The solitary sandpiper

She strolled along the powdery-white beach, gazing up once in a while to see if the sun had set. Sunsets always made her sad. She felt hollow. Even the sound of the waves rushing up the shore seemed hollow.

She bent down and picked up a sea shell and threw it towards the sea. She thought about the phrase “I made a difference to this one”. Somehow, she didn’t feel inspired this particular day.

She walked on and thought about her life. Friends had been telling her that she would be a young widow. Is this how she would spend the later years of her life, walking alone on powdery-white beaches?

She looked up again at the sun. She thought about how her life would end one day too, like the sunset – the death of day. Everyone dies one day, sooner or later. Does it matter if she were with someone ten years younger then? Would that make him a young widow instead and hence she would have gotten a better deal?

How lonely she felt in this new chapter of her life. A melody interrupted her thoughts. She read the message and that brought a smile to her lips but not for long. He was always so far away. She felt trapped between the past and the future.

She sighed and walked on. Alone.