Here we are my love. Your favourite place."
Richard swept a stray bit of Maria's fringe back from her eyes and stroked her cheek. Mmm was all she could muster, so entranced she was with the waves trickling into the shore.
"You just let me know if you need anything. We have everything. Sandwiches, water, wine, tea. And we can stay as long as you like. There's nowhere else we need to be."
Richard watched as Maria nodded, closed her eyes and lifted her face skyward. She took a deep breath, held it, then sighed as she opened her eyes and turned to him.
Richard looked into the eyes of the woman he had loved for 50 years, imagining now the face of the young girl who had captivated him from their first moment together.
The crinkles at the edges of her eyes and lips softened, the lines on her face dissolved and her hair changed from a lustrous grey to a soft auburn.
The shadow that had been stalking them dissipated in the ocean breeze.
Holding her hand out to Richard, Maria stood up and lunged forward, taking quick tiny steps towards the wet sand, as if she were trying to run on her tippy-toes.
Despite everything, Maria was still agile; her body had not given in yet. Richard wasn't quick enough to grab her hand but caught up with her just as she stopped at the water.
"Come on silly. Anybody would think you're an old man," Maria scolded him.
"Oh you're too quick for me. You always have been my love, especially if the ocean is calling you. Remember Santorini? You thought you'd found heaven when you first saw the beach."
"How could I forget? Red sand. Black sand. Cocktails. Only seems like last week."
Richard remembered all that and so much more.
They'd spent two weeks on the island when they were in their twenties, their first big trip overseas. They lapped up all Santorini had to offer.
The mesmerising blue of the ocean, the whitewashed buildings hugging the cliff, the tang of salt on their tongues, the sting of the sun on their skin, the glow of the moon over the caldera.
He knew that for Maria it was always about the beach. That's what she remembered the most.
She clenched the sand with her toes, grounding herself as a wave came towards them both. Richard thrust his arm around her even though he was not the least bit frightened of it knocking them over.
Water splashed up above their knees and Maria giggled.
"Remember when we met? We ran into one another on this very beach. Literally."
It was Maria's turn to conjure up a memory from long ago.
Richard had been running along the shoreline, head down, focused on the sand, when he caught a glimpse of someone at his side. Maria had been dumped by a wave and she was stumbling up the beach.
She lost her balance in the sand and fell forward, grabbing at Richard's legs as he went past.
He staggered and righted himself, spinning around to see Maria, who was kneeling in the sand, wild-eyed, her hair matted against her cheeks. He thought at first she was crying.
"I couldn't get over your face. You wondered who on earth I was, perched in the sand laughing. You thought I was laughing at you, when it was just because I was having so much fun."
"I'd never had a woman fall at my feet in such a spectacular way. You were such a surprise."
"As were you."
They had walked up the beach together, sat in the sand and talked for hours, tripping over one another's words.
It was as if they had both rediscovered an old love and they had so much to divulge before they forgot. They had been together ever since and become each other's only love.
Maria turned back now, looking towards the beach chairs. She felt for Richard's hand again and he grasped it, stroking her thumb with his. She looked at him, unsteady but reassured by the gentleness of his touch.
"The best thing about this beach was...is..." Maria faltered.
"Our wedding." Richard filled in the gap.
"You wore a simple white dress and I wore plain black pants and a white shirt. We were barefoot. If you had your way, we would have been in our swimmers. It was the 70's, remember?"
Richard paused, wishing he hadn't used the word remember but Maria smiled, nodding at him to continue, intrigued by his story.
"The sun stayed out for the ceremony. Then there was just the tiniest drops of rain but the girls held an umbrella over your head. You batted it away saying you didn't care if you got wet."
"Girls?" Maria grabbed at a familiar word. "Lucy and Veronica." Richard filled in more gaps.
"Ah yes," she said, neither knowing or not knowing.
"I like rain. It's only water after all."
"Shall we go and sit again my love?" Richard guided Maria up the beach, looking across at her, seeing now wisps of grey return to her hair, a slight pucker in her lips and lines criss-crossing her cheek.
By the time they reached the beach chairs and sat, the Maria of then was gone.
She had stayed longer than usual this time and who knew for how long next time.
Richard was content to wait. He would keep their memories safe until then.
Maria settled herself in her beach chair, gazing out to the water, oblivious of the shadow that had come back to claim her again.
She looked at Richard, seeing only a kind man who had brought her to the beach.
"This is a lovely beach. We should come here more often."
***
Linda Mueller, the author of this piece, is a finalist in the 2022 Newcastle Herald Short Story Competition. Read the full list of finalists in this year's Herald Short Story Competition by visiting the Newcastle Herald website.
