Pt. 4: The Flame and the Pillar

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Still the villagers guarded the ship. And still the sailors found a way onto it and out of the bay. Still the dream came and Arabeth climbed the bluff and stood on the beach with the mirror, her thoughts fixated on Rob's dark eyes and the comfort of his touch as he held her to him. Still the men returned, after a week this time of Arabeth's faithful seaside vigil.

As soon as the men reached the shore, Sariah and Kale set their ship ablaze. The fire lit the night and smoldered until the last of its hull had collapsed into the shallows. Eighteen sailors stood upon the sand and wept.

The next night, Arabeth held her dear Rob in her arms, stroked his sandy blond hair, and soothed him as best she could. "You've come back because of love. You belong here because you are so loved."

Rob sighed deeply. "Those we love most in the world die no matter how much we love them. This is always the case. There are powers beyond the sea and the sand."

Arabeth didn't say anything for a while. It was impossible for her to conceive of anything beyond the sea, beyond the sand. Still, she knew of something that transcended all else. "Isn't love a power beyond anything?"

"Yes!" He became more animated than she'd seen him since her first shipwreck dream. Turning, he propped himself up on the bed and kissed her, then cupped his palms to her cheeks. "Love. Do you see? Do you understand?"

He kissed her again, kissed the tears streaming down her cheeks, kissed her forehead as she fell asleep.

In the morning, she walked him to the shore.

#

The villagers couldn't understand how the boat had reformed itself from the ashes. Perhaps if they had thought about what other states it had rebuilt itself from, if they had thought about it being pulled from the ocean floor in pieces and put back together as though it was brand new, they wouldn't have insisted its resurrection from flame and ash such a stretch of the imagination. But in their heartbreak, they were dumbstruck.

Arabeth waited for the dream to come and once it had, she climbed to the highest bluff and looked out onto the tempestuous sea. She set her feet upon the stony ground and there she stayed, waiting for an answer, for some direction to come to her so that she would know what she must do, what she must say to make everything right. The villagers came to her day after day. Cocooned in their woolen layers, they begged her to go to the beach.

Why did she need this guidance she was seeking? Why not do as she had always done? Their men were waiting for her, growing cold in the ocean's depths. What selfishness kept her from doing what only she could do to spare them all? Only Sariah stayed quiet, and Kale too, her brother's pleas for a longer death having haunted her through many sleepless nights.

Arabeth remained on the bluff ten days, until the new moon had opened its eye to peek at the world from beneath its silvery lid. It told her what she already knew: she was wasting her time waiting for a sign from beyond the ocean that would never come. She already had her sign; her dear Rob had given it to her.

My life is at sea, but my love is with you.

Much to the villagers' relief, she made her way down to the beach, mirror in hand. The ground unexpectedly warm between her toes, she placed the mirror to her side and began building up a mound of sand. Soon, Kale joined her, and then Sariah and Brynn. The others watched, hoping this change in ritual was for the best, hoping that Arabeth knew what could not possibly be known.

They built a pillar almost as tall as Arabeth herself, then placed the mirror on top of it. No longer would she turn it to the sea beyond Agate Island. No more would she chant the words to return the dead to those who loved them.

The villagers reacted with merciful calm. They circled the pillar, tears wetting the sand. A few would blame Arabeth for many years to come, but for most, this was the moment when grief bonded with acceptance.

They placed rocks, one for each sailor, at the pillar's base. Eventually, the wind and the waves would erode it and the mirror would be cast upon the sand or be brought out to float away upon the tide. Until then, when the sun reached its highest point each day, the mirror would reflect its brilliance back into the sky, and Arabeth would think of her love, knowing he was lost to her forever and yet would never be lost again.

 Until then, when the sun reached its highest point each day, the mirror would reflect its brilliance back into the sky, and Arabeth would think of her love, knowing he was lost to her forever and yet would never be lost again

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Author's note: Thank you for reading THE SEA AND THE SAND. I hope you found Arabeth's story intriguing. Please see my profile page for more stories and a link to my newsletter. I'm not always able to reply to comments, but if you pm me, I will try to reply!

Also, don't forget to...

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