The wind
howled and blew her long auburn hair into her eyes as she sat on the back
staircase of deck 8. She looked into
the swirling ocean waters and her mind whirled with thoughts going around and
around in her brain. Her favourite spot
on the boat was here. Watching the sun
rises and the magnificent sunsets!
Watching the birds following the ship and marvelling at the calm
beautiful sea suddenly turn into a raging turbulent cauldron as it was today.
Two more days
until we reach our destination and nothing has happened!
Her mind
numbing, boring life had taken an unexpected turn when she had inherited a
small sum of money from an old aunt she had never set eyes on. All sorts of ideas had opened up to her to
help her out of her humdrum life.
She could
invest in a little coffee shop. A dream
she had long since nurtured!
She could go
back to university and do a course.
Perhaps a fine art degree!
Everyone had said she was quite artistic at school!
The thing
she longed for more than anything was a man to love her and children of her own
but after the untimely demise of both her parents she had become a
recluse. She found it difficult to
relate to people and she had crept out of society.
Trawling
through the internet she came across a ‘Cruise of a lifetime”. It promised romance, adventure, broadening
of the mind with cultural expeditions, theatrical extravaganzas, unimaginable
cuisine and 2500 passengers to mingle and mix with.
This is it,
she thought. This is what I will spend
the money on. I will meet likeminded
people and even the man of my dreams and we will live happily ever after! She paid her deposit and set about preparing
for her holiday. Her voyage!
Clothes and
accessories were bought. A whole new
makeover was embarked on. Excitement
filled the air. She booked flights to
Italy to meet the boat and when there was no money left in the coffers she
packed her suitcases, locked up her funny little flat and made her way to the
airport.
Life would
never be the same again!
Ocean going
cruise liners are a smorgasbord of experiences. Sometimes not for the feint hearted yet she
threw herself into the way of life on board.
She attended all the talks, the documentaries, the cabarets. She went to the Captain’s cocktail
party. She signed up for gym and
aerobics classes. She thoroughly
enjoyed the arts and crafts lessons and spent a lot of time in the library. The dancing lessons were invigorating. When
they docked at various ports she found the expeditions amazing and
enlightening.
Yet she felt
lonelier than ever.
People were
kind and friendly but everyone had their own partner or friend and they never
seem to include her in their circle of friends.
Time passed
so quickly and the reality had just hit her as she sat at the back of deck 8
watching the swirling waters and felt the strong winds buffet the ship.
I have not
met the man of my dreams and I have spent every cent of my inheritance and my
savings. What more is there for me?
He looked at
the forlorn figure sitting with head cupped in her hands. Her beautiful auburn hair blew in a frenzy
about her face and she did not seem to care.
He had watched her from a distance for most of the cruise but because of
his extreme shyness he had not approached her.
She seemed so sure of herself and so confident yet she did not have
anyone special with her. Maybe she was
meeting someone at the end of the cruise.
He had heard how some women sailed out to meet their men in far flung
places.
How he longed
to chat to her. How he longed to touch
her beautiful hair.
Suddenly he
watched in horror as she stood up and with great determination climbed the
railing and dived into the swirling waters.
His heart seemed to stop!
MAN
OVERBOARD!!! The shout went up.
He threw the
nearest lifebuoy he could find into the water near to her bobbing head and
shouted. ‘Hold on, I am coming’
She looked
up and their eyes met. With that he
leapt off the railings into the water as she slowly began to sink.
It never occurred
to him that he could not swim!
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