Standing on the hotel balcony, Carrie takes a deep breath of warm, morning, ocean air. She runs her thin fingers, through her long and dark hair. She throws her traveling sweater on the ground, as she moves closer to the safety rail. She closes her eyes and takes another deep breath of the ocean air. She opens her eyes and observe, the blue waves soaring toward the shoreline in a uneven fashion, melting into the mushy sand. "This is not unusual for the this time of year", she thought.
Anticipation grows as, Carrie changes from her Sunday clothes to her everyday clothes, and heads for the ocean edge. She brings out her notebook and writes about, the walking and running of many vacationing feet, leaving the sand a sunken mixture.By day the water is aroused, inviting all swimmers to become free, for children to be children and thinkers staring into the water for hours. Carrie thinks, "How boats and fish use the water for personal use and satisfaction.
Carrie, tired of being observant and creative, starts back to the hotel. Slowly walking through the doors of the of the small hotel, she gets a headache. She goes to the room, and orders pancakes, eggs and a diet coke. Room service brings her order, and she tips the man five dollars. She goes to her purse and takes out her nerve medication. She quickly takes a pill and swallows some diet coke then kicks off her shoes and lies across the bed.
Closing her eyes, Carrie thinks about her mother, Anna. She remembers, how Anna taught her how to swim. The fun they had playing in the soothing water. Anna was a healthy, strong and good natured woman, who believed water was the center of all things that are good. She drank ten glasses of water a day, and kept her body trim. Anna loved to water ski and to fish.
Carrie began to cry, as her body rolls in a fetal position. She thinks "WHY! WHY! WHY! Anna? How could my mother, who struggled with my growings, who cared for me when Dad left us, worked as a nurse, where she saved plenty of lives, die as a victim of circumstance". Anna drowned in a freak boating accident, where she was trapped under the hull for days. Just last week, her body was found floating face down in the ocean.
Robert, Anna's husband of four years, explained what happen. He pleaded, that since Anna loved water, spent most of her life in water, died in water, should be buried in water. Robert had her body cremated. Carrie did not want her mother's body cremated, and had a hard time dealing with this news all week.
Now the day is here. The day Carrie has dreaded all of her life. The day her beloved mother is put to rest. Carrie reluctantly gets off the bed, and steps into the shower. She turns on the water, and her pain grows with each drop. She cannot take the pain any longer. Her fist start to pound on the wall, as she stands there silently crying. With internal hurt, she damned the water. The water had become her enemy and her foe. It had become nothing good to man.
Carrie ran out of the shower and fell to the floor with her naked flesh dripping natured water. The warm mid morning air coming through the opened window,made look at the clock, on the nightstand. She noticed it was eleven o'clock a.m.. Time is ticking very fast, and Carrie knew the car would be here soon. She knew Robert was going to be in the car. This made her ready for a fight. She was tired of fighting with herself. She wanted answerers.
The long, black car pulls up to the small hotel ,as she is waiting, wearing a smart black dress, black stockings and black shoes. Her long hair is up in a french roll, and her bangs are evenly cut.Carrie gets into the car, and her eyes meet Robert's. She sees he is still under a lot of stress, so she remains silent. Robert is much younger than Anna and looked extremely handsome in his black suit. Ann loved him with all of her heart.
Carrie and Robert greeted one another, but hardly said a word .As they arrived at the pier, and walked on the boat, the priest greets them with Ann's ashes and the boat set sail. A prayer was said, as Anna's were set free, by Robert. Both Carrie and Robert began to cry. They held each other with care and understanding.
Robert came back to the small hotel with Carrie. Taking off her glasses Carrie says,"Robert, I hate what you did with her body. She was a human being made of flesh and blood. How could you have her burned?. Robert insist, "That is what she wanted. She belongs to the water now. Accept this and get on with your life".
Carrie sitting down cries, "The water, Robert, how do I get over hating water? I know I cannot live without the love or use of water. Robert , help me". Robert walks over to her and bends down on one knee. He takes her small hand and say's "I love you, I have always loved you.I know you still love me, or you would not have left town. I wanted for Anna to be happy, and now she is gone. I know we can be happy together". She smiles with love in her brown eyes, and tears of revelation. Her heart was filled with joy because of a brighter outlook on life. HAPPINESS
The sun makes a peaceful picture on the ocean when it sets. The ocean is resting, but it is not sleep, for it never sleeps.