The Girl Who Waits

There she is, the girl who waits for him.

She scans the ocean shore, waiting for a boat to appear from the misty sea.

Unbeknown to her, he's not coming, but she's not giving up hope.

They loved each other long ago, but for the girl her love never ended.

He promised he'd come, but that means nothing anymore.

He can't keep that promise now—he would break the new one he has made to his wife and children.

And yet still she waits.

She still sits at the window, waiting to catch a glimpse of his past self rushing to meet her.

She opens the note one last time, reading it.

And yet, as the weeks, then months, then years pass by, she still swears he'll come to her.

Because the final line on the letter has three words she'd always longed to hear:

But sadly, now he's saying them to someone else.