Inspired by Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

Far away, where the midday shadows bend at an opposite angle, and the bird's songs have a different pitch. A fisher-woman lived with her wife and three children. It was peacetime, and the sea had been fruitful, so they where happy and thrived. Thus, the fisher-woman's wife had the luxury of free time, and she tended a grand garden of colorful fragrant flowers and ripe, sweet fruits. The garden had violets, tulips and peonies, their smells intermingling with the oranges and pears, coloring the air and the life of the family with a joy seldom known to the world. In this joy the children flourished, growing happy and curious. The oldest became a lawyer, going away to the city to study, writing letters home every week. The second loved the the garden, tending to it day and night tirelessly, so he went and studied agriculture in the city with his older sister, hoping to one day return. The youngest, growing up around the bright colors and smells of the garden became an artist, studying the arts with the old painter that lived nearby.

Thus time passed, the oldest daughter stayed in the city, becoming a lawyer of much renown, eventually running for parliament, hoping to help the people of the countryside which the government had forgotten. The middle child finished his studies and started working at a farm near his childhood home. Once the old farmer he worked for passed away, he was given the farm to tend and to own, as none of the farmers children wanted it. The youngest, travelled the world, painting cities, and landscapes they came across. Eventually, a wealthy business owner in a far-away town became fascinated with their art, becoming their patron, and guaranteeing them an exciting life full of art and much partying.

With their children successful and happy, the fisher-woman and her wife where left alone except for each other. Their life became slow and tired with age, but their happiness and love for each other never faded. The garden, flourished bigger than ever, a testament to these feelings. Eventually, as all things do, the fisher-woman's wife came to an end, it was a peaceful end. She fell a little ill one day, and soon after her children all came to visit her, she died in her sleep, surrounded by those she loved.

Now that the fisher-woman's wife was dead, her children became worried for her, wondering if she would be fine being left alone, and what would she do. She told them not to worry, she left them the house, bade them goodbye, and set off in her old boat. They would never see her again.

Far away she travelled, seeing sights she had never seen before in the simple life she had chosen for herself. Of course, not once did she regret it, for it had been a good life, but now, she wanted to explore the world, for herself and for her dear departed wife. So she travelled everywhere she could, writing down all the sights, sounds, smells and experiences in a notebook. She wrote these as letters to her wife, as a final goodbye to her love and her life.

One day, she ventured out onto the sea, tired and content from all the travel, carrying nothing but her book and a waterproofed wooden chest with the journal in it. She rowed as far as her arms would carry her, before long however, she grew tired and stopped rowing. She laid down on the boat, closing her eyes to rest for just a moment.

Soon, she was awakened by the boat hitting the sandy coast of a beach, the waves pattering against its sides. She stood up, still a little tired from the rowing, and set foot on the beach, carrying the waterproofed chest with her. She walked a little while up the beach, till she reached a forest. Tired but dedicated, she entered the forest, its leaf-covered ground mottled with light beams peeking through the canopies of the trees. The air was cool and the ground was soft, a nice breeze whistled through the leaves and a couple of birds sang their calls here and there. It was a nice walk. Soon, she reached a clearing in the forest, exhausted she laid down for a little while, enjoying the breeze and the sun.

It was not long before nightfall reached that island that the fisher-woman had found herself in. The night brought with it different birds and different smells. Now a little more rested, the fisher-woman turned around and walked back the way she came, deciding to sleep by the water. As the walked through the forest the world seemed to lighten, like the sun had come out again. She walked and walked. She walked for longer than she remembered, never growing tired. She saw tulips and peonies lining the path. Violets, soon joined them in chorus, coloring the previously green forest with purples and pinks and whites. The breeze whistled through the leaves, the birds chirped and the fisher-woman felt the scent of peonies, pears and oranges carried by the soft, cool breeze.