The Golden Anniversary

Catherine watched the setting sun as it touched the horizon, casting a scarlet reflection across the calm, azure sea. She leaned further into Joe’s arms, allowing herself to melt into their warmth and security. As they sat there, Catherine’s thought of the last fifty years, and how so much time had passed, in what now felt like little more than the blink of an eye. It seemed like only yesterday that they were sitting on this very same beach, exactly as they were now, enjoying the last day of their honeymoon.

It had been a brief, passionate courtship, and they married young (much to the displeasure of both their families). But it was the kind of enduring love that few people ever find, and they knew it was meant to be, even before the moment where they each said, “I do”.

She closed her eyes and savored the feeling of being near the one person in the world who made her feel complete.

But when her eyes opened again, Joe was gone... just as he had been, all these years.

Though her lifetime had been filled with as much laughter as tears, she had never been able to bring herself to love another – or even search for another – for no other could replace her dear husband... taken from her by this very sea on that last day of their honeymoon.

Catherine slowly rose to her feet, looking out at the sunset one last time as the sun slipped beneath the horizon. Another year, come and gone... another three hundred and sixty-five days until she would be with him again. She wiped away a stray tear that had run down her cheek.

“Goodbye for now, my love. Happy Anniversary.”


(290 words)