Just One Day
By Irene Sharda
The small waves crawled, while other crashed onto the shores of the small island. Each one was bringing in the tales of the sea, while simultaneously pulling out the stories of the land bit by bit, in a never-ending cycle started by the moon long ago.
It was an ethereal, simple beauty that was unseen by those who'd forgotten to notice. However, even if they didn't see well enough to appreciate this amazing backdrop, no one could have not noticed, the amazing exquisiteness of the woman who stood in the center of this otherworldly setting.
Her long, light brown hair, streaked with tendrils of gold, shifted loosely and freely across her shoulders in the wind, matching her jewel-like hazel eyes. She was one of the true beauties of the world, but like the calm waves of the ocean, there was much more underneath the surface of this woman than what could be seen with the naked eye. Like many things that were the some of the loveliest in the world, they were also the most deadly...
This lady by the sea had once been a sheltered noblewoman, who longed for adventure and excitement, but never got anything beyond the provincial life of her home. Then one day she was literally swept away into the world of pirates and buccaneers, and her life was changed forever.
She had seen places her old friends in her old life could have only dreamed of. She had literally been to the end of the world and back again. She was now one of the most experienced swordswomen on earth, and had fought things both of this world and of the other. She knew how to sail a pirate ship like an expert, and she could give orders like any experienced corsair. She had somehow eventually become the pirate lord (or lady) of the South China Sea, and through an even stranger twist of fate, rose to become the Queen of the Pirates!
She had made allies, enemies, and friends, and some who were a mixture of the three. She had paid many costs to get to this point, had lost her home, some of her friends and her father, the only family she'd ever had.
It was a hard life that had taught her many lessons, and even though in physical looks alone she had hardly changed...beneath the surface, she was a completely different woman than the aristocrat she had been.
But of all the things she had done, and all the people she had met, only one man had affected her to the point where he had touched all that was beneath the surface of her. He had reached her very soul where no other man could. He had been the one friend who had followed her from her small life of a British noble, to that of a feared Pirate Queen without fear of the consequences or the danger. One who had stood by her side and had flew to her rescue, time and time again. It was true he had his faults, and like her, he had changed a lot from his past life as he also became a pirate without peer.
They had both changed, inside and out as they went through adventure after adventure, after they had both met the dashing, but slightly off, Captain Jack Sparrow, who had gallivantingly led them into the new world of cutthroats and swashbucklers, of mythological creatures and sea goddesses. But with the changing of their natures, was also the changing of the feelings towards each other.
Even though she had been aware of his affection for her, when they had been but only childhood friends, after a time and the many hardships they had gone through, that light affection had grown astronomically to full-blown romance as only the high seas can bring to you. He had become her life and she had become his.
He had always chosen her every time, over himself and his wants and needs, even when he had to make the decision between his vow to his father, and his love for her. She would do the same and give him whatever he asked for as a testament, to the love she felt towards this one man, this man who had went from friend, to ally, to partner, to lover, and finally…to something more.
Interestingly enough, they should have known that the sea would be their lives. It had been in his blood since the day of his birth, and after a time, she felt it course through her veins as well. They had met on a ship, fell in love with on a ship, and as the fates seemingly decided—they had been married on a ship as well, during a torrential typhoon caused by an angry goddess, while fighting enemies galore and putting their on lives on the line to protect the pirates' way.
They made a vow to each other to keep and cherish this love, from that day to the end of time. This was the vow that was in her heart as she sat there on the island shore, watching the man who had become her husband, sail off into the sunset.
His image was engraved into her heart, and she would keep it there always. Even though he was leaving her, she did not feel anger or sadness...for she knew that they were sure to meet again at this very spot.
Her heart beat steadily, and as the winds died down, she noticed that his heart also beat to the same rhythm. But it was something she had already known, for his heart had been hers to keep, guard, and cherish since even before it had been cut out of his chest and placed in this locked metal box that sat upon her lap. It was one of the prices that the man who became the captain of the otherworldly ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, had to pay in order to gain immortal life and sail the seven seas for the rest of eternity.
Because of this eternal life he had acquired, he could no longer set foot on land but once every ten years. He was bound to his ship and to his new duty of guiding souls to the next world, as the Flying Dutchman's captain.
Her beloved had not wanted this. He was not unwilling of course; he would have made the sacrifice if it was for someone he truly cared for. However, it was not something he had truly desired. But in the end, the stars had plotted a different course for their lives.
She remembered watching as the blade of the sword was thrust through his chest, then so cruelly twisted and turned, causing his agonizing pain…
In that moment, she felt a connection to him like no other. She would pray to all the gods of this world and the other, and sacrifice her body and soul, if only she could take his place. She wished that sharp edge could pierce her heart instead, that she could do anything in order to turn back time and bring him back to her! Anything, but the horrible scene that played out before her eyes, burning itself into her memory…
She was at his side before she could even tell her body to move, grasping his hand desperately as if trying to hold on to the impossible.
And impossible it had been…because even after, with the help of a strangely hushed but solidly resolved Jack Sparrow, they had destroyed her husband's killer, she had to feel her heart get torn to pieces, as she watched her beloved slowly die from his fatal wound.
At the time, she had never thought such pain was possible. Even as Jack tore her away from his dead body, she fought against him trying to fight fate and reason. To stay at his side as the vow they took no more than 20 minutes ago, demanded. At the time, she had not known what Sparrow knew, and perhaps, even if she had, her heart would not have listened to the reasoning of her head.
She watched the Dutchman submerge itself into the depths of the maelstrom, taking her beloved and her heart with it. After all the love and happiness they had promised each other…how could it end this way? She swore at that moment, to never love again, to never let anyone else touch her heart the way that he had, to never give herself away so completely and utterly again—it hurt too much to die again…
And then, with amazing flourish, the Flying Dutchman resurfaced, her beloved—as dashing, charming, and alive as he had always been. His soft brown hair tied beneath a bandana, his eyes radiant with adventure and daring, and his face as handsome as ever with that smile of calm rebellion placed there. It was hard to believe that this stunning new captain of the most feared ship on the seas, had not so many years ago, been a quiet withdrawn blacksmith apprentice who would admire from afar and avoid altercation, even shunning the name "pirate". Who would have ever guessed what fate would bring?
She knew in that moment what had happened and she knew what it would mean for the two of them…but that was meaningless right now. At that moment, all she could do was exhale…to release the precious breath of air; the one she thought would be the last one she would ever share with him. For an instant, when all the fighting was over, they had looked into each others' eyes.
She could see that outside he looked exactly the same, his feelings for her were the same also, if not more intense. Yet, there was something different about him, and they both knew what it was…
He was no longer human—at least in the sense of transience. It was not his choice, but rather by necessity. Again fate stepped in and through another twist of irony; in order to save his mortal life…her beloved was given an immortal one. An immortal life that was not without its price…
The Flying Dutchman must always have a captain, and her husband had been chosen by providence. His soul was bound to the ship and the ship was bound to the sea. He could not deny his duty, but he also could not deny her…it was the worst of choices, of dilemmas. But her eyes looked into his, making the choice for him. It was really the simplest choice in the world…
She was bound to him…for she loved him more than any woman could ever possibly love a man. And she would wait for him, until his duty was done; she would wait for an eternity if necessary—and she would always love him even more.
When their eyes met, as he walked upon the shore from out of the waters that were now his domain, every fear, every doubt, every worry, every question that had ever been asked…was erased, and disappeared on the northern winds of the sea.
All that was left was love and desire; and all wishes, and all hopes that they had ever conceived…were all answered with just a look, just a gaze, just a glance…just a moment, in a day, to be freely consumed by the flames of passion, on into the night.
And in the rising of the sun, the rays slowly stretching across the water's surface—marking the end of the one day and the beginning of another.
But for her and her beloved—the day went unchanged; it was still the same twenty-four hours, the same day…just one day in time. For their love had brought them outside of time and space, outside of the here and the now…
Even as she watched his ship, disappear into the sunset, she could feel his eyes still looking into hers, their gaze locked onto one another until in one instant he was engulfed in a flash of pure green light, taken to another world…but never from her heart.
With a sigh, the beautiful pirate queen, Captain Elizabeth Turner, stood up shaking the sand from her clothes and from her hair, letting the tiny grains travel on the wind and roll into the ocean. Her day had just ended…and the next day would begin when Will—her beloved, her husband, her captain—returned to her after completing his duty.
To others, that day might seem like 3,650 of their own, but to her and to Will…it was just—one day.
As she walked along the shore, she placed her hand on her abdomen, feeling the unusual, but refreshing presence of life there. A smile touched her lips at the realization of what she carried within her, that hadn't been in her yesterday, but was here in their today.
She laughed melodically, at what her beloved would say, when he returned to see a family waiting for him, rather than just a wife.
Unable to shake the sparklingly luminous feeling that had totally taken her over, Elizabeth smiled, "How in the world, does love make you feel this good?"
The only answer she received was the triumphant roar of the waves, and the morning song of the seabirds…
Sometimes love can last for a day.
Sometimes love can last forever.
And sometimes…you can have a love that will last for forever—in a day.
Just one day…