I thought I heard the old man say
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Tomorrow ye will get your pay
And it's time for us to leave her
The words of a sea shanty went round and round inside Ellis' head the next day. He was loading a creel with sea trout, freshly caught and gleaming wetly in the pale morning sunlight. The day held no trace of foul weather; the sky was a rare, clear blue, the air fresh and tangy with salt. Ellis squinted against the glare off the water and wiped his hands on his trousers. Ronan tugged on the handle of the creel as he tried to drag it up the strand toward the cottage.
"You're a strong lad but let Da help you with that." Ellis hefted the basket onto his hip and let the child lead the way back to the house. The little boy's hair shone bright and red as a cherry, and his tiny footprints on the wet rocks quickly disappeared under the lacy edge of the water. He was chattering about something but his voice was lost in the wind. A smile momentarily crinkled the corners of Ellis' eyes as he watched the boy play.
Around the back of the old croft house were barrels piled high with salt and fish hanging on cords from the low, thatched roof. A handful of outbuildings were arranged at irregular intervals to the right of the house. The long grass looked as though it was trying to slowly swallow the buildings, and wildflowers encroached on the remains of the dry-stack stone walls that had once divided the plot into sheep pastures. Father and son waded through the grass and dropped the creel at the back door of the cottage, where Ellis began to unpack the fish into empty barrels.
Ronan squinted at the cords where the fish hung, a line of consternation furrowing his brow. "One's missing, Da." He pointed to a cord that was frayed at one end.
"Maybe an each-uisge took it!" Ellis poked the child's belly, startling a giggle from him.
Ronan chewed on his bottom lip. "Or the water lady."
"What do you mean, the water lady?" Ellis asked as he put away the last of the fish.
"The lady who sings to me." Ronan said, just as cryptically. When Ellis again asked what he meant, the boy shrugged and ran into the cottage, his mind elsewhere.
YOU ARE READING
Bound to the Sea
Short StoryA fisherman loses his wife to the sea, until five years later when a strange twist of fate brings her back to him. Can two souls inextricably entwined balance a life together when the forces of fate are determined to divide them?
