The Ring

Part 12

Frederick seemed older now and his hair had grayed, although he still stood straight and proud as he did when he was younger. He would go to visit the little beach regularly and just walk with his feet being caressed by the waves as they shuffled ashore, and the breeze whispering in his ears. There he would talk to Dominique and tell her about his life without her and how he missed her and would never forget her. But it seemed that Dominique would talk back to him, as a whispering wind or the sound of the waves, gently reminding him of his promise. Frederick would look longingly out to sea and sometimes a tear would roll down his eye. He could still feel her presence and when he looked out to sea, as the light faded from the sky and the first stars appeared, then he thought he could almost reach her somewhere out there, and that's when her call became almost unbearable.

Frederick, no longer lived in the manor house, but now lived a simple existence in the old cottage, where Dominique and her father had lived so long ago. There he had solitude and the time and space to write his story. Sitting behind a little writing desk, Frederick was engrossed in placing his thoughts into words. He had already filled a number of books but was nearing the end. He wrote of how he now felt that he had discharged his responsibility to his father and his estate and that left one last promise to be fulfilled. He finally wrote that he was going to keep a promise that he had given long ago.

With those words, Frederick closed the book and placed it with the other books. He stood up and took the books and placed them in a space in the wall next to the fireplace and then placed a wooden panel in front so that it looked no different from the rest of the wall. Then he turned and left the cottage. It was late afternoon, the time he would normally go to the little beach to be with Dominique. The sun was already quite low and the sky was filling with the rich colours of the sunset that painted the land in gold and filled the sky with fire.