The elderly man sits by the window and watches the foam crested waves pass by his house. As the storm grows stronger it rattles the old wooden house. The only sound besides the thunder of the crashing waves and the wind outside is the voice on the radio repeating the same order to evacuate and seek shelter for safety over and over again.
Safety. Soft hugs from his mother and the warm hands of his father. Safe shelter in a tough world. The smell of freshly baked bread from the kitchen fills the young boy’s senses when he steps into the house after his first day at school. Without any worries and satisfied with life.
SLAM! The shutter slams against the wall and pulls him back from his memories. The weather is getting worse. Should he leave his home and go out into the unknown, or should he wait for the storm to get him so he could just disappear. Disappear from reality; to earlier times, to love.
Being in love is the best thing in life. Proud and slightly blushing he introduces a young lady to mom and dad. On their wedding night he carries the girl in his arms into their newly built home. They eat a humble dinner but are happy with what they have. Each other. Other things do not matter.
He stretches in the leather chair, the pain bites his back and once again his age makes itself felt. Is he strong enough to go on? Alone and unaided, without a family, without any children.
They always wanted to have children. Many timed they had tried but never succeeded. Succeeded in leaving something behind here on Earth. To see oneself continue in a sense.
His eyes wander around the big house, the rooms that could have been filled with children, filled with life.
Life and fun. The dresses swing in the breeze on the terrace. A lively tune sounds from the gramophone, his wife brings out refreshments. Life is good, his colleagues are laughing and having fun.
The company has always been his brainchild, his lifetime achievement. One of the most successful companies in the country.
On a bright spring morning he goes to work in his newly pressed suit and shiny brushed shoes. The company’s twenty-year anniversary. Twenty successful years. His encouraging and thankful speech sounds in the speakers, he is proud and grateful. For this he will be remembered.
Shouts and calls. The neighbors leave one by one to seek shelter from the storm. Life does not have to be over. He still has many good years left. His friends and colleagues need him, the company needs him. Many unfinished projects are waiting. What will become of his wealth, his company, his legacy? Fatigue washes over him, he is old. He longs for calm and peace to rest in the arms of his wife once again.
The calm is absolute; the warm rays of the sun heat the deck. The waitress serves drinks on a tray with floral decorations. The waves pass by, one by one, slowly, lazily. He is free, he is without worries, like the young boy who came home after his first day of school, satisfied with life. Then at the beginning, now at the end.