The canyon gave way to fertile deciduous forests and grasslands. Animals crossing the trail were abundant now, and she always kept a close eye on her seagull friend, as she wasn't very excited about the idea of him being eaten. Life gained the feeling of a harvest for her, and she had almost never been happier. Members of the group were parting more often now, everyone taking their own paths in the fertile lands. One particularly bittersweet day occurred when Julie's older brother left the party with a group of friends he had made.
Then one day the group emerged from the sun-spattered trees onto the top of a large grassy hill. Below them stretched many plains, forests, houses, and beyond them all, stretching wide and blue, was the ocean. The sun glinted from the water back to both Julie's and her mother's eyes. The sun shone in their tears as well. Finally they had reached the ocean, after endless deserts, mountains, thieves, joys, and tears. There it was, the ocean, rippling innocently in the late-afternoon sunshine.
It didn't take long for them to reach it's shores. they waked past fertile farms and tender deciduous trees. Both the houses and the people that lived in them were extraordinarily friendly. Whole families ran out to greet the weary but joyous travelers. Julie could smell the sea breeze in the air, and felt that finally, finally the journey was over.
The day she walked out onto the beach with her mother and felt the ocean's mist on her face, heard the splash of the waves echo in her ears, and took in the beauty of the sun setting pinkly into the water, she cried tears that let all of her pain fall away. She had come to the end of the journey. The celebrations held by the traveling party in the sand were unimaginably sweet.
Child of the stars, torn by the wind, on the edge of the ocean.
Almost all of the travelers remained at the beach together. They all bought houses somewhat close together and visited often. Julie's mother bought a house almost right on the beach and bought Julie's cerse as well. They had both become far too attached to the ornery, but gentle animal. Many thanks and tears were given to the shepherds as they left for the long journey back to their desert home.
Julie loved everything about life on the ocean. Everyday she collected shells on it's shores, and every night she passed the time with the friends she had made on the journey. She was captivated by the sky, never had she seen it so blue or the clouds so white. The nights were warm, and many times she would lay awake in her bed listening to the seagulls singing and the breeze wafting slowly around. Her own friend the seagull nested in her room with her still, and she thought that her traveling and yearning was finally, finally over.
Almost.
She had more to see.
The feeling grew despite how she attempted to push it down. She found herself feeling stressed and lonely a lot. Again she found companionship with her seagull friend. She longed to fly like he could, to know what it was she had left to do.
Her friends began to notice the changes in her. They worried over her, constantly asking if she was sick or depressed. She loved them all more than she could express with words, but she knew in her heart that they could never understand what she felt.
One evening she was talking with her mother when the seagull took off from her shoulder, shrieked, and flew straight out the open window towards the ocean. This behavior was somewhat odd, and seeing as he usually only shrieked when something important was going on, they decided to follow him.
They both jogged behind him, through the now familiar trees and grass, and soon emerged onto the sand of the beach. the sun had just set, and the sky had it's eerey lit up quality it always took on just before nightfall. At first the two women didn't see what all the hoopla was about, looking up at their seagull friend circling around in the sky. He gave another shriek and took off in a straight line over the water, towards the horizon.
"Where is he going?" Julie's mother asked, but Julie couldn't speak, because her eyes had followed the birds flight path, and now saw exactly what was going on.
There were white sails on the horizon. White sails leading ships straight towards the harbor of their village. Julie's mother noticed the change in her daughter almost before she saw the ships herself.
As soon as Julie's eyes had taken in the sails she knew, with absolute certainty, what she had to do. Her hands fell loosely to her sides. She turned to her mother, tears flowing silently in small rivers from her eyes, partly from relief, and partly from sorrow. She took in a deep shaky breath.
"I have to leave." She said, barely above a whisper, hardly believing that the words had really come from her. Her mother looked back at her with eyes as dry as she could keep them.
"I know, sweetheart. I know."
The afternoon the ships left was one of the saddest Julie ever lived through. All of her friends were lining the docks, her mother in front with her two best friends right behind her. It was like a painting, so surreal Julie couldn't believe it was even happening, and yet she knew with absolute certainty in some deep part of her mind that she had to go. She said goodbye to everyone. There wasn't a single dry eye, save for the seagulls, by the time she hugged her two best friends. Her mom was the very last, and she stood in front of her, not quite sure what to do. A hug didn't seem enough to convey all of the love Julie felt for her. Smiling, her mother pulled Julie's limp body into a tight hug, and pulling away, she looked at her daughter, now a woman. She kissed Julie on both cheeks and then turned her to face the ships.
"Go. And remember that I will always love you."
Julie, feeling out of sorts, wasn't even sure she could remember how to walk. She saw the seagull siting on the side of the ship to her left, and carefully stepped onto that one. Immediately the ships departed, and Julie couldn't seem to move from the spot where she stood, the seagull standing silently next to her. She watched the docks full of the people she loved grow smaller and smaller, fading into the distance. She couldn't stop the tears falling from her eyes.
Far to late her mind kicked into gear, and just as the minuscule figure of her mother disappeared into the distance she remember to respond.
"I love you too, Mom!" She cried out, not caring that her mother couldn't hear her. She let out a long slow breath, feeling thick and slow, and laid a hand on the seagull's back, feeling the softness of his feathers beneath her swollen, sweaty fingers.
"I won't forget."
