Death at sea

"She's ready, and willing," I heard behind me. He was looking at the sky as he was saying. His expression was sad, his lips were turning down. I walked until my feet were covered by the water, and looked up. The moon light embraced me, and I smiled.

I lowered my head and my eyes met the red clouds. It was a story a thousand times told in the past. It will be told many more thousands, in the future. My future was written in their color. A gift for our Gods.

"I can't do this," he said to me, as I started to kneel in the water, following the ritual. "It has to be done," is all I could answer.

"The Gods are cruel," he continued. "The Gods will take me. I will be safe, and we will meet again once this is over," I replied. He shook his head in disbelief. Then I started to lie down.

I felt his fingers closing my eyes. I felt his soft kiss on my forehead. He put the necklace around my neck, his first gift, and then I knew, it was the moment. "I love you," he said, and walked away. I knew he was crying. Once I was drifting in open sea, I started to doubt. "What if the Gods never existed? What if I have just been left alone, facing death at sea?"