just_writing | Halloween Story

Him wanted to go North, take up a place on boat fishin' up them giant crabs they catch up there. His cousin done it before, come back with more money than most of us ever seen. I can jus' picture his face now sayin' to me, with his strong warm arms around me, "I'm comin' back to you with enough money for us to get wed, comin' back to you with my pockets full. Look for me on the Spring tide, come roarin' up the beach for you."

We was full of young love, I remember the places that passion took us, yes I do, but he was poor, an' I was too scared to wed him. I seen the poorer folks struggle to live. Well, as the lord knows, he was lost at sea up there, he never made it back in that cold North port town, nor back here to me. I watched those Spring tides roll in, an' roll back out again. It was a big old tide that year, the wind got up an' stayed up, an' I felt each thunderin' wave like it was crashin' on my heart til the news come an' then I felt like my heart was drowned too. I figgered I'd never feel it beat for love again.

Few years on, I met another young man, another fishin' man, I never felt no passion like before, but he was a decent god-fearin' man, with his own little boat, an' he loved me like I was a doll, held me gently, like he may break me up with a touch. We were fixin' up plans for a summer wedding, an' I was sewin' up some shirts of his which was torn when I got told that his boat was missin'.

Well, I thought that might be the end of me. I was so heavy with my sorrow, I thought I might jus' lay down my head an' never raise it up again.

My heart ache was so strong, I couldn't bear to be with the folk who loved me. When his boat come wash up on the shore all empty I took it up. I fixed up the sail an' patched up the nets, it was better than bein' all alone with my sadness.

Then I took it out, first time out on a boat all alone, the sea was calm although the wind was gettin' up. The Spring tides come early that year, an' I was caught out by surprise. I fought to get the boat back to shore, an' jus' as I felt like I won an' we was roarin' up to the beach I felt his strong arms come up round my waist, harder, colder than they were. As he pull me under the water I heard him say he been holdin' on for me, an' I knew he come to take me on to my marriage bed, jus' as he promise on the sand all those years back.