The sun was setting and the warmth on our backs quickly faded as we made our way across the never ending coastline of Kathrin’s Beach. The air turned brisk as Charlie slipped his warm inviting hand into my cold, and somewhat clammy, one. I turned to look into his innocent, deep green eyes and could feel the heat emanating off of his copper skinned build as Charlie held me close to him, for goose bumps were beginning to form upon my perfect hourglass figure, or so he calls it. He kissed my forehead ever so subtly and whispered, “I love you, Jo, and wouldn’t trade this moment for anything in the world.” Tears formed at the corners of my crystal blue eyes when I responded, “Charlie, I feel that for the past six months, I have given you nothing but my love and affection.” I wiped a tear that rolled down my stone cold face and continued, “My love for you is stronger than the chains that bind a prisoner. I can’t shake the feeling I had when I first laid my eyes on yours that snowy New Year’s Eve. I wouldn’t trade THAT moment for ANYTHING in the universe. I love you, Charlie, and never forget that. No matter where you are or what happens, don’t forget it.” Tears drenched my shirt as he embraced me. Fighting the tears, Charlie mumbled, “I won’t, I promise.”

The tide was beginning to roll in and Charlie and I moved up the beach, finding a soft patch of grass to relax on. By now, the breeze was swift and the air was sharp as I laid my emotionally distressed head on Charlie’s broad shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, like a blanket, and kissed the crown of my head. “This night couldn’t be any more perfect,” I purred. “Oh yeah?” Charlie mocked as he lured my face slowly towards his, kissing me; first on my trembling lips, then he relocated to my chin. He kept working his way down my neck and arms, making sure not to leave a single inch of my skin untouched by his gentle touch.

Our relationship escaladed to the next level, as I became engulfed in passion, and lost all track of time. “We should probably go. My mother will skin my hide if I’m not home in ten minutes,” I said, trying to gather my things as quickly as possible, for I live, at least, twenty minutes away from the beach. “Calm down babe,” Charlie said, fastening his belt. “I’ll just tell her that we lost track of time; which isn’t really a lie.” He chuckled a little, but stopped once he saw the sternness in my eyes. “Okay, let’s get out of here.” “Thank you,” I said while shutting the passenger door with a jerk. Charlie swooped into the driver’s seat, started the engine and sped out of the gravel parking lot; flinging rocks against the back window. He fish tailed onto the road and by passed every stop sign in sight. “Slow down, Charlie. You’re beginning to scare me,” I said, fear, or so I thought, churning in my stomach. Putting even more weight on the gas pedal, Charlie said, “Why? Aren’t you in a hurry to get home, and see dear old mom and dad?” He paused, inhaled deeply, “You live your life pleasing them, don’t you? You are always trying to meet their standards and make them happy. Trust me, I’ve noticed.” Charlie looked over at me and there was the most frightening expression upon his face. I figured he saw the tears flowing down my face and realized how much he hurt me, but that wasn’t the case. “JO!” he said, pointing behind me. I whipped my head around and was blinded by the headlights of a semi- truck.

I was awakened up by the purple tint of flashing red and blue lights outside the remains of the vehicle. I reached up and rubbed my head, for there was this throbbing pain within it, realizing that I was losing blood, and at a drastic rate. I tried to adjust myself, but couldn’t. I was pinned to the cold leather seat by my seatbelt. I turned my head, which was about the only thing I could move, and looked towards Charlie. He sat motionless; head resting against the steering wheel and his hair was matted with blood. “Charlie, no! No Charlie!” I said, tears lining the brim of my eyes. The firefighters were beginning to remove him from his blood stained seat and I couldn’t stand watch. They cut his seatbelt and Charlie fell out of the car onto the glass covered pavement; still not moving a muscle. I couldn’t bear to watch any further and turned my attention to the gentlemen prying what was left of my door open with the Jaws of Life. The noise it made was ear-piercing, and didn’t help the migraine that was forming in the center of my cranium. The longer it went on, the more light-headed I got, up until the point I finally passed out.

A sense of nausea came about me as a nurse eased her way into the hospital room they assigned me to. “Miss Franklin, do you remember what happened, last night?” the nurse said, recording my blood pressure and heart rate. As much as I didn’t want to, I remembered; the lights, the shattered glass, the blood. Tears overwhelmed me and I had to know, “Where’s Charlie?” She glanced at me, lying her clipboard on the bedside table, and dropped her head. When she rose it again, clear, salty liquids streamed down her face. “Miss Franklin,-” “Please,” I said, “tell me. Where is Charlie?” “He… Charlie didn’t make it. He died almost instantly upon impact.” My bandaged head fell into my bruised hands. “No. No. No!” I said, washing my hands with tears. “The truck hit on the passenger side. I should have been the one to go, not him! It just doesn't make sense.” The nurse laid her comforting hand upon my damaged back. “Jo,” she said, “we believe that your life was spared for a reason.” I turned my glare towards her. “What… what are you talking about? There is no explanation to why I am sitting in this hospital, alive, and he’s not.” She took a deep breath, “When you arrived, to the hospital, we took immediate action. There were nurses giving you IV’s, dressing your wounds and taking blood.” “Okay, but that still doesn’t-” the nurse held up a finger, and continued, “When your blood tests came back, we discovered that…well… Jo, we believe that you are with us, now, because… because you’re pregnant.” My anger quickly turned to disbelief as I closed my eyes and wept, uncontrollably. She embraced me with her motherly touch and in a hushed tone, said, “I’m sorry, Miss Franklin. I’m so sorry.”

Nine months later
I stood staring at the sky, as I held two week old Charlie in my arms. The horizon of Kathrin Beach changed from different shades of blue to pink and pink to red. I closed my eyes and took in the smell of the fresh salt water, the chill of the sharp breeze and the grainy sensation of the sand in between my toes, for the first time in nine months. The presence of the waves sent tears rolling down my face as I made my way towards the tall grass that held my most cherish able memory. I dropped to my knees, kissed the top of Charlie’s jet black curls, and released her from my embrace; onto the ground. Looking up to the sky, I said, “Because of you, she lives to see the light of day. Because of you, she breaths the air we once shared. But most of all, because of you, your presence remains, forever, in my heart.”