Fiction: The Healing Process

She walked along the beach letting the memories wash over her.  Stopping to look out over the water, she relished the feel of the warm sand between her toes and the cool water lapping at her ankles.  After a long, unbelievably cold, Winter the sun felt like liquid honey on her pale skin.

She started to walk along the shore again, a specific destination in mind.  The walk was so familiar, like a worn out favorite shirt; she could have easily closed her eyes and still found her way.  She faltered a minute as she neared the end of her walk; the pain was there, but it was manageable.

Determined, she slowly climbed their favorite bluff and sat close to the edge.  Closing her eyes, she felt his presence, which was extremely comforting.  In her mind’s eye, he was sitting next to her, enjoying this beautiful Spring morning as they reminisced about all the wonderful memories they’ve shared here throughout the years.

She smiled to herself as she saw flashes of their first vacation here, the time he proposed to her on the bluff, the vacations they spent here with their 3 beautiful children, and finally their last vacation here.  They had celebrated their 50^th anniversary that vacation; he had passed 3 short months later.

Taking a deep breath of sea air she opened her eyes and took in the true beauty of the water.   Her kids had tried to talk her out of coming here; a mere 2 months after he died.  She appreciated their concern, but as glad she had come.  Her husband was the love of her life or as they always liked to joke, her partner in crime.  It had been an incredible 50 plus years, filled with memories she would always cherish.  So many of those memories were created right here.

Standing up, she took one last look around and then started to walk down the bluff, making her way to the cabin.  A single tear slid down her cheek as she walked away from their special place, but she didn’t cry.  For the first time in weeks she felt certain she was going to be okay.  As long as she had this place, she knew she would always have him.

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This was written for Words in Sync’s The Storyteller Linky.

I choose to use the picture as inspiration to my story. Here was the prompt:

Your word count must range within 200 – 600 please. If it doesn’t, and you really must go over, split it into chunks
and link to where we can get to the second half

For the picture prompt, tell us of a holiday adventure. A special memory or a dream of somewhere your character wants to go.
A Poem or short is cool.