in dire need of supplies, so I am told. They had to return sooner than expected due to unforeseen storms that arose. Their ship is struggling to make it to land. Prepare yourself for the worst.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Before her father could hold her still, she slipped out of his arms and ran towards the barn. She could not believe what she was told. She quickly mounted their fastest horse and without wasting another second, they galloped away.
~
She stepped past the rocks, carefully placing each foot on a solid rock, not wanting to fall. The wind whipped her hair around her face, she constantly fought to keep her eyes on the ship in the bay. They were miles from the dock. The bay they were struggling in now was not fit for a ship. The waves rocked their ship back and forth, the rain battered against its beaten boards. The sales were torn, hardly even shreds. She could hear the men yelling, struggling to save the ship. She said a silent prayer that God would save the men.
At least to save Philip.
Already parts of the ship were washing ashore. The storm raged and so did her emotions.
Her love, her prince, her knight, her sailer, her Philip was out there.
Slowly she watched the ship sink beneath the water. The storm raged on and on, making it hard to see if there were men in the water. But soon she saw enough to know that no one was alive.
She fell to her knees, the waves washed past her. She was soaked in an instant. Was the heaviness she was feeling more from her completely wet dress or the sorrow in her heart.
Her fiance was gone.
Philip was dead.
She screamed into the sky as the sobs broke out and racked her body. She laid in the water, the waves kept coming more frequently, making it hard to breathe.
She was about to sit up when she allowed her despair to rule over her head. She laid there, in the sinking sand. The waves continued to pass over her. She pulled herself deeper into the water.
She laid there, face first in the water and watched the blackness engulf her.
It felt like a dream. She felt like she was flying.
Suddenly the despair lifted and her logic screamed into her heart that this was madness. What was she doing? She frantically tried to breathe but it was then her dream faded and she realized her surroundings. She was in the deepest part of the bay. She flailed her arms around the blackness, her body fought to breathe in the water. The more she struggled, the more she sank.
Her body felt like it was burning, then exploding. It was the most excruciating pain. Stupid, stupid girl.
Then she was still. She was suspended, it seemed like, in the air. She was dead. Had to be. Everything was still black. Then she was falling. She tried to scream but failed. Was she going to die again? Her chest felt as if something was pushing on her. Perhaps the ship had landed on her?
Instantaneously she crashed down, her fall ending. She opened her eyes. The sun was so bright, she squinted. Her lungs were about to explode. The water was expelled from her lungs. She rolled to her side and coughed out the last of the water as she tried to breathe in the fulfilling air. Her body shook from fear and the chill the air brought her wet body. Someone lifted her up into their lap. She opened her eyes. She blinked.
“Philip?” She whispered hoarsely.
“My precious Laura,” he took a deep breath, “ what in God’s good name are you doing out here in the water?” He was out of breath and his face was dripping with water, but the worry and fear was etched into every freckle, every line.
“You’re alive.” She tried to say, she wasn’t sure how much got out.
“Yes. I almost lost you.”
“I thought I had lost you.”
“Oh Laura.” He pulled her close, as if afraid she would throw herself back into the ocean.
What horrid mistake had she inflicted upon herself and her beloved! She would regret this forever. He would never stop worrying about her.
He loved her.
She loved him.
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