Photo: silvervoyager
It was the view that caught his heart when they’d first visited Tortola. The twins had just turned ten. He’d gotten a miserable case of traveler’s diarrhea and spent two days cocooned inside Aunt Essie’s cottage while everyone else was at the beach. He’d initially felt sorry for himself, but then the quietude enveloped him, and he found himself cherishing the time away from chit-chatter and the demands of the children, love them though he did.
He’d recovered sufficiently by the third day, and the shore was fabulous. Still a piece of him remained on the cottage’s porch, gazing into the horizon, sipping bland tea, and feeling a calm he hadn’t known possible.
They’d visited several more times over the years and when Aunt Essie died, she left him the cottage to sell, “for a nest-egg.”
The boys were in college. Bernice had moved on. He decided to move in.
For What Pegman Saw: British Virgin Islands
Na'ama Yehuda 
It’s funny how a place can capture your heart. I’m glad your MC was able to retire to the cottage. How much he must have valued the tranquillity.
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๐ Sometimes places do that, don’t they? And in this case, the opportunity to reclaim it presented itself … Good for him! ๐
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I really liked the tone of your writing here. I got a real sense of the character of the man.
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Thank you, Suzanne! I’m so glad . ๐
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ืื ืื ืืจืื ื ืืืจ ืืื ืื ืืขื ืฉืืจืืช ืื ืืืืื !!!!
โซ
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ืชืืื! ๐
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I love the way life has a way of pushing you in the right direction. You captured it here. Very nice ๐
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Thank you, Christine! Life does do that, doesn’t it? ๐ Glad it was communicated. ๐ Na’ama
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Na’ama Y’karah,
The ocean has that effect on me. Sorry about Bernice moving out. But it sounds like he made his peace and found his place. You managed to layer a lot of story into a short piece. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
https://rochellewisoff.com/2019/02/10/photographs-and-memories
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Hi Rochelle, the beach has that effect on me, too. I get an instant relaxation response on the beach, with the breath of the ocean regulating everything inside myself. It is quite profoundly lovely.
Yeah, Bernice moved on, but it does sound like at least he’d made his peace or even finds it liberating. Glad you liked this!
Off I go to check your entry!
Na’ama
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Lovely and so encouraging to slow down and let the quiet envelop us. I so enjoyed the ending.
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One of my favorite things is to let some quietude descend. ๐
I’m glad it got communicated through this little story.
Thank you for the comment!
Na’ama
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I loved the image of the peaceful gaze from the porch, no wonder he decided to move in when the time was right.
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Glad you liked it, Andrea! Yes, no wonder he decided to stay! ๐
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Wonderfully done, Na’ama. And how lucky for him! Wish I had an old aunt in the islands…
Tortola is so beautiful, too.
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Thanks, Dale!
Yeah, I could some old aunts or uncles in the islands who can bequeath me a house, preferably with ocean view (hey, I’m fantasizing so might as well… ;))
xoxo
Na’ama
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If you’re going to fantasize, I agree, go full throttle…
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Yep! ๐
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The connection here is strong. It’s lovely when that happens between man and nature. Nicely captured, Na’ama Yehuda.
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Thanks Kelvin! ๐
Sometimes the connection is there and the opportunity isn’t. Sometimes the opportunity is available but the connection is not. It is always lovely when the two align! ๐
Na’ama
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Wonderfully told story with such a satisfying end. Good for him!
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๐ Glad you liked it! ๐
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