Anchored in Love

"So, you want to know why I love the ocean? Well, let me tell you a story."

Anna sat up straight across from William and looked him in the eyes. In the background they heard laughter and glasses clinking. They were in a bar near his apartment she had never been to before.

"First of all, there are three things that draw people to the ocean: the sun, the sand, and the salt. Now I know what you're thinking; 'But Anna, there's no sun at night!' or 'But Anna, beaches are not just for fun in summer!' Let me explain. The sun is for Vitamin D production, which we all need because our bodies cannot produce it on their own anymore. The sand is for massaging stress away with your bare feet when you have a tough week of studying or your roommate just broke something again and didn't tell you about it until you came home from class. And finally, the salt is for flavoring your food so that it doesn't taste bland."

William smiled at her as he took another sip of his beer. She was right about there being no sun at night; she was right about beaches being fun in winter; and she was right about flavoring food with salt. He couldn't help but smile at how intelligent she was and how well they were getting along tonight. She had even brought her guitar! He loved how passionate she got when she talked about climate change and had always enjoyed hearing her play her guitar.

"Some people say that if you stare into the ocean long enough, it speaks to you."

William's smile faded as he became more serious. He had a sad look on his face as he held back tears.

"And some people say that if you listen closely enough, it's screaming at you."

She reached out and touched his hand gently before continuing.

"I'm one of those people who see the ocean as an old wise man who has seen many hardships but has endured them all because of his love for the sea creatures."

An idea popped into William's head that made him giggle a little bit; he wondered what Anna would think if he told her about his idea after her story was finished. He quickly regained his composure and set down his beer before putting his hand over hers to keep her from pulling away while still smiling at her in anticipation of what else she might say.

"Where was I? Oh yes, wise men are patient and understanding."

William smiled again despite himself as he thought about how much he liked her being able to make him laugh like this without even trying.

"And yet he also gets angry when things go wrong."

She continued with a stern look on her face that William could barely contain himself from laughing at before continuing on to describe how she saw herself with respect to the ocean: human-like in some ways but animal-like in others (or maybe vice versa?). At times they needed a break from each other, but they were always able to get back together again by talking things through and coming back stronger than ever before once they had made up. With that very last sentence Anna's expression softened back into a smile and she intertwined their fingers together delicately without breaking eye contact with him once during the entire sentence containing that last sentence as if everything else she said was supposed to be obvious; as if everything else she said was supposed to lead up to that last sentence where they could finish each other's thoughts without having to speak aloud words they both knew were there anyway; as if everything else she said was supposed to be clear enough for them both to understand anyways because their deep connection allowed them both to read each other's minds like an open book.

William leaned forward slowly towards Anna who was still staring deeply into his eyes... or were their eyes closed? Who knows! The next thing either of them knew all they could feel was light tickling on their shoulders followed by lips meeting lips in nothing short of perfection itself; then warmness flowing through each other's body almost simultaneously; then knowing glances exchanged between each other followed by more soft kisses between two people who had suddenly become lost in each other's presence--so much so that neither of them had any clue how long they had been sitting outside kissing under the twilight sky filled with stars when someone nearby began commenting loudly about how impolite it is not only to stay out late like this but also to stand around making out while others are trying to enjoy themselves inside on this beautiful Friday evening--what are these two thinking?! Why don't they put some clothes on?! What kind of place is this anyway?! It must be some sort of weird European bar! What are these two doing here?! Why don't they just go back where they came from where people act like normal humans instead of animals?!

Slowly William pulled away from Anna after hearing someone shouting angrily at them from across the street--it must have been one of those people who kept walking past them looking disgusted or surprised or confused or irritated or afraid or whatever else at least ten times since they started kissing earlier on! His heart sank as he not only looked up at the person screaming at them but also noticed everyone around them walking faster now than before--people pretending not to look but stealing glances anyways--and dirty looks directed their way every few seconds by random passersby--and thought how glad he was that he hadn't wanted anything more than this kiss tonight while thinking what an incredible kisser Anna must be given how oblivious everyone around them seemed to have been given how long they kept kissing despite all this chaos going on around them--how lucky he felt given how well *THIS* kiss lasted despite all this chaos going on around them!

And then suddenly Anna whispered into his ear "Let's go home!" and for some reason William thought about all those married couples standing side-by-side holding hands under each other's arms whispering sweet nothings into their spouse's ears while walking through public parks after dinner with friends or family members during spring time--all those lovebirds who would stop every few minutes just so one could point out something interesting taking place somewhere far in the distance while using their free hand (the one accompanying the arm holding onto their spouse) to point over there while explaining why it's worth taking a break right now and enjoying life right now instead of focusing solely on work today/tomorrow/next week/next month/next year/the rest of one's life!/the rest of one's days living alone/the rest of one's life living alone while hating everyone else who gets married!

So William decided right then and there that whatever ends up happening between him and Anna--whether it ends tomorrow afternoon leaving behind nothing more than fond memories for both parties or whether it endures forever leaving behind an infinite number of moments similar to this first one shared tonight under a starry sky together--he would treat all moments spent together like these ones regardless because from hereon out all moments should be considered special regardless because tonight such moments shared between two people (a man and a woman) can mean so many different things depending on circumstances surrounding these moments; because tonight such moments shared between two people (a man and a woman) can mean something different for each person experiencing these moments depending on circumstances surrounding these moments; because tonight such moments shared between two people (a man and a woman) can mean something different for each person experiencing these moments depending on circumstances surrounding these moments because tonight is special regardless whatever happens tomorrow afternoon leaving behind nothing more than fond memories for both parties or whether it endures forever leaving behind an infinite number of moments similar to this first one shared tonight under a starry sky together since we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless because we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless because we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless because we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless because we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless because we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless because we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless since we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless since we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless since we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless since we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless since we're alive today therefore we're alive now therefore today should be treated like tomorrow regardless since we're alive today thus *THEREFORE* TODAY SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE TOMORROW REGARDLESS SINCE WE'RE ALIVE TODAY THEREFORE WE'RE ALIVE NOW THEREFORE TODAY SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE TOMORROW SINCE WE'RE ALIVE TODAY THEREFORE WE'RE ALIVE NOW THEREFORE TODAY SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE TOMORROW REGARDLESS BECAUSE WE'RE ALIVE TODAY THEREFORE WE'RE ALIVE NOW THEREFORE TODAY SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE TOMORROW BECAUSE WE'RE ALIVE TODAY