Forever Remember

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Forever Remember

Book Excerpt

She drank in the feelings of pure joy over her perfect life as she took note of her husband's things carefully placed on top of the dresser, his family Bible, his favorite pair of binoculars and an extra pair of spectacles that had sat collecting dust ever since they first moved in.

It was as if her husband let them remain in their assigned place as a shrine to his own father. In thinking that, it brought more tears of joy to her eyes about the type of father he was going to be to their first child. She thought about how tirelessly he worked, night after night. How much his job meant to him. Then it came back to the forefront of her mind, that at that very moment he was actually out on the ocean working to save a boat full of supplies meant for the town that had capsized and gallantly struggled to stay afloat ever since dusk that evening. As usual, he had been up in the tower on a routine check that night when the beacon shed its light on the boat's crew frantically trying to bail themselves out when he took off to their rescue. He barely took the time to kiss her good-bye and tell her where he headed before he left to go help them out.

Now both restless over his well-being and filled with emotion over her surprise, Isabelle sighed in resignation as she pushed back the covers and rose out of bed, crossing her arms tightly across her chest as she began to shuffle across the room. Though she needed to rest her weary bones, she couldn't see how sleep would come to her at this point. She figured he would've been back by now and images she'd rather not entertain began to make their way into her mind. Slivers of light slanted across the wooden floor she walked, highlighting each individual plank, lovingly laid in an integral pattern of light and dark to match both the property's natural woodwork and her furniture, giving her path a slightly checkerboard feel. She walked back over to the rocker and reached down and picked up her dressing coat, wrapping it around her warm body as she made her way over to the window at the far west corner of the room. She opened the slender single paned window as wide as it would go, and then sat down along the bottom ledge. Cool air her lungs the moment she took in a deep breath of the fresh breeze that came with early spring. The building force of the breeze caught the inside edges of the curtains, causing them to billow back and forth from the handmade tie-back bows her mother crocheted to match the edges of the sheets and pillow cases. Lately when sleep evaded her, she went and sat on the thickened ledge of the window that looked out over the Sound and stared out across the blackened water. Usually the sound of the tide washing in against the surf relaxed her enough to go back to sleep.

Tonight she leaned against the back of the window with her arms crossed across her chest and watched the smoke colored clouds roll in from the east as the constant wind reddened her cheeks and pushed back her hair. The night seemed eerily still yet much motion took place just out beyond the safety of her dimly lit bedroom window. The clouds thickened as they moved in ever closer toward the house. And the fog, thicker than usual for this time of year, snuck in across the water, lending a sort of mystical haze to the night. All the signs were there for bad weather she thought, and that worried her even more.

Usually when both the clouds and the fog came in that dense at the same time, it meant that a pretty heavy storm was brewing out in the ocean which pushed everything her way. Yet she noticed the moon was completely full and light yellow in color. According to the sailor's reports from the past when the moon was that full it meant that there would be calm waters until morning's light. Either way she lifted up a silent prayer for her husband's safety as she thought of him out there in the midst of the turbulent ocean trying his best to save the crew. She knew from experience that if a storm was brewing out there somewhere on either side of the Island and there was anyone out on the water at this wee hour of the morning, they would most assuredly be meeting with a terrible fate.

A weak beacon of light from the tower, as if on cue, slowly made its way across the water and out of the corner of her eye, from the angle of the position she faced, she caught sight of what she thought was a boat out in the distance, barely visible to the untrained eye. It looked as if were heading straight for the lighthouse compound. She knew that if the vessel continued on the path it appeared to be heading, and they didn't turn in time, it would mean certain death for the people on board. It was too dark for them to see the shoreline with the light not getting through the smoke-covered lenses clear enough so she knew they wouldn't be able to make out the massive rock formation sitting just up ahead of them in time to miss it. If she were going to help, she would have to do it and do it now....

Copyright © 2007 Karen Farrell Jaworski / Site hosting and design by AuthorPromo.com

Book Excerpt

She drank in the feelings of pure joy over her perfect life as she took note of her husband's things carefully placed on top of the dresser, his family Bible, his favorite pair of binoculars and an extra pair of spectacles that had sat collecting dust ever since they first moved in.

It was as if her husband let them remain in their assigned place as a shrine to his own father. In thinking that, it brought more tears of joy to her eyes about the type of father he was going to be to their first child. She thought about how tirelessly he worked, night after night. How much his job meant to him. Then it came back to the forefront of her mind, that at that very moment he was actually out on the ocean working to save a boat full of supplies meant for the town that had capsized and gallantly struggled to stay afloat ever since dusk that evening. As usual, he had been up in the tower on a routine check that night when the beacon shed its light on the boat's crew frantically trying to bail themselves out when he took off to their rescue. He barely took the time to kiss her good-bye and tell her where he headed before he left to go help them out.

Now both restless over his well-being and filled with emotion over her surprise, Isabelle sighed in resignation as she pushed back the covers and rose out of bed, crossing her arms tightly across her chest as she began to shuffle across the room. Though she needed to rest her weary bones, she couldn't see how sleep would come to her at this point. She figured he would've been back by now and images she'd rather not entertain began to make their way into her mind. Slivers of light slanted across the wooden floor she walked, highlighting each individual plank, lovingly laid in an integral pattern of light and dark to match both the property's natural woodwork and her furniture, giving her path a slightly checkerboard feel. She walked back over to the rocker and reached down and picked up her dressing coat, wrapping it around her warm body as she made her way over to the window at the far west corner of the room. She opened the slender single paned window as wide as it would go, and then sat down along the bottom ledge. Cool air her lungs the moment she took in a deep breath of the fresh breeze that came with early spring. The building force of the breeze caught the inside edges of the curtains, causing them to billow back and forth from the handmade tie-back bows her mother crocheted to match the edges of the sheets and pillow cases. Lately when sleep evaded her, she went and sat on the thickened ledge of the window that looked out over the Sound and stared out across the blackened water. Usually the sound of the tide washing in against the surf relaxed her enough to go back to sleep.

Tonight she leaned against the back of the window with her arms crossed across her chest and watched the smoke colored clouds roll in from the east as the constant wind reddened her cheeks and pushed back her hair. The night seemed eerily still yet much motion took place just out beyond the safety of her dimly lit bedroom window. The clouds thickened as they moved in ever closer toward the house. And the fog, thicker than usual for this time of year, snuck in across the water, lending a sort of mystical haze to the night. All the signs were there for bad weather she thought, and that worried her even more.

Usually when both the clouds and the fog came in that dense at the same time, it meant that a pretty heavy storm was brewing out in the ocean which pushed everything her way. Yet she noticed the moon was completely full and light yellow in color. According to the sailor's reports from the past when the moon was that full it meant that there would be calm waters until morning's light. Either way she lifted up a silent prayer for her husband's safety as she thought of him out there in the midst of the turbulent ocean trying his best to save the crew. She knew from experience that if a storm was brewing out there somewhere on either side of the Island and there was anyone out on the water at this wee hour of the morning, they would most assuredly be meeting with a terrible fate.

A weak beacon of light from the tower, as if on cue, slowly made its way across the water and out of the corner of her eye, from the angle of the position she faced, she caught sight of what she thought was a boat out in the distance, barely visible to the untrained eye. It looked as if were heading straight for the lighthouse compound. She knew that if the vessel continued on the path it appeared to be heading, and they didn't turn in time, it would mean certain death for the people on board. It was too dark for them to see the shoreline with the light not getting through the smoke-covered lenses clear enough so she knew they wouldn't be able to make out the massive rock formation sitting just up ahead of them in time to miss it. If she were going to help, she would have to do it and do it now....