Return to Paradise
Lisa gazed out over the Caribbean Sea,
feeling the faint breeze against her face - eyes shut, the white sand
warm between her bare toes. The place was beautiful beyond belief, but
it was still unable to ease the grief she felt as she remembered the
last time she had been here.
She had married James
right here on this spot three years ago to the day. Dressed in a simple
white shift dress, miniature white roses attempting to tame her long
dark curls, Lisa had been happier than she had ever thought possible.
James was even less formal but utterly irresistible in creased summer
trousers and a loose white cotton shirt. His dark hair slightly ruffled
and his eyes full of adoration as his looked at his bride to be. The
justice of the peace had read their vows as they held hands and laughed
at the sheer joy of being young, in love and staying in a five star
resort on the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic. They had seen
the years blissfully stretching ahead of them, together forever. They
planned their children, two she said, he said four so they compromised
on three (two girls and a boy of course); where they would live, the
travelling they would do together - it was all certain, so they had
thought then.
But that seemed such a long time ago
now. A lot can change in just a few years - a lot of heartache can
change a person and drive a wedge through the strongest ties, break even
the deepest love. Three years to the day and they had returned, though
this time not for the beachside marriages the island was famous for but
for one of its equally popular quickie divorces.
Lisa
let out a sigh that was filled with pain and regret. What could she do
but move on, find a new life and new dreams? - the old one was beyond
repair. How could this beautiful place, with its lush green coastline,
eternity of azure blue sea and endless sands be a place for the agony
she felt now?
The man stood watching from the edge of
the palm trees. He couldn't take his eyes of the dark-haired woman he
saw standing at the water's edge, gazing out to sea as though she was
waiting for something - or someone. She was beautiful, with her slim
figure dressed in a loose flowing cotton dress, her crazy hair and
bright blue eyes not far off the colour of the sea itself. It wasn't her
looks that attracted him though; he came across many beautiful women in
his work as a freelance photographer. It was her loneliness and
intensity that lured him. Even at some distance he was aware that she
was different from any other woman he could meet.
Lisa sensed the man
approaching even before she turned around. She had been aware of him
standing there staring at her and had felt strangely calm about being
observed. She looked at him and felt the instant spark of connection she
had only experienced once before. He walked slowly towards her and they
held each other's gaze. It felt like meeting a long lost friend - not a
stranger on a strange beach.
Later, sitting at one
of the many bars on the resort, sipping the local cocktails they began
to talk. First pleasantries, their hotels, the quality of the food and
friendliness of the locals. Their conversation was strangely hesitant
considering the naturalness and confidence of their earlier meeting.
Onlookers, however, would have detected the subtle flirtation as they
mirrored each other's actions and spoke directly into each other's eyes.
Only later, after the alcohol had had its loosening effect, did the
conversation deepen. They talked of why they were here and finally,
against her judgement, Lisa opened up about her heartache of the past
year and how events had led her back to the place where she had married
the only man she believed she could ever love. She told him of things
that had been locked deep inside her, able to tell no one. She told him
how she had felt after she had lost her baby.
She was
six months pregnant and the happiest she had ever been when the pains
had started. She was staying with her mother as James was working out of
town. He hadn't made it back in time. The doctor had said it was just
one of those things, that they could try again. But how could she when
she couldn't even look James in the eye. She hated him then, for not
being there, for not hurting as much as her but most of all for looking
so much like the tiny baby boy that she held for just three hours before
the took him away. All through the following months she had withdrawn
from her husband, family, friends. Not wanting to recover form the pain
she felt - that would have been a betrayal of her son. At the funeral
she had refused to stand next to her husband and the next day she had
left him.
Looking up, Lisa could see her
pain reflected in the man's eyes. For the first time in months she
didn't feel alone, she felt the unbearable burden begin to lift from
her, only a bit but it was a start. She began to believe that maybe she
had a future after all and maybe it could be with this man, with his
kind hazel eyes, wet with their shared tears.
They
had come here to dissolve their marriage but maybe there was hope. Lisa
stood up and took James by the hand and led him away from the bar
towards the beech where they had made their vows to each other three
years ago. Tomorrow she would cancel the divorce; tonight they would
work on renewing their promises.
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