Wishing on a Wave (Part 1)

There was a man who understood and accepted nothing at all. A man kept awake at night pondering his own existence. If ever there was a man in need of answers, he was it. He had a wife and three children, a dog and a cat- all had real names, but none of that really mattered. Many would say, “A nice little family.” Everyday he went to work. Everyday he came home. Everyday he went to bed, wife by his side. Here is where this particular man strayed from the norm, for he rarely slept in his bed, as most men are known to do. He would lie awake: staring, listening, and all the while wishing. He never wished for fame, and he rarely wished for wealth; many times, against everything he believed, he secretly wished for happiness.

The man rarely spoke. the man’s family, on the other hand, seemingly could not stop. Therefore it was long ago decided to let them handle that aspect of the relationship. This left the man with only one responsibility: income. This was an easy task to handle, so he never complained. He knew that they did not love him, but since he provided no love in return, no one was hurt. During the day he would act normal, and most importantly, would force himself not to think too much. He knew that if he did not take the proper precautions, people would find out. he knew that they would discover that he was not like them, that he was not typical, normal, or worst of all, happy.

There were only two loves in his life, the night and the ocean. He had only seen the ocean once, well, he only really saw it once. He had been to the ocean dozens of times before, but that last time was the first time he ever truly saw it. He had been fifteen years old and he was with his mother. that evening his mother had expressed to him a thought that he had gone over every night since. “The Ocean is the most forgiving love in existence, it will always adore and accept you, no matter who you are or what you have done.” She told him that if he asked the waves, wishing with all of his heart, that they would grant his dreams. She told him he could stay on that beach for one night, and if he wanted it enough, the waves would grant his wish. Even all those years later he wondered if she would come back for him on that lonely beach he left behind long, long ago.

The night is always there. No matter how far he traveled or did not, the night always stood guard. It was the only time the man allowed himself to think, and more dangerously, dream. He would ponder religion, the idea of one God, watching over all, laughing at the World’s mistakes. He decided that if that thought made some happy, great, but he found the idea of grand insiginificance to be somewhat depressing. He much preferred the concept of why over because. Although, the thing that truly plagued this man’s mind was confusion. He had chosen long ago to give up the “pursuit of happiness” as so many had been lost in the chase. It had been his experience that those most content were those who had accepted the lack of fulfillment in their lives. Yet, as time went by, that constant became less and less of a truthful answer for him.

A guy