The driftwood chandelier

Alicia loved beachcombing whether it was on the local beach near where she lived or on one of the more remote tropical beaches she visited while on holiday. The windowsill in her living room was filled with unusual objects and when the light captured them in the late afternoon the colors flickered and danced across the room. There were colored glass bottles, broken pieces of crockery, well washed by time, rounded into interesting soft shapes. A dried seahorse hung from a nylon string in the window and sea urchins and shells filled the bench beneath. She kept the treasures here, the garage was stacked with other things like beachballs, frisbees, thongs, large pieces of driftwood and a surfboard, battered by time and well used. She had found the surfboard on the beach laying half covered with sand and had put an advertisement in the local paper to find the owner, but nobody came forward. Alicia thought it must have washed up from one of the nearby beaches and when nobody answered her notice, she took it home. So, there it was on the garage wall, faded orange and yellow with a spray-painted image of a dolphin hardly visible now. Alicia had grown fond of it as it had been hanging on the wall for almost three years and she was secretly glad that nobody had claimed it. It brightened the place up and gave the old garage character.

The driftwood that was piled up in the corner, started to gather dust and insects and she knew she had to do something with it before it disintegrated into nothing. The thought of having a driftwood sculpture in the front of the garden came over her again and she carried the wood out to the lawn where she sorted out the pieces. It slowly began to fall into a shape as she lined the smaller ones in a vertical row building up to the bigger pieces and then back to the smaller again. Each piece was unique in its shape, and she decided not to cut any of them, just let nature take its own way. She drilled holes in the middle of each one and threaded the curtain string through them. As she pulled the cord tight, she could see the shape becoming alive and turning into a gigantic mobile. It was too heavy for her to lift so she would have to get Gwen, the neighbor, to help her carry it through the house and out to the front garden.

Gwen took a quick look around the house.

- Don’t you get sick of all these things laying around everywhere? I could not stand it. I’m fully into compact living now, where everything has its place.

Alicia looked back at her.

- No, I do not get sick of all the bits and bobs laying around here. I love them. Every single one has a story. Take the ukulele for example. I found that on a deserted beach at Cape Tribulation! It was slightly worse for wear after being battered around in the ocean for heaven knows how long. Not exactly a thing you would expect to find in a place like that is it?

They paused as they came through the hall and Gwen looked at the clothes rack made from tree branches.

- Yes, I found a piece of an old tree floating in the sea and took it home. I concreted the trunk into a bucket, painted it and there you have the perfect coat hanger! I’m proud of it if I may say so.

- But what will do you do with all of this when you can’t live here anymore. Let’s face it, we are not getting any younger.

It was true, Alicia had thought of it herself. The house needed looking after and there was always work to be done. She would be seventy next year and things were not exactly getting any easier.

- I’ll think about it when that day comes. Come on, let’s get this thing out there!

It was not long before they had hung the driftwood sculpture on one of the beams of the pagoda that gave shelter over the big table.

- Majestic! Alicia took a deep breath as she stepped back to admire her creation.

It really had fallen into shape very well and all the bits of wood pointed out in different directions following a pattern.

- It’s a driftwood chandelier! she said.

Even Gwen had to admit it looked exceptionally good hanging there over the table.

- Let’s celebrate and have a party under the chandelier! I’ll go home and get a bottle of bubbly and you get whatever you can find in your cupboard to nibble on!

It wasn’t long before the two ladies were sipping wine and eating cheese and olives under the chandelier and laughing at the thought of what the neighbors would say.

- As you know I don’t like bits and pieces laying around all over the place, but this is amazing, and it works! Cheers to you my special neighbor!

Gwen raised her glass and Alicia felt proud of what she had achieved.

A couple of days later she could hear a man’s voice calling out as she was sweeping the leaves from under the tree out the front.

- Hey, what’s going on?

She turned to see a man with a dog approaching her from the other side of the road. He was dressed like an old hippie, pants with suns and moons on them and a vest with mirrors all over it that caught the sunlight.

- So, it’s you that’s stealing all the driftwood!

He nodded at the chandelier as he stroked back the long blond hair falling over his eyes.

- My dog is not happy! We can’t find a stick on the beach to throw anymore! Now I know why!

Alicia laughed and moved closer. She leaned on the rake as she watched the man and his dog.

- Sorry about that. I’ve got more sticks in the shed if your dog wants one to play with.

The man laughed and shook his head.

- I’m just kidding. It looks great. He nodded at the chandelier. Wouldn’t mind one myself. Did you make it?

- Yes, I have been collecting driftwood for a while now, oh and a lot of other things from the beach and I finally got to make something out of it. It’s not that hard really. All you need is string and patience.

- Well, I think I would have trouble finding that much driftwood. There is nothing down there anymore. But I am serious, I would like one of those whatever you call it.

- It’s a driftwood chandelier. Alicia laughed.

- I’m glad you like it and as I said I have plenty of wood in the shed and am happy to share it with you if you would like to have one.

The man looked at her and nodded.

- Thank you, I would like that. I’m Aron by the way.

She shook his hand.

- Alicia.

- Oh, and this is Zena.

Alicia patted the dog as it came closer.

- Is she a kelpie?

-Yes, kelpie red healer cross, and maybe a little bit of dingo in her as well, he laughed.

- She is beautiful!

The dog was greeting her like an old friend, wagging its tail and trying to lick her face as she bent down.

- I love dogs!

- Have you got one yourself?

- No, not anymore. My old dog died, and I like travelling so I never got a new dog.

- Wow, that’s a bit of a lame excuse. I travel all the time, and she comes with me. I could not live without her.

- Come, I will show you the wood. Don’t mind the mess though.

Aron followed her across the lawn towards the shed.

- Nice place you’ve got here. I used to live down the road a bit, but a few years ago the council decided to build flats there and I had to sell up and move. So, I moved to the hills, but I miss the sea. And she does too.

He stopped and patted the dog.

- We come down here sometimes. Especially for the sunsets. It’s nice and quiet in the hills but nothing beats the sunsets over the ocean.

- Yes, I love the beach to. I could not imagine living anywhere else but near the sea. I don’t want to move; they will have to carry me out!

Aron laughed.

- Yes, you and the driftwood!

Alicia watched him as she opened the door to the garage. His blue eyes starred at all the things that were strewn about everywhere, and he drew breath before he spoke.

- Man, this is crazy! Is this what you have collected on the beach?

- Yes, I find something all the time. I’m always on the beach and as you would know it can be a real treasure hunt, especially after a storm.

He looked around and his eyes went to the surfboard on the wall.

- I was just telling my neighbor the other day about the ukulele that I found washed up on a beach in Cape Tribulation. You would not expect….

He interrupted her.

- Where did you find that?

Aron nodded at the surfboard and his blue eyes lit up.

- Oh, on the beach down here. It was half buried in the sand, and I put an ad in the paper, but nobody claimed it, so it ended up here.

- When was that? Aron sounded exited.

- About three years ago, I guess. Sometimes I lose track of time, but it must have been about then.

- That is amazing!

- Yes, I like it too. It suits the wall don’t you think?

- No, no…that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean it’s amazing you found it! It’s mine!

Alicia starred at him.

- What? It’s yours?

- Yes, I used to surf further down the coast. I had the board stuck up on the veranda and one morning it was gone. Someone had been there during the night. I looked around on the beach and the neighborhood thinking I would find it, but I never did. I thought it might be the kids in the local area taking it out for a free ride.

Alicia took a seat on one of the old milk cartons and signaled Aron to do the same. He looked at her with a big grin on his face.

- I never thought I would see my old buddy again! This is a surprise!

He looked at the dish in front of them with a few cigarette buts in it.

- Is it okey if I smoke?

- Sure, I used to be a smoker myself.

Alicia moved the dish closer to him.

- I shouldn’t smoke, he said as he pulled out an old, wrinkled packet of Port Royal Tobacco from his vest pocket. I gave it up for some time when I had cancer. But now I don’t care anymore.

He grinned at her, and she noticed for the first time he had a beautiful smile. The dog came in and laid down by his feet.

- Are you…, she began.

- Yes, I’m okey now.

He looked at the dog.

- I could not do without her. She gets me up in the morning and she tells me when to go to bed. She is ready for her meal at five and stares at me until I eat. She is like a live-in carer.

He rolled a cigarette and licked the paper.

- Can’t believe the old board is sitting right there!

Alicia shrugged her shoulders.

- Well, it’s yours. You might as well take it with you, it would not feel right to keep it now.

- No, it’s okey. You keep it. Finders’ keepers or whatever they say. I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway. I don’t surf anymore, and my place is filled with junk. You should see it; you wouldn’t believe it. I could open up a junkshop, he added laughingly.

- Perhaps that’s what I should do! It might be better than moping around all day.

Alicia looked at him. It was like she knew him. He was easy to talk to and he seemed honest and down to earth. She liked him.

- Well, it’s getting near five now, she said with a smile. Zena must be getting hungry and if you are not in a hurry, I could cook up something simple and we could have dinner under the chandelier. That’s if you would like to?

She almost felt embarrassed. It was not as if she was used to inviting strangers into her home for dinner, but he didn’t seem like a stranger, besides, she felt she owed him something for that surfboard.

- Sounds great! Thank you, I’d love to, that is kind of you.

- Are you hungry?

- No, he laughed, but I’ll get there.

- Good! Come inside, make yourself comfortable. You don’t need to sit out here on this old milk carton.

Aron followed her into the house, and she pointed at the sofa in the corner. He pushed the cushions aside and as he sat down, he noticed the colors dancing across the window. The glass bottles caught the afternoon light and the seahorse moved ever so slightly. This was a peaceful home, he thought as the smell of fried onion reached him from the kitchen.

- I always have a bottle of wine on hand, you just never know.

She opened the bottle and poured the red liquid into the crystal glasses on the table and served up the dinner and a salad. Spaghetti bolognaises. Zena had her own bowl of spaghetti and Alicia laughed as she slurped it up.

- It reminds me of Lady and the Tramp, the Disney movie where the Tramp takes the Lady out to dinner, and they eat spaghetti. I used to love watching that as a child.

They talked and laughed, and Aron invited her to come and look at his “treasures” up in the hills. It seemed they both shared a common interest in junk. The late afternoon turned into early evening as the light from the candle danced on the driftwood making it come alive. Aron was in no hurry. He had planned to stay the night in his van down by the sea and it was only a short walk away.

- Hey, let’s go down and watch the sunset, he said. I haven’t done that for a long time, and who knows what we might find washed up on the sand. What do you say?

- I can pick up the driftwood in the morning and perhaps you can show me how you made it?

Alicia smiled to herself. Time and troubles had left her, and she felt lighter and somehow happier than what she had been for a long time.

- Cheers to that and to finding some treasure on the beach!

He laughed and raised his glass.

- Yea, here’s is to driftwood!