I married a sailor and son of a hunter. We often ate fish together and once he cooked for me a delicious dinner of pheasant and wild rice.
I would say that I was extraordinarily happy because he gave me two strong, beautiful and intelligent daughters. My daughters became the sun and the moon around which I revolved. They guided me through the sunny days as well as the stormy ones.
One day the sailor went away and left me alone. He offered no explanation. I waited for him for weeks, and then months. Some months I hardly noticed that he was not there. Other months my body heaved under the pain of his absence, as waves of salty tears crashed. My tears tasted bitter when the rivulets reached my lips.
Time went on and on and soon a year washed out to sea. I would dream of my sailor and wonder why he had gone away. I never wondered where, for the ocean is too vast.
And so it went that I waited ten years for his return. Sometimes I consoled myself with praise for how patient I had become. But then one day I could bear the singularity no longer, and I gave up hope. I let go of any notion that my sailor would ever return, and suddenly, the anchor in my heart broke free from the rocks and I too set sail. I became an island unto myself.
Then one day, on no special occasion, my sailor returned home to me. There was no fanfare, no war had ended and no letter of announcement had been sent.
I stood frozen still, like ice on the lake in winter. I feared that if I moved, his ship might break free of land and sail off once again, out of my sight. I dared not walk toward him or speak, for I knew not what had sent him off to sea all those long years ago.
My sailor dropped the heavy pack off his shoulders, tears welled in his eyes, and he walked toward me with that familiar ambling gait. He pulled me to him and I once again felt his strong, work heavy hands press my spine. Only then did I see clearly, in my mind’s eye, the rope and anchor that I had held all along.
Moral of the Story
When you love someone, you must learn to give them a wide berth.
Meaning:
A berth is a bed, usually stacked like bunk beds, on a train or ship.
The phrase “to give someone a wide berth” means to give them plenty of space.
To berth ( verb) means to moor or dock a ship.
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