Fred stood at the sink once again. The dishes were stacked high. He sighed loudly. "Why were Friday nights always like this?" he mused. Pushing his earbuds into his ears, Fred selected the music for tonight's chores, he wanted something light and upbeat. "Yes," he thought, "Reggae was the way to go." A few touches of his phone and the melodies of Bob Marley begin pouring into his brain.
Starting to wash the dishes, Fred lost himself in the music. As his body took over the repetitive task of washing, rinsing, and sanitizing the dishes, his mind wondered along with the music.....
He stood beside the boat, watching the waves pound the shore. He knew the Gods were mad, they were tossing the sea about in their anger. Fred paused with a wry chuckle. Annie would have had his hide for talking about the old Gods like that. She never understood his "heathen" ways. And he could never explain it more than that is what his people were taught. No amount of civilization or culture were ever going to change the ancient beliefs. It was a way of life, the way they were taught as children. Even though he didn't really subscribe to the old ways, it was a fool that disregarded the wisdom in the teachings. Superstitious, he might have been, but he always felt it was justified.
Annie would have given him some scientific explanation for what was going on, followed by that special smile she reserved just for him. Even after all these years since she passed, he still found himself missing her presence. In fact, the island had gotten so lonesome to him that he decided to build this boat. To sail off into the sunset, heading for the main island, he meant to start fresh. Well as fresh as a sixty-plus old man could.
There was no electricity on the island, so he bent back to his lathe and continued planing out the inside of the boat. it needed to be smooth and straight as this was where he was going to spend all of his time at sea.
Annie never cared for his voyages out into the surrounding ocean. She always feared that he would get hurt and never be able to return. He always scoffed at that idea until a few years ago when he lost track of where he was going and smashed his boat to bits on the rocks in a thick fog. That had scared him bad, if not for his quick thinking and quick reactions, he could have very easily been seriously hurt. But he could thank Luck for that. Good ole Lady Luck was always looking after him.
Fred always thought it was pure luck that he ended up with Annie in the first place. He remembered how many times she told him no, and he kept finding new ways to ask her out. Eventually she caved, and they begin a long happy life together. He had such fond memories of her, playing in the surf, sailing around the bay, the picnic they had taken on the beach - the day Fred asked her to marry him. He can still remember the way she played in the sand, digging her toes in and out.
Fred found himself staring off into the distance, the lathe laying next to his feet. Exactly where he had dropped it staring off into space thinking about his love Annie. Straightening up, Fred felt his back creak all achingly, Fred straightened. He knew it would soon be time to leave. To sail off into the sunset and into her waiting arms. His two loves re-united to show him the ultimate gesture of love, Annie and the sea.
Fred straightened from the sink. His back was aching, he had been standing in the same spot too long. His back was killing him. It was time for a chair massage and then sleep. His dreams were so puzzling, full of lives once lived with the same woman. Always with the same woman. Every night a different life, but always with the same woman. Stretching slightly, he wondered if tonight would be any different......?
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