A VISION OF BEAUTY

  

         SHE WAS A VISION OF BEAUTY AS SHE STOOD THERE AT THE TOP OF THAT KNOLL FACING THE WATER HER THIN COTTON DRESS DAMP AND THE WIND BLOWING IT TIGHT AGAINST HER BODY. AT TWENTY SHE WAS IN FULL BLUM HER BREAST’S SAGGED ONLY SLIGHTLY WITH OUT ANY THING HOLDING THEM AND HER BODY DISPLAYED FULLY BENEATH THAT WET WIND HELD DRESS THAT WAS ALMOST TRANSPARENT HIDING NONE OF HER BEAUTY.   SHE WAS A WOMAN AND THERE WAS NO MISTAKING THAT. AT TIMES THE WIND WOULD LIFT HER DRESS UP OVER HER HIPS AND SHE WOULD HAVE TO PULL IT DOWN BUT SLOWLY. SHE LONGED TO REMOVE EVEN THE THIN DRESS SHE HAD ON AND CAST IT TO THE WINDS AS SHE THOUGHT, THEY SAY THERE IS A LOVER FOR ALL BUT WHERE IS MINE?  OUT TO SEA SHE COULD SEE A BOAT AND SHE WONDERED IF THERE WAS A LOVE FOR HER IN THAT BOAT. THERE MAY VERY WELL BE BUT HOW WILL I KNOW IF I DON’T EVER GET TO SEE HIM? MARGARET WAS BORN AND RAISED ON THIS ISLAND AS WERE HER ANCESTORS FOR SO FAR BACK NO ONE COULD REMEMBER WHEN THEY WEREN’T HERE. MOST HAD BEEN HAPPY TO LIVE OUT THERE LIVES HERE AND IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL TROPICAL ISLAND. SOME BOATS WOULD STOP BUT NOT MANY. MARGARET HAD THE BENEFIT OF AND EDUCATION THAT HER PARENTS DID NOT AND MAYBE THAT’S WHY SHE LONGED TO SEE THE REST OF THE WORLD. THE WORLD SHE HAD ONLY READ ABOUT. SHE HAD BEEN WARNED ABOUT SAILORS AND WHAT THEY DID AND HOW THEY WOULD SLIP AWAY IN THE NIGHT LEAVENING YOU WITH A BROKEN HEART OR WORSE SOME DISEASE AND SHE HAD SAID TO HER SELF THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN TO ME. THE ONLY MAN THAT WILL EVER TOUCH ME WILL BE MY WEDDED HUSBAND. AND EVEN AT TWENTY MARGARET STILL HAD A PRESENT FOR HER HUSBAND TO BE?? 

THAT SHIP SEEMS TO BE GETTING CLOSER THOUGHT MARGARET MAYBE IT WILL STOP HERE? SO SHE WATCHED IT SAIL TOWARDS HER, SHE COULD SEE IT WAS A YACHT AND A BIG ONE . AS IT TRAVELED AROUND THE ISLAND TO GET TO THERE ONE HARBOR ON THE ISLAND. MARGARET WATCHED IT AS IT DOCKED. THEN SHE DECIDED TO GO DOWN AND SEE WHO OR WHAT IT WAS. THE LIVING WAS EASY ON THIS TROPICAL ISL. AND MARGARET THOUGHT NOTHING OF GOING DOWN TO THE HARBOR IN THAT THIN WET DRESS, IN DEED IT WAS ALL SHE EVER WORE. AND NO ONE ON THE ISLAND THOUGHT ANY THING OF IT. AS THE PEOPLE CAME OFF THE YACHT MARGARET COULD SEE THEY WERE A MIXED BUNCH OF TOURIST, SOME FAT ONE’S AND THIN ONES. THERE IN THE BUNCH WAS A MAN THAT MARGARET COULD YEARN FOR. HE WAS TALL AND GOOD LOOKING AND HE HAD AN AIR ABOUT HIM THAT SET HIM OFF FROM THE OTHERS, HE COULD HAVE BEEN OLDER THAN MARGARET BUT NOT MUCH. MARGARET STOOD THERE AND WATCHED THEN WALK INTO THE VILLAGE AND WHEN THIS YOUNG MAN WALKED PAST HER HE STOPPED AND LOOKED AT HER AS NO MAN HAD EVER LOOKED BEFORE. IN A WAY IT THRILLED MARGARET BUT IT LEFT HER FEELING AS THOU SHE WERE NAKED, WHICH SHE ALMOST WAS, BUT MARGARET HAD NEVER HAD THIS FEELING BEFORE. AS HE LOOKED AT HER MARGARET ENJOYED IT WITH JUST A BIT OF UNCOMFORT NOW MEN HAD LOOKED AT HER BEFORE, MEN OF THE ISLAND BUT THIS HAD MEANT NOTHING TO HER SO WHY DID THIS STRANGER MAKE HER FEEL THIS WAY. MARGARET ALL MOST RAN WHEN HE STARTED TO WALK TOWARD HER BUT SHE WAS TO FASCINATED. THERE HE WAS STANDING IN FRONT OF HER AND LOOKING HER IN THE EYES. HIS EYES WERE BLUE NOT BROWN LIKE ALL THE MEN ON THE ISLAND AND HIS HAIR WAS WHITE. IT WAS THEN MARGARET REALIZED HE WAS THE MOST HANSOM MAN SHE HAD EVER SEEN. HE STOOD THERE A LONG TIME JUST LOOKING INTO HER EYES AND MARGARET COULD FEEL A COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THEM BUT HE NEVER SAID A WORD. A HALF HOUR MAYBE AN HOUR PASSED AS THEY STOOD THERE STARING INTO EACH OTHERS EYES. FINALLY A MAN CAME BACK FOR HIM AND WITH HIS HANDS HE TALKED TO THIS HANSOM STRANGER AND WITH OUT TAKING HIS EYES OFF MARGARET HE USED HIS HANDS TO TELL THE MAN, LATER.. MARGARET MADE THE SIGN FOR DO YOU NOT HEAR AND AT THIS THE HANSOM STRANGER SIGNED, I DON’T HEAR OR SPEAK. BUT HOW COULD THAT BE MARGARET ALREADY KNOW HIS NAME, IT WAS HAROLD AND HE WAS FROM A LARGE CITY HALF A WORLD AWAY, HOW COULD SHE KNOW THIS?? THEN HIS EYES LOCKED IN ON HER’S AGAIN AND IT WAS AS IF HE WAS TALKING TO HER, SHE KNOWS EVERY THOUGHT AND SHE SEEMED TO PASS HER THOUGHT’S TO HIM THE SAME WAY. THEN AS THEY PASSED THOUGHTS BACK AND FORTH, MARGARET SAW TEARS SWELL UP IN HIS EYES AND SHE THOUGHT WHY? IMMEDIATELY SHE KNOW HE HAD SEARCHED THE WORLD OVER FOR SOME ONE HE COULD COMMUNICATE WITH AND SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE HE HAD MET. MARGARET MOVE TO HIM AND TOUCHED HIS FACE, IT WAS SO FAIR; MARGARET HAD NEVER MET ANY ONE SO FAIR BEFORE. THEN HE TOUCHED HER FACE MARGARET WAS DARK FROM LIVING ON THE ISLAND ALL HER LIFE AND HER ANCESTORS HAD BEEN POLYNESIAN BUT OVER THE YEARS AN OCCASIONAL WHITE SAILOR HAD STOPPED AT THE ISLAND SO MARGARET WAS LIGHTER THAN MOST AND HER BEAUTY STOOD OUT LIKE A FRESH MORNING WITH THE DUE STILL ON HER NOSE. THOSE BIG ROUND EYES DISPLAYED A CAPACITY FOR LOVE THAT HERALD HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE. AS THEY STOOD THERE NOT A SOUND PASSED BETWEEN THEM BUT THEY WERE TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN THEIR OWN WAY.  HOURS PASSED AND THE OTHERS WERE MAKING THEIR WAY BACK TO THE YACHT AND SOME SIGNALING TO HERALD TO COME ON.  HERALD SIGNED TO THEM THAT HE WAS GOING TO GET SOME THING TO DRINK AND TAKING HER ARM HE LEAD MARGARET TO THE SMALL RESTAURANT. AS THEY WALKED MARGARET REALIZED SHE DID NOT HAVE TO LOOK INTO HIS EYES TO COMMUNICATE. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS THOUGHT MARGARET I FEEL SO TIMID, LIKE BEING AFRAID

 BUT I’M NOT AFRAID AT ALL? THIS MAN HAS TOTALLY CAPTIVATED ME OR IS IT I WHO HAS CAPTIVATED HIM, OH I SO MIXED UP SHE THOUGHT. AS THEY DRANK A SODA HE LOOKED AT HER AND SHE COULD FEEL HIM WANTING HER TO KNOW THAT HE FELT THE SAME WAY. THEN HE LET HER KNOW THAT THEY WOULD ANCHOR IN THE HARBOR WHILE HE GOT TO KNOW HER BETTER. CAN YOU DO THAT SHE QUESTIONED AND HE IN HIS WAY LET HER KNOW THAT HE OWNED THE YACHT AND IT WOULD STAY OR SAIL AT HIS WHIM. THEY STAYED TOGETHER TILL ALMOST DARK AND MARGARET SAID I HAVE TO BE HOME. THEN HE SAID I WILL SEE YOU IN THE MORNING, WHEN HE GOT UP TO LEAVE HE TOOK HER HAND AND HELD IT WITH BOTH OF HIS. THEN KISSING IT SOFTLY HE WAS GONE. THIS WAS A TROUBLED NIGHT FOR MARGARET. HER MOTHER ASK IF ANY THING WAS WRONG THEN AS MARGARET TRIED TO TELL HER HOW SHE FELT MENTIONING THE YOUNG MAN ONLY ONCE. THIS MOTHER WAS A VERY WISE WOMAN AND IT DID NOT TAKE HER LONG TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HER DAUGHTER'S PROBLEM WAS AND KNOWING THE MARGARET WAS PAST THE AGE WHEN MOST GIRLS TAKE A MATE MOTHER FELT A BIT OF JOY FOR HER. SHE HAD TO HOLD HERSELF THOUGH UNTIL SHE KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS MAN, WHO DID NOT SPEAK BUT COULD TALK TO MARGARET. SUCH THINGS WERE NOT UNKNOWN TO THE ISLAND PEOPLE. WHEN HER HUSBAND WAS SWEPT OUT TO SEA AND LOST HE HAD CALLED TO HER AND SHE ANSWERED HIM AND FOR A TIME THEY WERE JOINED BUT THAT WAS YEARS AGO. MOTHER WENT TO BED HAPPY IN HEART THAT MARGARET HAD AT LAST FOUND SOME ONE BUT KNOWING THAT IF THIS IS TO BE MARGARET MAY WELL LEAVE THE ISLAND AND NEVER RETURN. THIS TO WAS THE WAY OF LIFE FOR ISLANDERS, SOME COME BUT MORE GO.

   THE NEXT MORNING MARGARET WAS AT THE PIER AND HERALD CAME RUNNING TO HER LETTING HER KNOW THAT HE HAD SLEPT BADLY, THINKING ABOUT HER ALL NIGHT. HE ASKS HER IF SHE HAD EATEN AND SHE SAID NO. COME HE SAID AND LEAD HER ON TO THE YACHT, IT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOAT SHE HAD EVER SEEN. BUT SHE REALIZED SHE WAS NOT DRESSED AS THE OTHERS WERE AND THEY DID LOOK AT HER WITH THAT LOOK OF WELL LIKE SHE WAS A A NATIVE AND THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE MARGARET HAD THIS FEELING. IT BOTHERED HER AND HERALD KNOW IT AT ONCE AND TOLD HER NO NO YOU ARE JUST DIFFERENT TO THEM BUT TO ME YOU ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD. I THINK I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOU WHEN I FIRST SAW YOU STANDING THERE, I DID KNOW RIGHT AWAY THAT WE COULD TALK TO EACH OTHER YOU KNOW. WELL-SAID MARGARET IT CAME AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE TO ME. I HAD NEVER EXPERIENCED ANY THING LIKE IT BEFORE. WELL SAID HERALD IN TIBET I MET AN OLD BUDDHIST MONK AND INSTANTLY HE CAME TO ME AND WE WERE TALKING JUST AS YOU AND I ARE. IT SEEMED SO NATURAL AT THE TIME THAT I DID NOT,  AT FIRST , REALIZE WHAT WAS GOING ON . HE TOLD ME SOME DAY I WOULD MEET YOU, OH HE DID NOT SAY YOU EXACTLY JUST THAT I WOULD MEET A PERSON SOME DAY AND WE WOULD BOND AND HAVE MANY GOOD YEARS TOGETHER. I HAVE SEARCHED THE WORLD OVER FOR YOU AND TO THINK I WAS GOING TO PASS THIS ISLAND UNTIL I SAW THIS VISION OF BEAUTY STANDING ON A KNOLL WITH WHAT LOOKED LIKE A DRESS BLOWING IN THE WIND SOME HOW THAT CALLED ME IN TO PORT. I’M NOT AN IMPULSIVE PERSON AND THIS MAY BE TO FAST FOR YOU BUT I WANT TO MARRY YOU RIGHT NOW, I FEEL I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU ALL MY LIFE. MARGARET SAT DOWN ON A CHAIR AND PUT HER FACE IN HER HANDS AND THE TEARS ROLLED DOWN HER CHEEKS AND THEN LOOKING UP TO HIM SHE SAID I TO HAVE WAITED ALL MY LIFE FOR YOU TO COME TO ME AND I AN YOURS IF YOU WANT ME. HERALD TOOK MARGARET IN HIS ARMS AND GIVING HER A LONG KISS HOLDING HER AS TENDERLY AS HE COULD.   SHE PUT HER ARMS AROUND HIM AND HELD ON TIGHT AS THE LOVE FLOWED BETWEEN THEM. THIS TRULY WAS A LOVE PROPHESIED OF OLD AND NOW THE BONDING WAS COMPLETE AND THE WORLD WOULD BE THEIRS FOREVER.