The Caleb Chronicles Season 1

Part 2

Memories can be fickle things, take for example my meeting Gwen. I remember seeing the sweet old lady, looking out into the ocean as I arrived at that beach that day, and yet, the way she has always told it was that we arrived almost simultaneously that morning.

A cold wind swept across Caleb's face as he crossed the top of the bank leading down towards the beach, an almost winters chill that he could feel run down his back and wrap itself around his spine. He wasn't sure if it was the weather or the memories of Naomi; either way it caused him to pull his coat tightly around his neck. As he stood atop the bank, he noticed that he wasn't alone, stood a little way down the beach he saw an elderly lady, perfectly still, gazing into the water. She too had her coat pulled tightly around her neck, a long blue thick woollen raincoat, with a scarf around her head to act as a kind of hood, thick white tights with the bottom of a light brown plaid skirt poking out from the edge of the coat, the look was completed by a pair of brown leather shoes, the kind that could only be described as sensible, even if she was wearing them on the beach and that they were now half covered in wet sand. He stood and watched her for a while, noticing how her gaze never moved from the rippling tide and after a few short minutes he decided to wonder over and introduce himself.

"Morning." Caleb said, as he approached her side.

"Good Morning." She replied, without letting her eyes wander from the sea. Her voice was soft and her words were without any hint of the local accent, the stark contrast making her sound a little like the queen during one of her Christmas addresses that the hospital had insisted on showing.

"My name is Caleb." He replied, clumsily trying to force an introduction.

"Oh, erm, ok." She stumbled over the words as though she was confused over the proper etiquette in this situation. "People don't usually bother introducing themselves." She said, her eyes remaining transfixed on the waves. "Well, say what ever it is that you have come to say, neither of us have got all day."

Caleb stood, staring for a few seconds that felt a lot longer. He didn't know what to expect when he walked over and knew that his introduction had been clumsy, yet he would never have guessed her response.

"I just did. I came over here to say hello."

This managed to get her attention and for the first time the old lady looked away from the water and directly at him. her eyes were red and puffy, as though she had been crying, however, there were no visible tears, her skin was pale around her face and yet the backs of her hands had that look of a permanent tan from years of being out in the sun.

"You came over, just to say hello?"

"Yes."

"Oh, then please, accept my apologies and forgive my lack of manners. Hello, my name is Gwen, Gwendoline Harper, but Gwen will do."

The two stood looking at each other for a moment, neither sure what the protocol was in the situation, both trying to decide if they should carry on the conversation or return to their sombre duties of staring at the ocean.

"What did you mean?" Caleb finally asked, trying to break the awkward silence. "When you said that people don't usually bother."

"To introduce themselves?" She replied, finishing off his question.

"Yes"

"people usually just come down to the beach to mock me, mock the crazy old bat that spends her day staring at the ocean."

Every now and again, you meet someone and even though you can't explain it, you just know that they will play an important role in your life. Gwen was just such a person, albeit, at the time I had no way of knowing how important.