Whispered Beginnings

New Beginnings

  Jennifer McMurrain

  Myra loved the smell of spring off the ocean. It always had a hint of lilac and whispered of new beginnings. But this was not a spring of new beginnings. She did not want a new beginning. She wanted him. She wanted Derek.

  She watched the waves crash into the rocks, the rhythm matching the throbs in her chest. Her eyes moved to the vast horizon of water. Was he still out there? Could he still be alive? Maybe marooned on a small island or hurt on a foreign ship? It would take the death of hope to accept he was never coming home.

  Myra walked the grassy path, tears streaming down her face. He had to come home, there was no other option. A life without him was not a life at all, but an empty existence; like a flower bud without the chance to blossom. 

  Looking to the waves she screamed out his name and fell to her knees. “Please,” she whimpered, “please don’t leave me.” She pulled at her hair, releasing another scream to the sky, before grabbing her chest. 

  Her heart slammed inside of her, the pain so intense it traveled down her left arm. Wilting into the grass she smiled, now the physical pain matched her emotional ache and the darkness surrounding her matched the emptiness that once was her soul.

  The waves were louder than Myra remembered before she passed out. From her vantage point on the cliff side, they seemed to be only an echo. Now they were barreling inside her head. She squinted up, expecting to see the sun bright overhead, but was met with the orange of the sunset instead.

  Sitting up on her elbow, she looked at her hand as it sank in the sand. Hadn’t there been grass before? She lifted herself into a sitting position and scanned her surroundings. The cliff loomed above her as the ocean tide played with her toes. Had she fallen when she passed out?

  “Myra.”

  The voice was soft like the rain at the beginning of a thunderstorm. She looked around for the owner and saw nothing.

  “Myra,” it came again. She leapt to her feet and gazed at the cliffs. Had somebody been watching her play out her grief and seen her fall? The cliffs were empty. 

  Spinning around, she stared down the coastline making out a lone shadow on the horizon. The tall, broad shoulders told her it was a man. His lose hair tousled by the wind, his stride one of great familiarity.

  Her heart leapt to her throat as she choked back a cry. It was Derek, it had to be. She took off in a run to reach her beloved. His stride matched hers. She screamed his name over and over, tears of joy cascading down her cheeks. 

  She slammed into his embrace and he wrapped her up in his thick arms before planting a long, passionate kiss deep onto her luscious lips. She met his hunger, desperate to never wake up from this dream. It had to be a dream, Derek was gone.

  Once he released her lips she dug her head into his chest. “Don’t leave me like that ever again,” she cried.

  “No, my love, I’m going nowhere without you.” His voice melted over her like warm honey. She thought she’d never hear his baritone again.

  She let out a loud sob. “I know this is only a dream. I know it will end and my heart will be broken all over again.”

  Derek picked up her chin, gazing into her eyes. “You will never be broken hearted again. Your heart broke for the last time up on the cliff side.”

  Myra shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s ok, love, you’ll understand in time. For now all you need to know is that our love surpasses all.” Derek embraced her again. “Even death.”