With a tear in her eye, she wished him well. He was her soulmate and she knew he was worth waiting for. She kissed him deeply while he held her tight. He whispered,"When I return I wish to marry you & for you to bare my children." He boarded the ship. He turned in her direction glassy eyed. "Will you wait for me?" She smiled brightly" "I Shall" she said. He mouthed the word "FOREVER" She responded by saying "and ALWAYS" and with that the ship setsail. She returned to the beach almost every day for over a year,baring a long stem yellow rose and wearing her finest dress.As if she knew he was to return that day. She would walk in the wet sand & Imagine how beautiful a child with his dark eyes would be. She would find herself smiling at thoughts like that. One morning she could see the wind was pushing dark clouds toward shore.She had already been there awhile & decided to head back & try again after the storm passes.So she started back toward the village when all of a sudden she couldn't help but smile, her heart jumped & she felt warm inside.It was him, She could feel him & he was close. She turned back toward the sea & scanned the horizon. Standing in the wet sand she saw how the waves had grown in size & intensity & even further out she saw what looked to be a ship.It's his ship! In her excitment she left the safety of the wet sand & headed for him.She soon found herself waist deep in the fridged water.She could feel herself being pushed away from her love by the powerful current. She gritted her teeth & pushed on toward the ship. The haze of the storm blocked her view of the beach & ship.Soon she was overcome & lost in the darkness. Later after the storm had passed a man walked the beach in silence as he reached the wet sand he noticed the remains of a yellow rose washing on to shore. He picked it up looked towards the sea & whispered "FOREVER" Many years have passed since then but villagers say if you go down to that particular part of that beach early in the morning you can still see her holding a yellow rose, wearing her finest dress standing in the wet sand staring out to sea. One old fisherman claims to have gotten close enough to hear her speak before she vanished. He said she only spoke two words. She said "and Always." Story & Art By ME. Thanks for all comments and critiques.