Promise

It’s been forty years since my last visit in Montauk. The memories of the countless summers I’ve spent here as a young maiden still fresh in my mind. The beach still looked just as how I remembered it. I thought as I threaded my way to the shore in barefoot, the sand tickling the skin beneath my feet, the wind timidly brushing the trees nearby carrying the fresh salty scent of the cool blue ocean.

Oh, how I loved this place especially the sea. I always did have a deep bond with it since this is the place were I shared all my sweet moments with him―my first love. I could still remember that day and I’ve been playing it over and back in my mind clearly throughout my old years as if it were only yesterday.

I was twenty four back then spending my summer alone in Montauk that seemed to have become an annual event for me, and staying in the same dusty cabin near the shore, hidden underneath the shade of tall coconut trees. It was almost sunset when I decided to take a little walk in the beach and then I saw him. He was sitting in the sand, watching with amusement at the dolphins swimming through the sea. I got curious, for in all the times I’ve spent in this beach I almost knew everyone living closely by the shore or the people, who just like me, spend their yearly vacation in the resort and I knew just by that, he was new.

“Doesn’t the beach look beautiful today?”He said in a sturdy firm voice yet soft and tender almost like a whisper. But I was too taken by surprise at that moment that I couldn’t find the words to answer him.

“Oh, sorry did I scare you?”He added a tone of concern in his voice.

“N-no, not really. A-are you new here?”I stammered. He turned around to look at me straight in the eyes and I was stricken in awe at his physical features―the fine strong build of his body, the perfectly tanned skin which would almost put any white teen to envy, cute untidy jet-black hair and most of all his striking sea-green eyes that gleam like of a mischievous child’s, yet the intensity of his gaze gave me the feeling that he could see through me and into my soul. He had this overwhelming presence around him―a silent powerful aura of a mighty leader but his smile…his sweet heartwarming smile would tell you otherwise.

“Yes. I guess you could say that.”He said, grinning. “W-would you want to join me? It is rather lonely to sit here alone.”He smiled sheepishly reaching out his hand as an invitation. I don’t know why but I immediately warmed up to him it was as if he was a friend from the past.

 “Sure, why not?”I said taking a hold of his outreached hand, plopping myself in the sand next to him. “My name’s Wendy by the way. Wendy Collins.”I waited in bathed breath for him to tell me his name but instead he just smiled at me and said, “What a beautiful name for a sweet maiden.”I blushed, feeling heat climb up to my cheeks.

“Well, that was cheesy.”I teased which he returned with a fond chuckle.

For hours, we did nothing but talk and laugh, and watch the sun’s descent into the sea. It wasn’t until nightfall when he told me that it was getting late and I should go back to my cabin that I had the sense to leave.

“Will we meet again?”I asked anxiously.

“Whenever you want.”He nodded, waving me goodbye. For a second, I thought that his answer was a little odd. It was as if he was implying that whenever I want to see him, he will come but then again he might be staying somewhere close by and then it hit me―he hasn’t told me his name yet. Then everything suddenly went foggy slowly turning into an absolute blur almost like of a…dream? Yes! W-wait, a dream..?

***

The next morning, I woke up confused and slightly dazed but mostly I was shocked to find myself in bed and wet from ocean water, its salty scent strongly cramming its way up my nostrils. I touched my sopping wet hair and found tiny bits of white sand sticking into every strand. I didn’t even know how I got into bed or if I had supper but I was surprised to find dirty dishes from last night waiting for me in the sink to wash. I tried so hard to recall what happened that night but all that came into my mind was him―his smile, the way he made me feel and in some unexplainable way it put my panicking heart to a rest.