Quietly Reflecting

Quietly Reflecting by Keith Trezise

A simple September sunset stimulated Stella's senses. The dying time of
the day, breathing its last breath to make way for the night. It
wouldn't be long until the fiery orb of the sun, barely able to thrust
its swords of light through the cloudy shield of the earth, would
retire gracefully and clothe its splendour in the velvet black cloak of
the darkness hours. Stella stood against the railings on the jetty, the
fading light mirroring her fading life as time continued to make its
claim on her mortality. She had set aside this time of diminishing
sunlight for remembering the sunshine that had fallen upon her and her
beloved Raymond during the course of their fifty-five year marriage.
"Till death us do part" they had promised each other and now the
promise had been fulfilled. Fifty-five years to the day.

Of course, the sea was the very same sea that had always crashed
against this shore. As timeless as anything could possibly be. It was
only the things put there by men that had altered. The ever-changing
kaleidoscope of fashionable ideas and revenue making schemes had
moulded the place into what it is today; a metal, wood and plastic
monument to the inventive mind of the artist and architect, beautifully
highlighted by the distorted and twisted girder lofted high on poles
stretching away as far as the eye could see. A parody of beauty that
could never be equalled by nature but could never aspire to equal
nature itself. Stella leaned over the railings and peered into the
millpond stillness of the water below her. She saw her life quietly
reflected back at her.

Stella remembered seeing the reflection of a little girl staring back
at her seventy years ago. In those bygone times of childish laughter
and bruised knees it was the first time she had ever seen the sea. Her
head had been filled with magnificent tales of mermaids and pirates,
which explained why she felt a little disappointed when she met the sea
for the very first time and didn't see hide nor hair of either.

Laughter pervaded Stella's innermost thoughts transforming wistfulness
to consciousness as, lost in the maze of their emotions, two lovers
walked by where she stood. She watched them as they meandered along the
jetty and out of sight, remembering how she and Raymond had once trod
that path. When they lingered to taste one another's breath from eager
lips, she could almost feel Raymond's arms around her and the touch of
his hand as soft as the sea breeze that now swept the hair from her
face.

The sky hung above her, darkening noticeably and promising the jewels
of the night should the grey mantle that so vexed the sun decide to
yield and open its folds to reveal them to her. The celestial sphere
fascinated Stella, whose very name cried out for her to venture there.
It was on a starry night that Raymond first kissed her; a tentative
kiss that was to build the foundation of an everlasting love. A love
that emulated the brightest star in its pureness and intensity. And
here in the solitude of that sacred place where they first kissed,
Stella's heart lamented the fact that instead of a super nova, the
bright star of their love had become a black hole.

Stella leaned against the railings once more and gazed into the sea. At
the very edge of night reflections are harder to determine, but Stella
had no difficulty seeing Raymond's face smiling up at her from the
tranquil, murky depths. He rested his head on her shoulder the way he
always liked to and the world seemed right. His reflection was so
bright that his image seemed to hover above the surface of the water.
His face was so young and handsome, his uniform smartly pressed and
immaculate. Perfectly turned out for the perfect wedding to his perfect
girl. He stood beside her now, no droplets of sea water falling to the
jetty despite rising from the deep to stand with her on this special
night - their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. He stood so tall in his
dress uniform, no longer bent over with the ravages of age. Music
filled the air; a waltz from Strauss and Raymond held out his hand to
lead his bride in the dance of melancholy that reminiscences such as
this demand. She floated whilst in his arms; her body glowed with the
warmth and exuberance that she once enjoyed as a young woman. The pain
from her hips was forgotten as she pirouetted with ease and laughter
sprang from her lips and floated out over the sea where it mingled with
the breeze and sung lullabies to the earth.

Stella found herself dressed in white brocade with sweet smelling
flowers entwined in her long flowing auburn hair. Her slender hands
carried a bouquet and her father stood by her side; the proudest man in
the world. The organ whispered Mendelssohn into the night and the
heavens divested itself of clouds revealing the sharpest pinpoints of
light that she had ever witnessed. A fanfare of shooting stars cascaded
down as she climbed the steps to the altar. The choir reached a
crescendo as the bells rang out in celebration of the joyous occasion.
At the top of the steps to the altar, Raymond beckoned Stella, the
twinkle in his eye eclipsing all the brightest stars that shone in the
night sky above her. She felt so ecstatic that when she reached him she
imagined that she was floating on air as if the laws of gravity had
been repealed. Raymond took her in his arms and embraced her with the
eternal kiss of true love.

The laws of gravity had only been suspended and Stella hit the water
with enough force to knock the wind out of her. The sea closed in
around her until it's grip finally reunited her with the man she loved.
Death had only parted them for eleven hours.