Spirit of Summer

[nightkin]

Alan leaned against the rails of the old pier as he stared out at the setting sun. He loved the sight of the sun setting over a sea of liquid gold. He loved the sound of the waves gently lapping against the pier legs, and the distant sound of them crashing on the beach.
It was a moment that seemed to last forever as his mind drifted into an ocean of infinite tranquillity.
“Hello” The unexpected female voice broke him from his trance.
Alan turned to see an angelic face that for just one moment he thought he recognised. But then, almost immediately, no.
He’d never seen the woman in his entire life; nor did she even faintly resemble anyone he knew. Perhaps she had stepped out of his dreams.
“I’m sorry” he said, “ I was miles away.”
“Penny for them?”
“Oh I was just ..... Er excuse me, but do we know each other?”
“Sorry, I’m Judith.”
“And I’m Alan. I wasn’t being rude, it’s just that somehow you seem familiar.”
“I’ve got that sort of face I suppose.” She laughed.
She didn’t have that sort of face at all; in fact Alan felt sure that if they had met before, he should remember.
“Only in my dreams” he found himself saying before he could stop himself. Judith smiled.
“Perhaps we knew each other in a former life. Two souls destined to meet again.”
“Yes” he agreed, “it is as if I remember you from a life that I’ve long forgotten.”
For a brief moment Alan wondered if the vision that captivated his attention so completely was married. Generally, there are two types of holiday maker that come to this seaside town; elderly visitors who have been coming to the same place for fifty or sixty years, and families who want to find somewhere cheap and fun for the kids, that doesn’t entail torturous waits at the airport.
Judith looked to be about mid twenties to early thirties - which made the possibility of being a wife and mother quite high and this was the July fortnight - holiday season.
Oh yes, there’s a third type. Those lonely souls, like himself, trying to recapture their childhood summers.
“I used to come here with my parents when I was a child.”
She could almost have been reading his thoughts.
“Me too.” he confided. “I always liked it; so when there was nothing to keep me I moved and bought a little camera shop up here.”
“Do you run it all by yourself?”
She’s fishing. That’s a good sign.
“Yes. My ex left me in ‘81, before I moved here. She wanted a life that was exotic and exciting; I prefer a more sedate life. I guess we were never really well matched.”
“But she was your first love, and getting married was the done thing.” she guessed quite accurately.
“How old were you? Nineteen? Twenty?”
“She was eighteen, I was twenty-one, and scared that if I didn’t marry Carol, I’d be single for the rest of my life!” he laughed.
For some reason, Alan felt able to talk about his life to this beautiful stranger, and they talked together for many hours.
“Sometimes I just like to walk along the beach at night” Alan said suddenly, “just listening to the sounds of the ocean.”
“I thought you would. So do I.” Judith took his hand in hers.
“Perhaps tomorrow night we can walk together?”
“Sure. I mean, I would love that.” Alan replied. “Same time tomorrow evening? I’ll meet you here after I lock up the shop.”
“I’ll see you then.” Judith smiled again and melted away into the darkness.
It occurred to Alan that he really should have asked her where she was staying, but that might seem a little too pushy. All through the next day, Alan thought of nothing else but his meeting with Judith. He could not shake off that feeling of deja-vu, as if he had known her for years.
At last, sunset came. It had been a hot sunny day, and now it was a warm, balmy evening. The call of the sea seemed stronger tonight; he could almost hear ghostly voices beneath the waves, calling his name.
“Alan?” Alan tuned to see Judith had arrived. “Ready for that walk?”
“Been looking forward to it all day.” he answered before he could bite his tongue. Judith smiled. Her smile always had a profound effect on him.
The tide was going out, and the moon was full, so the walk along the beach became a bizarre beach-combing session, full of laughter and childhood games.
At last they returned to the pier, where they made love in the cool sand.
“What shall we do tomorrow?” Alan asked at last.
“I’m sorry. I can’t see you tomorrow.” Alan’s heart sank. Was this it? One night of passion, and then goodbye?
“But I can meet you at the usual place at sunset.” she added cheerfully. At least that’s something. Alan thought it best not to pry. He might not like the answers, and he rather enjoyed this air of mystery that Judith maintained.
Odd. She said “the usual place” as if it was already a routine.
And so it was. Every night they would meet on the pier, just as the sun was setting, and would have a wonderful night of talking, walking on the beach, and making passionate love in the sand.
And always, Judith kept her daytime life a secret.
Of course it occurred to Alan she may be married, may have a family, and can only sneak out at night; but if she did, that had nothing to do with her night-time world.
As far as Alan was concerned, she had no daytime existence. Somehow, it seemed as if the days and nights were two different worlds.
There was something dreamlike and unreal about his time with Judith. In the evenings, the sea called out to him, drew him like a moth to a flame.
Then, as if by magic, Judith would step out of a golden shadow, just as the Sun was setting. Judith belonged to the evening; was a part of it, and somehow something to do with the call of the sea.
For a fleeting moment, Alan entertained the notion that Judith was not real. Oh, she felt real enough, at least when they were together, but there was some otherworldliness about her.
Was she a Siren? A sea spirit coming to carry him out to sea? Was she a ghost?
He had heard rumours that the pier was supposed to be haunted, but never paid much heed to those mumbled whispers.
It was silly to even think such things, and yet these thoughts still danced in Alan’s mind. Did it matter?
Even though Alan was prepared to believe that Judith may be some sort of phantom, he didn’t care. All he was sure of was that he loved her, and wanted to be with her forever.
For nearly two weeks, she was his. Judith was due to return home on Saturdays’ ferry, so Alan was determined to ask her to stay.
It was time to be impulsive once more, and to hell with the consequences.
The heatwave broke, and it rained all day Friday. Alan hoped this was not some sort of ill omen.
By evening it was a full storm, and Alan was afraid that the bad weather would keep Judith away.
Another silly thought - if she loved him as much as she claimed, and only half as much as he loved her, she would at least brave the storm to say goodbye.
But this wouldn’t be goodbye, because he wouldn’t let her go.
It grew darker. It became dark much earlier because of the storm, but even so, it was well after eleven thirty before Judith turned up.
“I’m sorry. I’m late aren’t I?”
“I thought you were not going to come” Alan replied.
“I didn’t want to come. Not because of the storm. I didn’t want to say goodbye.” “
You don’t have to.” he said cheerily, “I’ve bought you a ring. I want you to stay. Please, say you will. Will you marry me Judith?”
Judith choked back a sob. “I can’t. I have to go back.”
“You don’t have to, you can stay here.” Judith had tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry Alan; we belong to different worlds, and I have to return to mine. You must return to yours.”
“You’re married aren’t you? We can work something out, we can...”
“It’s not that. You don’t understand. We can’t be together any longer.”
“But we belong to each other. It’s right. It’s fate, you said so yourself.”
“It is fate that we part, it is fate that I go back to my world, and you return to yours, we can’t change anything!” she sobbed.
Realisation grew in Alan. She meant it quite literally. He’d suspected for some time that this siren was not of his world, but right now that did not matter.
“Take me with you. I’ll leave this world and follow you. I don’t care what it means, I need you. Don’t leave me. Please!”
He ran towards her, but stumbled as his feet slipped on the wet planks. “Wait don’t go!” he cried.
“I must go. I can’t bear to watch this again!” she sobbed.
Again? Alan scrambled to his feet and tried to rush foreward again, but the wind seemed to hold him back.
Suddenly his right foot went through a rotten plank, and Alan lost his balance completely. He felt sick as he hit his head on the wooden floor, and couldn’t stop himself slipping through the hole.
As he clung on to the slippery boards, he called out for help.
“I wish I could” replied a tearful Judith. “Every year I try, but it’s too late!”
Suddenly there were two Judith’s. One tearful and standing helpless by the dilapidated boarded up fishing shop, looking strangely older; the other ghostlike and silently mouthing his name whilst running towards him.
The ghostly Judith tried to grab his arm, but was too late as he finally lost his grip and fell into the sea.
The phantom Judith screamed and vanished, as did the storm and Alan’s drowning body.
Judith stood alone on the dilapidated pier.
“Fate won’t keep us apart.” she sobbed, “I’ll be back next year. We’ll have this Summer for ever.” Then Judith returned to the land of the living; to wait a full year before she could have an affair with her departed lover again.