“Never fall in love with a sailor,” she was told again and again, because his life is governed by the sea and not by the laws of man. Over and over she was told of the many widows of sailors. Some of their husbands had been lost at sea. Some had been shipwrecked and drowned. Still others found foreign ports more inviting, and their wives were as good as widowed. No, never fall in love with a sailor.
But she did. She
found a handsome young man, a young sailor who visited her port often
enough. She was warned against him, but
she did not heed the warning. He was
warned, too, not to lose his heart to a woman of the land because then she
would take him from the sea. But young
love is the strongest love, and who’s to say if it’s right or wrong in the end? So they fell madly in love. He brought her small gifts from other
ports. She brought him news of the
land. Whenever he got shore leave, they
were inseparable. If only life could
continue exactly as it is when it reaches that pinnacle, that one day, of
perfection. But that is not what life
does.
So they made plans for marriage, and he would leave the
sea. They would have a home together and
children and eventually grandchildren.
He would find a new profession and he would do his best to love and serve
her all his life. She would make their
house into a home and bear children and ease his loneliness. It’s what all relationships eventually come
to: They are either cemented or
released. The day of perfection cannot
last forever, after all.
 |
| Rubies. |
“I will go abroad one more time,” he told her, “and I will
work hard and bring you back rubies and gems and enough for us to make our
start. I can do this. I know a way.
There is much treasure to be found in the world.” She did not want rubies or gems or any kind
of money. She just wanted him, but she
wanted him to be happy, too. He told her
he couldn’t be happy unless he knew he was secure and could provide for her. He wanted her to live like a queen. So she reluctantly let him go and waited for
his return.
She waited many days down by the ocean for him to return. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into
months, and still her sailor had not returned.
She did not lose faith, however, and she continued to wait. Perhaps he had found the rubies after all and
was bringing them back in a ship of his own making. So she waited and waited, and the months
turned into years.
Many things happened in the lives of those around her. Most of her friends got married. Some moved away or enlisted in foreign wars
or went off on their own treasure hunts.
A terrible illness crept through the port one year, and both of her
parents died. New town mayors came and
went, and new children were born and grew.
She worked at various jobs, sometimes as a waitress, sometimes as a
teacher, always with her eye to the sea, waiting for her lover’s return.
Time went on and on, as it has a habit of doing, and one day
she was very old. Still, she went down
to the port every night and looked out expectantly into the ocean. He had been delayed so very long. One night a young girl came and stood beside
her. They were quiet for a while, but
eventually the young girl began to talk.
She told the old woman of a young sailor she had met and how handsome he
was and how she wanted to marry him, but everyone was warning her against him. But what did they know? They didn’t understand at all, she explained
to the old woman.
The old woman just smiled a very sad and faraway smile. The young girl told the old woman that she
had seen her down at the port all the time in the evenings, and she asked why she
came every night. The old woman regarded
the young girl with wise, old eyes and said, “I come every night for my rubies.” She pointed out to the clouds made red by the
setting sun and explained that they looked like rubies to her. The young girl smiled and remarked at the blood-red
beauty of the sky, and she told the old woman that rubies were her favorite gem
and that someday she planned on having many and hoped her young sailor would bring
them to her.
“But rubies are found in the earth, my dear, not in the sea,”
the old woman said. “Turn your eyes to the
land. The land is where you’ll find your
treasure, safe and secure. Any treasure
that goes out to sea will become lost at sea because the sea is always hungry
for life.”
“But what about the adventure, the excitement, the glory of
sea travel and a handsome young sailor?” the young girl asked.
“What about an old woman, tired and sad, who waits at the
shore--her only rubies the red clouds from the setting sun, and a life lost in
waiting?” the old woman responded.
The young girl looked at the old woman in a strange way,
nodded politely, said goodbye and left.
The old woman watched her and wondered what she might do with the advice
she was given. Then she turned back to
her rubies.
