Innsmouth Point
By Anjela Rufila
It has been six months since I lost my beloved Elsa to cancer. At her request I had her cremated and I scattered her ashes along Innsmouth Point like she wanted.
Thirty nine years of marriage is such a short time and passed us by so quickly.
This is where our journey together began, Innsmouth Point. This is where we met and fell in love. This is where I proposed to her kneeling in the sand offering her a simple ring as a symbol of my love and commitment to only her forever.
That summer was the most beautiful of my life.
Now here I stand alone in the barren silence of winter gazing out into the vast nothingness.
The tormented waves beat against the rocks with a violent velocity like the memories of happiness that remind my soul of how alone it now is.
I look over the emptiness of the cold beach that reflects back to me my empty cold inners.
I see a mass upon the shore that the angry waves deposited at the waterline.
I make my way to it and the closer I get the mass begins to take on a form.
What was once shapeless now distinguishes itself as a body caught in a net laying face down.
I reach into my pocket and retrieve my pocket knife and begin cutting and gasp when I get to the waist.
There are no legs. A fish tail occupies where the limbs should be.
I turn the creature over and fall backwards in ghastly shock.
Its angelic face was that of my beloved Elsa.
Upon my gentle touch she opened her eyes and turned to me and said,
"Nathaniel, please come home with me. I miss you."
I pulled her in close and kissed her before I cut the rest of her free.
I got behind her and worked my arms around her and slowly dragged her to the ocean.
The cold winter water numbed my body as we made our way further from the shore.
When the water was deep enough we embraced face to face.
Looking into my eyes she said,
"Nathaniel, I love you."
"I love you too Elsa. don't ever leave me again."
"Never." She replied.
We broke our embrace and she took me by the hand and we swam to our new home.
"Male. No vitals. Appears to be DOA." The EMT said into his radio.
"Bag 'em and tag 'em." The sheriff said.
"Suicide or accident sheriff?" Asked the paramedic.
"Don't know. Gonna have to see what the coroner says on this one."
