An English summer sun gleamed on the mast of the old Cutty Sark as it lay forlornly in the dry docks at Greenwich. As I stared at it I wondered at the fate of those that sailed in her and called her home. The sound of a ship moving up the Thames River drew my attention and I wandered off toward the railing along the high walls of the riverbank.
The water, now at high tide, lapped near the top of the wall as the sun, making its way West, creped toward the horizon. The water shimmered gold and red. Absent-mindedly, I wandered, in the approaching twilight, along the river foreshore with the ancient buildings of Greenwich University towering over me.
The sounds of laughter rolled out from the halls and verandas of the university as students finished late lectures, tutorials or study sessions in the library. I thought back to my university days of 30 years ago. How different it was now. Gone was the starch and formal rigour that was the atmosphere of the time, instead replaced with the relaxed and carefree attitudes of today.
Half way along this narrow waterside walk I stopped and sat on a bench. Across the river the three towers of Canary Wharf stood as silent salutes, to my right the white roof of the Dome surrounded by its crown of golden spikes caught the last of the sun. It was peaceful and serene, just right for the reflective mood I found myself in. The years had passed so quickly, so quickly I felt only half of my age, 50 seemed old even to me.
“Beautiful, the sun, the water, this time of day”, I swung around to see who had spoken.
Behind me stood a lone figure, silhouetted against the grounds of the university stretching out behind. The first thing I noticed was her long hair, pulled back into a ponytail, it cascaded down her back. Taking stock, I noticed she was wearing blue denims and sandals on her feet. Her button up cotton shirt was pulled slightly to one side by her daypack that was slung over her shoulder.
“Very calming and tranquil” I replied looking back toward the river.
“I often come here, sit and think,” said the stranger moving around the bench and sitting down.
“And what do you think about” I said turning toward her. For the first time I now had a clear view of her face in profile. She had strong features, high cheekbones, a proud nose and red, red lips. Her skin was fair, but carried a hint of ethnic diversity. Her long golden blonde hair framed her face. She smiled, an honest and open smile.
“I like to dream, with my eyes open, and this is a lovely place to wander off in my mind” she responded.
I understood, I too liked to dream with my eyes open, but lately my dreams had been interrupted by the nightmare of the reality, I was growing old, approaching the age when I thought my father ancient and incapable of enjoying life. I sighed thinking of her youth.
“That was a heavy sigh,” she said turning toward me and looking directly into my eyes.
I blushed, “I am sorry, I did not realise it was audible, I thought it was a sigh of my mind”.
“It was” she responded, “Some times with out rhyme or reason I make a connection with people, that is why I stopped and joined you in your appreciation of the view, I sensed that was what you were doing”.
I stared at her and fidgeted in my seat not sure what to think.
“It is ok, I only sense things, I cannot read your mind, so relax,” she said intuitively.
It was my turn to smile, “thank heavens for that” I whispered.
“My name is Rosie” she beamed.
“Pleased to meet you Rosie, I am Zark and before you ask my mother was Russian and named me Zarcosten but I am known as Zark”. I replied with my mind beginning to whirr
This was strange, I too was beginning to feel …… a connection, and I was also beginning to feel things that I had not explored in a long, long time. From nowhere the butterflies in my stomach began to flutter and my thoughts drifted toward sex as my eyes surveyed this young girl beside me again. She was 5”10”ish, with a slender – but not skinny build. Her clothing displayed her body in a passively seductive fashion, tight in all the right places and loose in others to allow ones imagination to fill in the gaps. I was mentally filling in the gaps.
“Hi Zark”, Rosie thrust out her hand to shake mine as she spoke.
My body tensed as I took her hand in mine. It was all I could do to stop myself pulling her into my arms and crushing her body against mine. I felt a tingle run through me, I realised I was staring. The thought of reaching out to another is a funny thing, you run chance being dammed if you do and almost certainly dammed if you do not. Hell, I thought, what do I do now? I felt a definite physical change and mentally I wanted to reach out to this young girl and shed my woes. But what do I do now?
“Lets start with a drink, the Trafalgar tavern is a short walk away,” Rosie offered, her intuition understanding my thoughts exactly.
I look at her again and wondered how she had again sensed my strong feelings. We stood together and, I leading, walked toward the tavern in an awkward silence broken only by the lapping of the tidal river on the banks.
“You go to university here” I ventured.
“Yes, in my final year of a Bachelor of Science degree, I will be sure glad when it is all over” She was now walking beside me looking out across the river. “It has been a hard three year slog” she went on.
“Well don’t waste the best years of your life,” I offered secretly wishing I were back at university and 20 years old again.
“Never” she replied linking her arm through mine as she spoke.
We wandered along the river bank arm in arm like old friends, and some how we were, it was as if I had known her all my life, it was a warm comfortable feeling.
“Do you live in the university accommodation?” I probed.
“No way” came her strong reply, “I have a small bed-sit just behind the Trafalgar tavern, it is nothing fancy but it is within my means”
