He stood there staring out into the water, the sun beating down on his face.
He watched her in all her beauty, sail across the waves, the salty water caressing her proudly, gently, understanding her importance to the body around her.
Her mast stood high and proud, white sails danced with the breeze that complimented the hot summer day.
Her bow beautifully dressed with the statue of a woman. Her naked body perched there, her graceful arms open wide welcoming the world around her.
He stood there overwhelmed by the vision before him as though seeing it for the first time.
Closing his eyes to the sun he tried to remember how it felt to be upon her, safe, warm and comfortable.
How it felt to be home.
He thought maybe if he was strong enough he could hold onto the memory of that feeling just a little longer, maybe even forever. He knew the thought was foolish but he held his eyes closed trying to find it again. When he opened them, the gap between them had grown larger. He watched as she sailed further and further from the shore where he stood. He wanted to reach out and stop her from disappearing into the vast sea forever, yet his hands remained at his sides, his arms unable to do what his heart so desperately wanted. The silver etching on her body glistened in the sun until she had sailed so far from him all he could see were the intricate details on her stern shining like small diamonds in the distance.
The waves of his heart slowed, eventually stopping all together.
As she sailed out of sight, a piece of him sailed with her, never to return, in its place a ghostly pain remained, a pain he would feel in his chest forever.
