He’d always wondered,

all these years he’d known her

why she loved the sea so much

and why she was pulled to it

almost with magnetic intensity,

every summer

as soon as the days got lighter

all she wanted to do was escape,

head south,

to where the waves crashed onto pebbly beaches.

Sometimes she’d almost weep

just sitting on the rocks, looking at the sea,

and he never knew what to do

until he finally realized

that she loved its vastness,

that the ocean’s endlessness made her feel like there was –

simply had to be –

more to her, and him, and this life,

than they could ever possibly know.

And he knew to leave her alone;

not every hurt needs consoling.