The Sea That Took Her.
1006 Words
The Harrington estate had never been so alive.
The morning after their engagement announcement, guests arrived bearing flowers and glittering congratulations. Footmen hurried through the halls with silver trays, and music drifted faintly from the drawing room. Evelyn moved through it all like a woman in a dream—her heart floating, her cheeks still burning with the memory of Adrian’s kiss.
“Mama,” she whispered as her mother fussed over the lace at her sleeves, “I still can’t believe it. Adrian and I… it feels as though everything in my life has aligned.”
Lady Harrington smiled knowingly. “Your father and I always hoped it would happen naturally. Families may arrange introductions, dear, but only true affection makes a marriage.”
Evelyn’s heart warmed. True affection—oh, she felt it. She felt it so intensely her entire being glowed with it.
Adrian was to visit that afternoon for tea. She planned to meet him by the garden steps early, so she could surprise him with a private smile before the formalities began.
But just before noon, a letter arrived.
Not from Adrian.
From her cousin in Marseille.
Please come, it read. Grandmother has taken ill and requests to see you at once.
Her parents exchanged worried glances. Travel across the Channel in late summer brought unpredictable weather, but her grandmother’s condition had worsened recently. Evelyn bit her lip.
“I should go,” she said softly. “She raised Mama for part of her childhood. And she has always been fond of me.”
Lord Harrington exhaled. “Then we will go as a family. A few days’ journey. We’ll return before the month’s end.” His gaze turned to his daughter. “Adrian will understand.”
Evelyn wrote to her fiancé at once, her handwriting delicate yet firm:
I shall return soon. Save a dance for me when we return—our first as future husband and wife.
She sealed the letter with a pale rose wax, imagining the warmth of Adrian’s smile when he read it.
Two days later, they boarded the Celestine.
---
The Sea and the Sky
The voyage began peacefully. The ship glided across the water like a swan, and Evelyn breathed deeply of the salty breeze. She stood at the railing, feeling the wind tug playfully at her hair.
“We should be in France by tomorrow afternoon,” her father said, adjusting his hat.
“I hope so,” Evelyn murmured, her eyes drifting toward the horizon. “I miss Adrian already.”
Lady Harrington chuckled. “You’ve only been away from him one day.”
“I know,” Evelyn said, blushing. “But… when you love someone, time stretches oddly.”
As the afternoon wore on, the sky grew heavy with purple clouds. The air shifted—charged, almost metallic. A sailor glanced up with a frown.
“Storm’s brewin’, miss,” he murmured, passing by. “Best head below deck soon.”
Evelyn nodded, unsettled by the sudden chill.
By dusk, the first raindrops fell.
By nightfall, the world had transformed into a fury of wind and water.
---
The Storm Unleashed
Thunder cracked across the sky like splitting stone. Waves rose like walls, slamming against the hull of the Celestine. Lanterns swung violently, casting frantic shadows across the deck.
“Evelyn, stay with me!” her mother cried, gripping her arm as the ship lurched.
Sailors shouted orders over the howling wind.
“Lower the sails!”
“Secure the starboard line!”
“We’re drifting—anchors won’t hold!”
Evelyn clung to her parents, but another wave crashed over the deck, knocking them off balance. She tasted salt and fear.
“Below deck!” her father shouted. “Quickly!”
But the ship tilted sharply, the deck slick beneath their feet. Evelyn stumbled, reaching desperately for her mother’s hand—
Another wave thundered over them. A mast groaned, splintered, and fell.
Evelyn screamed.
Something struck her temple—a blinding pain. The world spun.
The last thing she saw was the swirling darkness of the sea rising to claim her.
---
The Aftermath
Adrian awoke three days later to frantic knocking on the Blackwood estate door.
He opened it, expecting Evelyn.
Instead, a breathless messenger stood there, soaked with rain.
“My lord… there has been an accident.”
And just like that—
the world he knew
the world he loved
the world he planned for
collapsed beneath him.
---
A Lost Heart
When Evelyn’s eyes opened, she was lying on coarse linen sheets in a dimly lit room. A gentle hand pressed her shoulder.
“Easy,” a warm voice murmured. “You’re safe.”
Her gaze blurred, then slowly focused on a pair of striking hazel eyes—concerned, soft, and impossibly kind.
“Who… who are you?” she whispered, throat raw.
“I am Dr. James Whitlock,” the man replied. “You were found on the shore after the storm.”
She swallowed weakly. “Where am I?”
“In a coastal village not far from Marseille. You were unconscious… we didn’t know if you would wake.”
She tried to sit up, but the world tilted.
Dr. Whitlock shook his head gently.
Evelyn’s breath hitched. Her heart pounded. A sharp panic rose—but then, suddenly, horrifyingly—
She realized something.
Something worse than fear.
“I… I don’t…” She pressed her hands to her temples. “I can’t remember… anything.”
The doctor’s expression softened. “You took quite a blow to the head.”
“No,” she whispered, trembling. “My name. My home. My… everything.” Her voice cracked. “It’s gone. All of it.”
Dr. Whitlock took her trembling hand in his steady one.
“Then we will find it again,” he said softly. “Together.”
But far across the sea, a man was on his knees in despair, believing the woman he loved more than life itself had vanished forever
- Writer
