Music: IN LIGHT AND DARKNESS || Adrian von Ziegler

500 word weekend write in for 1st Feb 2019 - prompt 'arrive'

The day had been long - several days long actually.  And the distant horizon still offered no sign of the boat.

It had felt like an endless wait. She retraced her steps along the sand, carefully placing her feet in the prints she'd already created during her vigil. Her gown, diaphanous, floated out behind her, the fabric rippling silently in her wake.

Glancing to her right, she lifted her eyes to the city above the shore. Carved into the ancient sandstone cliffs a magical metropolis overlooked the emerald sea. Its many spires, turrets and filigree bridges bespoke the tranquillity within its walls. There, many like her spent their days in quiet contemplation, waiting for a boat. That one special boat.

A fanfare always announced the time of its arrival. The notes, however, were heard only by the one who would need to greet the boat.

She had been reading in the library when the melody reached her ears. At first, there was disbelief followed quickly by her utter joy as the music grew clearer. Abandoning her book on the ornate longue, she'd hitched up her gown and ran.

Down the long sweeping stairs, she'd moved - across plazas and over bridges, her heart beating wildly, exuberantly. Smiles and gentle words greeted her as she'd rushed past those who understood and shared her joy. Gentle laughter trailed after her.

On reaching the silver sands, she'd scanned the horizon. Nothing. She'd bit back her disappointment. She just had to be patient, the signal never lied. And so, she'd waited.

And waited.

Waited some more.

She sat down, her arms curled around her legs, chin resting on her knees. Her eyes, though welling from the constant fix on the horizon, never tired from watching, waiting. A delicate creature was she with her alabaster skin, golden hair and sylph-like figure. But, her heart was strong, loyal and brimming with love.

The stories had reached the city and each day she had listened, a little sting of envy as she watched someone else respond to their fanfare. Whether the music would call to her or not, she did not, could not know - unless it sounded for her.

A shimmer slipped across the horizon. Her heart leapt. Unblinking, she focused on where the distortion had been. A tiny speck then appeared.

She pushed herself up and ran down to the water's edge where it gently lapped the shore. Finally! The figurehead, Rallientha, Goddess of the Sea, cut across the waves towards the islands.

Anchoring at the edge of the reef, the passenger onboard climbed down the rope ladder. A ripple over the water ran all the way to the boat - a transparent pathway across gentle waves.

From the wars which raged across the mortal lands, another casualty had just arrived. 

She smiled as her husband's spirit disembarked upon the shores of the celestial realm and ran towards her with open arms. 

Their wait was finally over.