Bitter to Sweet

It’s been six months since she waved goodbye to him at the airport.



She remembers watching him hand his ticket to the flight attendant and seeing him slowly disappear into the tunnel leading to the plane.



As every inch of him passed the final turn into the plane her last image was of a U.S.A Army stitching at the back of his duffle bag.



As she turned away she burrowed her teary eyes into his cardigan and was embraced by his scent still trapped within the fabric.



It is now fall and the weather has begun to cool and the winds are picking up at a most pleasant speed.



She sits at the top of a mound of sand and looks out to the ocean.



The sky is covered in a thick sheet of clouds which are stained pink by the setting sun.



The desolation of this spot which she has chosen to release her thoughts allows her to hear the movement of the water as it charges and retreats the shore.



In her hand lay a stack of letters, with the last one dating six months ago.



She stares with her eyes fixed on the date and her heart begins to pound at her thought of the length of time which has passed.



As she is about to fall into a mournful cry a small pod of dolphins begin jumping about the water.



It seems as though everything about this place is preventing her from mourning.



She decides to stand and walk just to the edge of the water to feel its coolness sooth her tiny feet.



She closes her eyes as a gust of wind circles around her.



Taking a deep breath she is first met with the sea’s salty aroma and then as the wind slowed she picked up a scent which was satisfyingly sweet.



Clearing her face of her long brown locks she prepared herself for the next gust of wind as a small wave crashed onto the shoreline.



This time the scent of the wind is sweet once more and she is overcome by an anxiety which prevented her from opening her eyes.



She grabs her chest in fear of opening her eyes to a landscape lacking what she was expecting.



Yet as the winds pushed passed, her denial quickly faded.



And as she found the courage to open her eyes, the common trait of desolation which she shared with the beach is no longer apparent.