She Still Yearns

It was a cold and cloudy October evening, just before the last bit of daylight was gone. In her sheer ivory colored gown she sat upon the high cliff at the edge of the sea and watched the waves crash against the boulders below. The sound of the moving water and the all-encompassing ocean breeze lulled her into a trance. She raised her head and shifted her gaze to the horizon, remembering him.

This time she had been sure he was the one, her true match. She had given her all, heart and soul, yet a union between them would never be. She had soared with him like two seagulls on the wind, but their euphoria had been brief. Their hopes, their dreams, their plans…all gone. She couldn’t understand why she wasn’t enough for him, and why she never would be enough, no matter who she gave her heart to. It became too much for her to bear, to still love a man who would never come for her.

She rose on her bare feet, her gown billowing behind her as the strong sea breeze buffeted her body and soul. She seemed unaffected by the cold as she stretched her arms upward and appealed to the heavens, asking for healing to mend her broken heart. Her eyes closed as she braced herself against the onslaught of the wind and the ocean mist that had started dampening the delicate fabric of her gown.

Suddenly something inside her snapped, and she lowered her arms. She walked to the very edge of the cliff as if beckoned. Then she turned her back to the sea and her filmy dress embraced her from behind, blowing about her torso and face. Without hesitation she leaned back and let herself free fall over the cliff’s edge, screaming her lover’s name just before she met the boulders below, her lifeless body mangled upon the cold rocks. The waves of the tide quickly took her body out to sea, never to be recovered.

Many years have passed since the lady ended her life. It is said if you walk that cliff on mid October evenings a woman’s voice can be heard, a high pitched wail calling for her lover. Even in death, she still yearns.