Scenery of Diamonds

Scenery of Diamonds

“Sometimes I don’t know what I’m looking for, but when I found it, I knew I did. I can’t name it, describe it or take it away with me to hold it forever, but sometimes I can return, and treasure it again.”

People haven’t been shaped for me, nor am I shaped to fit among them. Many, however, are trying to reshape me, to make me fit in. Though their intentions are good, the pressure is sometimes hard to endure.

Sometimes I desire to be alone. Far away from everybody and far away from this world. It is possible to find a place where you can stand for an hour, looking carefully, and seeing really no-one, but you have to take your time and travel. I sometimes long for those places and take the time to reach them. Just like today, I went far away…

I smell the sea. This is my most beloved place, and it’s not the first time that I’m here. From the moment I was a child, I came here, when I managed to escape the stifling hands of my parents. Those moments were rare, but I treasure them. The moments of utter loneliness fed my mind, as they do today.

I love the sea. Her unimaginable vastness, the beauty in her emptiness, the calming murmur of her voice, it is somehow truly fascinating. I sit down, leaning against a cliff and stare. Slowly, my mind is emptied and nothing remains…

“You love this sight, don’t you?” I hear somebody saying. It annoys me that, of all places, somebody seems to have found me here, where I enjoyed my loneliness. Curiously, I look in the direction where the words came from. A handsome man has approached me, but fascinated by the magnificent sight I haven’t heard him coming. He is tall, not exceptionally broadly built but definitely not lanky either. He wears black, old-fashioned boots. His pants are black too, and he wears a white blouse. His long black hairs are tied together. He wears no coat, and I wonder if he doesn’t get cold. He smiles at me. “You can see the intense satisfaction in your eyes”, he says. “It’s a beautiful sight, which nearly surpasses the beauty of the sea. It seems that we are here for the same reasons, aren’t we? Weren’t you enjoying your loneliness, such as I did, and were you not staring at the sea?”. “I was”, I reply. I should be agitated that there’s somebody here, but for some reason I enjoy his presence. He fits in with the surroundings, as if he is inextricably part of it. He is definitely not like somebody I know or ever saw before. And if there would be somebody in the world with a special tie to this place, wouldn’t I have met him sooner or later? There’s no room for agitation, but all the more for astonishment.

“I have come here often”, he says, “just like you did. I saw you once, many years ago. I was standing upon the cliff against which you were resting. I decided not to disturb you, for you looked troubled and not in need of company. I left you alone, until you left by night. I knew that, one day, chance would bring us both here”. I dig in my memory, trying to recall that moment. All of a sudden, I manage to remember. I had a terrible row with my best girlfriend. I came here to think over it. Was he watching me when I though I was alone? It’s difficult to imagine, for I never saw anybody here.
“Were you here at that time?”, I ask him.
“Yes, I was”, he replies. “You saddened me, though you definitely did not do that on purpose. I intended to give you something, but I felt that I would get that chance later, when time would be more appropriate. Will today be that day?” I don’t know what to answer. Five minutes ago, I did not know this man. Shall I follow him? Curiosity forces me to accept his offer. He certainly does not mean me harm, for he had that chance years ago, but left me alone. He takes my hand, and we commence walking along the sea. He does not speak, and that gives me time to think. The more I do that, the more I get puzzled.

We walk on and on, and I know I will never be able to walk back before nightfall if I decided to. Am I walking the pathway to disaster or to dreams? Looking at the wondrous surroundings, I decide it must be dreams.

In front of us, rocky hills emerge, and they enter the sea.
“We have to climb, dear one”, he says, “unless you want to swim around this finger of land, which I do not advise. Be careful and don’t make haste, for the rocks can be slippery and time is with us.
“What is behind there?”, I ask him.
“There is nothing, unless you enter it. See for yourself, cause words cannot describe it”, he replies. He radiates an aura of mystery, which attracts as well as scares me. The attraction beats the fear, and I start climbing the rocks. He follows me closely behind, so he can catch me if I fall down, but I don’t. Despite his advice, I hurry, driven by curiosity. “Be careful”, he warns me, and I try to heed his warnings. I finally reach the top.

In front of me is a part of beach, utterly enclosed by high rocks. It’s completely hidden from view, for the rocks seem to form a wall around it.
“This part of the beach”, he says, “I consider mine, though I do not own it. Somebody else who may come here can have it if he wishes, for it will lose its value to me if somebody enters without my guidance.” I slowly descend the rocks, until my feet touch the soil again. Slowly, I realize what I have done. I followed a stranger, from a place where nobody should be in the first place, to a place nobody knows. But I don’t feel scared, for his presence comforts me. Most of all, I feel confused.

He gently takes my elbow, and we walk to the sea.
“Please sit down, dearest one, for you have traveled long miles and rest is what you need”. I sit down with him, on the beach. A full moon has risen from the sky behind us. The light of the moon caresses the waves, which reflect those gifts to us. Slowly the sea transforms in a scenery of diamonds, as far as the eye can see. It strikes me like nothing ever struck me before. It reminds me of a poem I read some weeks ago. The most magnificent of beauty can be seen by many a mortal, though recognized by few of them. Even I must have seen it before, failing to recognize…

“The first time fate guided me here, I was struck as much as you are now. This gift I can only give away once. I waited for you. Please accept this gift, for the sea only grants her utmost of beauty when she sees true beauty herself. I needed you to grant me this sight again, though it’s certainly meant for you. She has devoured many secrets, and very few are ever revealed to us...”

I don’t know what to reply, and remain silent.

He comes closer and I feel his arm around me. He draws me closer to his body. I feel the warmth of it and only now I realize how the cold wind from the sea has chilled me. I huddle closer to him. I want to feel his warmth as much as he can give. His other arm wraps around me, holding me firmly. He places a gentle kiss on my head, adds one to my neck and another one, a powerful one. Desire for him rises in me, and I let him go on. He unbuttons my blouse, and slowly removes it from my body. His hands caress my skin, gently and skillfully. An intense feeling of comfort fills me. He slowly pushes me with my back to the beach, and takes place on top of me. I feel his fingers tickling my neck and the back of my head. He kisses me again, long, deeply and powerfully.

I almost tear off his blouse, feel his soft skin, and press him against me with all the power I possess.

“Let me show you what it means when desire builds up for years, and is unleashed at once! I have waited long for this”, he whispers in my ear. I let him go on, nothing must be in his way. He grabs my shoulders and presses me on the sand. He kisses me again, deep and powerful. He lies down upon me, I feel his arms around me so firmly as if he’ll never let me go. I feel his fingers everywhere on my body, finding my most sensitive spots with ease.

“Turn around”, he asks me. Without hesitation, I obey. He takes place on top of me again. “You have worked hard, dear one”, he whispers. “Now it’s time to relax, for which you came here in the first place. Allow me to help you with it. Free your mind, let all thoughts wander off, allow only comforting thoughts in your soul”. He starts giving me a massage, slowly and mildly, starting at my waist, patiently working upwards to my shoulders. He does it again, a little more firmly now, a bless for my body. I relax deeper, more then I have been in ages. Only the caresses at my back are part of me. He goes on in silence…

The tide is coming up. I hear the waves, their soothing words adding to my comfort. I dream off, gradually leave this world. Finally, my desire to leave this world is fulfilled. In my dreams I thank my lover deeply… Eventually, he stops his caresses and lies down next to me, one arm firmly around my neck. I doze off and nearly fall to sleep.

Unexpectedly, the first wave washes over us. He stands up and speaks: “We must leave, dear one, for if the sea loves you as much as I do, it will take you away from here and never give you back. Follow me. So abrupt was my return to this world that it takes me some time to realize where I am and how I came here. He helps me back on my feet and gathers our clothes. We walk away from the sea. I see a cabin in front of me, a small one, hardly more then four walls and a roof. I look back at the sea once. She seems to laugh of her mischief, sending a wave upon us when we least expected it. I smile back at her.

He lights a fire in a small fireplace, and puts a kettle with water on the fire. When the water is warm, he takes a large sponge and washes the sand of the beach carefully off me. I hang around his neck. The warm water feels heavenly upon my skin. When he’s finished, he hands the sponge over to me. Carefully, I wash him, taking much more time than I need.

“Let us go to sleep”, he says. The night has been long and day is coming. We must sleep before the sun rises. He carries me to a bed, which is in the corner of the cabin, and puts me in it. He lies down next to me and puts the sheets upon us. Being tired as well as relaxed, I catch sleep immediately.

I wake up, staring at the sea. I am leaning against the cliff where I first met him, feeling like I just dozed off and awoke. Surprised, I look around, but nobody is to be seen. Footsteps are in the beach, and I decide to follow them. After a short walk, they walk towards the sea. The tide has washed them away.

I know that I will never see him again, for the sea knows many secrets, but very few are ever revealed to us.