“Whatever is on his mind…I wish he would just tell me,” She thought to herself as they walked through the cool autumn evening. He had been silent all day as if lost in a world of dream. It had been a beautiful day…a wonderful day to be on vacation with the man she had grown to love more than any other she had ever been with. The trees were at peak autumn brilliance, the air crisp, and the sky a flawless blue. But he had spoken even less than is his wont.
She knew him to be a man of few words, but this was different. She was starting to wish that she had not discussed the commitment issue with him the night before. But she had to say it…she just had to get it out in the open. It had been eating up her every thought for the last month and she needed to share it with him, but now she was scared that she had pushed him too far.
Fear…that is what drove her to address the issue with him, fear of being led to yet another dead end in life. They had been together for over a year and in that time neither had seen any other as if by some sort of unspoken contract. She had been honest with him about her needs and goals in life but she knew little of his. Did he want to marry and have children as she did? She just wasn’t sure…he had never spoken about it. When she had addressed the issue with him in bed on the previous night, he didn’t speak a word. He simply smiled and curled up with his head on her shoulder. He was sound asleep in an instant.
The light wind rustled the leaves on the ground as they approached the bluffs. One of the few things he had told her was that he wanted to go see Miner’s Castle and now they were approaching the wooden safety rail at the edge of the step bluff. The sight she saw stole her breath and brought tears to her eyes. Over the edge was a sheer sandstone cliff that fell a hundred feet to Lake Superior’s cold clear waters. Out off the end of a nearby point stood the castle. Not an actual fortress type of castle as she had expected but rather a castle shaped formation of colored sandstone that towered over the surface of the lake. The dwindling evening sun was a huge ball of fire that shot its rays between the formation’s two mighty ramparts. The sky was alive with color and fire. She stood speechless as if stricken dumb by the brilliance of the spectacle, tears brimming along her long eyelashes and trickling down her cheeks.
She reached for him and pulled him close. His eyes were teary as well, but they looked troubled. She could take no more of this awkward distance that lie between them. She had no doubt that it was last night’s discussion that now worried her kindhearted lover and she knew she had to ease his mind.