My Uncle John

         John was standing in the shallows of the water, feeling the water slowly lap at his boots. But his mind was elsewhere as he stared out at a point beyond the breakers. The message he had received was quite clear and he was positive that he had arrived in time. Now it was only a waiting game as he continued to stare at the horizon.
         The sun overhead was beginning to play tricks with his mind as he squinted his eyes against the glare reflected off the blue surface of the water. John did not move a muscle as he stood there, his body tensing with anticipation. The water round his ankles was starting to react to him as little wavelets started emanating out from his legs into the calm of the rock pool. The small shapes of the fish flitting beneath the water and around the rocks felt the change in the current and began to scuttle away from the intruder. John put the shivering down to the cold of the water clamping against his legs as the body prepared itself for the onset of hypothermia. But besides this shivering, John remained fixed to the spot, knowing that the message he had received was real, knowing that he would soon be reunited with his soul-mate.
         Karen was her name. For ten magnificent years, John and Karen had never been apart for even one moment. In that time they had shared their whole beings with each other and the commitment he had made to her on that fateful night two years into their relationship. It had been at this very spot where he had taken her hands in his, stared into her honey coloured eyes and whispered the oath that had bound his soul to hers. As she had repeated the oath, he had felt her pulse in his heart and could not have imagined, in that moment, being anything else than hers for the rest of his life.
         Two months ago that had suddenly all changed. She had left him for the day, telling him that she was heading to their island to prepare the bungalow for him later. But she had never arrived and the coastguard had confirmed a day later that the boat had succumbed to the ocean waves and she was lost.
         His heart had been torn out of his chest as he listened to the coastguard deliver their message. He even considered the option that they had enjoyed delivering the message, but better judgement told him that it was not true and their reporting feelings of condolences was in fact genuine. But that did not make his emotions any quieter, nor give him any sense of closure. They had, after all, not found her body and he had silently held onto the hope that she had, through some miracle, survived the accident. He had even started to believe that she was indeed still alive and day after day, he would catch himself staring blankly at the computer screen, seeing the moments he had shared with Karen. Each time he found himself in this place, the tears would start and he could not go on.
         Then it had changed when his phone text alarm sounded with the familiar "Forever yours" ringtone. Not believing his eyes, he had opened the message and the words almost shouted themselves out of the screen and into his mind. "I'm hre. Come 6pm 2nite."
         The sun was now blinding his eyes as it started to reach the horizon. But John was not looking at the sun. He continued to stare at the water, at the ocean surface. Slowly the image cleared and John fixed his gaze on it. He was suddenly fearful that if he blinked, he would lose it again and he forced his eyes to remain large and round as he tried to focus on what he was seeing. It slowly became clearer and he saw her smiling face, her honey coloured eyes, her auburn hair and the fair skin now glowing red from exposure to the sun.
         He did not hesitate as he lifted his left foot and placed it in the water ahead of his right foot. Step by step he moved towards the image of Karen. She was smiling at him, encouraging him forward to meet her. She did not move away, nor did she move closer, but just remained stationary in the water, lifting her hand and waving.
         As the water eventually closed in above John's head, John felt Karen wrap her arms round his body and hugging him tightly, drew him into her dark home.




770 words.