A Figment of Imagination, A Coincidence or Stark Reality?

Prompt: A character finds a clue or object linking them to a stranger.

A Figment of Imagination, A Coincidence or Stark Reality?

As the sun descends below the horizon, I find it to be the ideal time to take casual strolls along the beach front near my home. I would say it is not the most pristine of beaches covered in a mixture of sand, gravel, rocks, and high cliffs; nonetheless, looking out over the still ocean waters with the glowing horizon affords me much solitude and comfort as a writer. Rarely is there anyone walking the shoreline at this time of day. I might catch a glimpse of a sailboat off in the distance seemingly motionless and empty of occupants.

Today would be different from my usual walk. For starters, I lost my serene focus because a westerly wind swept on shore bringing a variety of smells and sensations. My nose was irritated by a whiff of a salty mist followed by an acrid, rotting odor. The pungency of the combination was powerful like that of smelling salts, but far more unpleasant. That initial burst in my nostrils induced a momentary hallucinogenic vision. Then an icy wind came ashore causing me to shiver. Any illusory effect from the smell seemed to quickly dissipate, but my head was still reeling from the odor.  My vision was a bit blurry and my head lightly throbbed. Momentarily I saw a silhouette of a woman standing near a rocky precipice. Her hair was moving as though being tossed by the wind. But there was no longer any wind.  It appeared that her head was looking toward the rocks where I was standing. I shook my head to remove my brain fog and the woman was gone. Was it an apparition or the result of my brain fog? 

Despite this annoyance, I continued on my walk. I felt I needed to erase the momentary disruption caused by putrefying sea debris. So I directed my focus to the rugged shoreline hoping to catch my dinner of a few crabs scrambling back into the sea. That prospect faded away once I saw a glimmering light catch my eye. I had to investigate. My hunger pangs quickly faded away as I began my quest to find the source of the light.

It took a bit of effort to locate the mysterious light. Carefully removing a few stones, I discovered the shimmering object wedged in a crevice of larger rocks. I was surprised to see it was metallic and quite small. I carefully pried it loose.  Oh, my goodness, I thought to myself. It was a gold locket on a gold chain! The sun reflecting off the locket was blinding. It seemed as if I was meant to find this. I pinched myself to make sure it was not a hallucination I was experiencing. Miniature roses were etched on the front of the locket. Painstakingly, I opened the tiny clasp. There were no pictures inside but there were inscriptions almost illegible to read. The sun had nearly disappeared below the horizon  Darkness would soon fall. I decided to head back to the beach cabin to investigate my finding in closer detail.

Once inside, I felt incredibly fatigued, collapsing on the sofa bed. I had not walked the distance that I normally do. I suspect it must have been a combination of the cold ocean breeze, the noxious smelling odors, and the perplexing vision of the woman.  My eyelids were heavy and I fell into a deep but restless sleep. I awoke an hour later with aching legs. They felt more like I had been running quite some distance. Then I recalled in my dream I was chasing after the figure of the woman. That thought prompted me to remember the locket I had put in my pocket.

I again opened it, but the writing was still too small for me to read so I grabbed my reading glasses off the desk. The inscription simply said “enduring love” followed by the letters PS126 within the shape of a heart.  I noticed on the inside cover of the locket it bore these words: “Emma Elizabeth you are never alone. Papa.” My pulse raced; my imagination conjured up an explanation.  Was there a connection between the image I saw today and this locket? Was that silhouette actually Emma calling out from the grave? Did she want me to find this? Maybe Emma is still alive, I thought. Or was it the musings of a lonely romanticist yearning for my one true love; my soulmate?  Had my many years of seclusion as a writer summoned the vision of the woman this afternoon? Yet in my hand I held a locket. One time it had been a part of Emma Elizabeth’s reality.

The beach cabin I had been staying in was my uncle’s residence until I had inherited it after his passing.  I decided to make it my permanent home to take advantage of the seclusion in hope of furthering my writing career. The house was on a secluded beach front several miles outside a quiet fishing village along the coast. I rarely went into town except for occasional food and essential provisions because it was quite a hike through rocky terrain and outlying cliffs. Now the finding of Emma’s locket changed everything. I became obsessed at finding out who Emma was or possibly is. I had never met Emma, but deep down I felt a strong connection to her. It was an overpowering desire to know her and hopefully meet her.

I think my restless legs that evening was an indication of my future trek into the village and the achiness I would feel afterwards.  The next day I ventured out to the village passing a few homes along the way. I did not want to leave any shred of evidence overlooked of finding Emma. The outlying homes failed to yield any information. No one had heard of a woman named Emma Elizabeth. Once I would reach the village, I would begin at one end and continue on to the other with the fervent hope someone would know something about her. How quickly I had forgotten the village had only two or three shops and one diner. No one knew a woman by that name. Alas, I was deeply disappointed!   There was still a feeling of utmost urgency to find her. 

It was mid-afternoon when I finished canvasing the last of the shops. I decided to head down to the wharf. I met up with an old fisherman who was closing up his tacklebox for the day. He looked at me saying “I ain’t got no fish to sell today. Just not a good day to fish. Sun’s too bright. They all went into deeper waters.” I said to the old man, “I’m not here for fish. I am looking for a woman.” He looked back at me with a toothless smile, “Ain’t we all young fella, but I’d say you got a better chance of hooking a live one better than me.” We both chuckled at his attempt at humor. I replied “Her name was Emma Elizabeth. Do you know of anyone by that name that lived here at one time?”  The old man thought for a moment. He perked up saying, “Ahh, no, not by that name.” There was silence.  Then he blurted out, “oh maybe you’re looking for the Candy Lady!? Everyone back then knew her as Sweet Lizzie! Her papa owned a candy store at the other end of town. He also was he town’s vicar, always praying and asking if you knew about Jesus. He made a lot of people feel special. Now Lizzie, she’d make everyone smile. Giving candy just to make people smile. Of course, it may have cost me a few teeth.” He flashed his toothless smile at me again. I replied, “But I passed the candy shop and it was all boarded up!” The old fisherman then took a deep breath a moment before he spoke. “Yeah, I forgot. After her papa died, Lizzie closed up the shop.” I pleaded, “Where is she now? Is she still alive? Did she own a locket?” With a little irritation the old man said, “You ask too many questions! All I know is her and her papa had a cottage further up the cliff. I haven’t seen her since her papa died. Now I gotta go and look for my dinner somewhere else because it ain’t coming from this doggone sassy sea today.” I profusely thanked the old man watching him lumber off the wharf in search of his dinner.  The sun dipped below the horizon.  I knew I would get lost if I did not head straight back to the cottage.

As expected, when I got home I was utterly exhausted collapsing on the sofa bed. My slumber did not last long as I could not keep my thoughts in check about searching for Emma. I was up most of the night pacing the floor. Morning came too quickly; weariness wracked my body. But I was determined to find her today. As I was gathering up my things to leave, a thought occurred to me concerning what the old man said. Emma’s papa was a vicar, a godly man. I looked at the locket noting again after the inscription “enduring love” was PS126. Was her papa referencing the book of Psalms? Psalm 126? I had to check out my hunch so I grabbed my bible opening it to Psalm 126. It read:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

 Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

to Him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

 who by His understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

 who made the great lights—

His love endures forever.

 the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

 the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever…

He remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies.

His love endures forever.

 He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever. ( Ps126: 1-9, 23-26, NIV)

It had to be psalm 126. Her papa was reminding Emma of God’s love always and forever. God would never forsake her even after he was no longer there for her. She would never be alone.  I wanted so much for that to be the case if I should find her. I felt a deep yearning for her, although I had never met her or seen her. I could not explain why but I felt Emma Elizabeth was my soulmate. 

I set out to find Emma by returning to the cliff where I had seen the image of the woman. Further from the edge of the cliff was a dense grove of trees. I thought I would investigate it to see if there was anything there. To my dismay, the brush and vines were thick, thorny, and obstructive. Eventually, with great effort, I peered into a clearing. From the grove’s edge, I stood in awe.  I was amazed to find a cottage surrounded by verdant vegetable gardens and beautiful blooming flowers of all kinds. The cottage seemed new. The front door was colored in a rainbow of colors and adorned by a festive wreath. The windows were covered with lacy curtains. The scene looked magical, like a story moment from Alice in Wonderland.

Hesitantly, I approached the door. Before I finished knocking, the door opened. Her eyes met mine. I fumbled with the locket as I handed it to her. She grasped the locket and my hand saying “I’ve waited for you, but I did not know how to share my heart with you. I had seen you twice in the village a long time ago but was weary you would not share the same feelings as I did when I saw you. I felt you would think it odd that a strange woman would feel so enamored to a strange man she never met.  Feeling lost and so deeply sad, I was going to hurl myself down the cliff. But I saw you the other day and the Lord answered my prayer. I knew you would find my cottage and most certainly you would find my heart in the locket.”

Enduring love from God who knew that Emma Elizabeth and I needed to be together.

NIV= New International Version

Author: Pete Gautchier

Acknowledgement: Reedsy Prompts