I thought I had hidden my past along with my husband, who I believed had passed away three years ago. But on a distant beach, I watched him — alive, smiling, holding hands with a woman and a little girl. My world smashed all over again. Was it really him? And why was he with another family?
My Anthony loved the ocean. It was his escape from the everyday. He had a small boat, and he would often take it out, fishing, swimming, just enjoying the water.
Usually, he took someone with him, me or one of his friends, but that day, he decided to go alone.
I was in the early stages of pregnancy then, and I worried maybe something was wrong with the baby.
But when Anthony said he was taking the boat out, something inside me began screaming.
I begged him not to go. I entreated with him to stay. But he just smiled, told me everything would be fine, kissed me goodbye, and walked out the door.
The storm appeared suddenly.
My husband disappeared without a trace. They never found his body.
I broke. I was emotional. The stress of it all took the baby too. I lost everything.
Three years have passed since then.
All these years, I couldn’t bring myself to go near the water. Too frightening. Too damaging. But I finally decided that if I wanted to heal, I had to deal with it.
I couldn’t go to the beach in our town — that would’ve been intolerable. So I bought a ticket and booked a vacation. Alone.
“How can you go alone? I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Mom said.
“Take at least one friend. Or let me come with you,” she said.
“I don’t have any friends anymore,” I shouted.
“Then I’ll come,” Mom declared.
“No. I don’t want that. I need to be alone,” I answered firmly.
Two days later, I had already arrived at the resort. I checked into my hotel, but I still could not bring myself to go down to the beach.
The next morning, I finally put on my swimsuit, packed my beach bag, and headed toward the beach.
People swam and splashed and laughed. Children built castles in the sand.
Hours passed. Eventually, I forced myself to stand and take a few steps toward the water.
But I kept going, inching closer and closer. That’s when I saw them.
A family of three. A man, a woman, and a little girl — no older than three.
When I saw the man’s face, the ground disappeared beneath me.
“Anthony!” I cried out.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Just breathe. Do you need an inhaler?” Anthony asked urgently.
“Alright. In and out. In and out. You’re okay,” he repeated softly.
“You’re alive,” I muttered.
“Do you know her?” the woman asked him.
“I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Anthony replied. . “My name’s Drake.”
“No, it’s not! It’s Anthony. It’s me — Marissa. Your wife,” I said, as tears streamed down my face. He was alive!
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t know who you are,” he said.
“You don’t remember me? Anthony, please — it’s me,” I asked.
“Are you staying at the hotel nearby?” the woman asked. She must’ve seen my wristband. “We can help you back if you’re feeling unwell.”
“I don’t need anyone to backtrack! I need my husband to stop assuming he doesn’t know me!” I whispered.
“Come on, Kaitlyn,” he said to the woman.
He had a new life. And he was bluffing I never lived. Had he faked his own d3ath just to be with this other family?
I pulled myself together, collected my things from the lounge chair, and walked slowly back to the hotel.
But that evening, someone knocked on my door. There she was, the woman from the beach.
“What do you want from me?!” I whispered.
“My name’s Kaitlyn, and I just want to talk,” she said gently.
“Please.”
“What did you come here for? To threaten me? To tell me Anthony chose you?” I said.
“I came to explain,” Kaitlyn replied.
“Until today, I didn’t even know his real name was Anthony. I had no idea about his past and neither did he.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Drake… or Anthony, I suggest.. he washed up on the shore one day. No ID, nothing. He was in critical condition and fell into a coma,” Kaitlyn said.
“I was his nurse. I took care of him,” she continued.
“When he finally woke up, the doctors recognized he’d lost all his memories. He didn’t even know his own name. I was with him through his recovery, every step of it. And… we fell in love.”
“And the child?” I asked.
“She’s mine. But Drake accepted her as his own. We built a life together from scratch. I love him deeply. But you’re his wife. I have no right to take him from you,” she shouted.
“Can I talk to him?” I asked.
“Yes. He’s a bit shaken after what occured on the beach, but yes, you should talk,” Kaitlyn nodded.
“Anthony, do you really not remember me?” I asked.
“No… I… I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“I can show you our pictures,” I offered.
We sat on the couch, and I opened the gallery on my phone.
“We were supposed to have a baby,” I murmured.
“But when you vanished, I couldn’t handle the grief… and I lost the baby.”
“I’m so sorry you went through that,” Anthony said.
“But I don’t remember any of it. I feel like a total jerk right now.”
“It’s okay. Maybe it’ll come back,” I said.
“Maybe,” he whispered.
Suddenly, the door burst open and the little girl from the beach ran in.
“What’s going on, wild one?” Anthony laughed.
“Daddy, you promised we’d play!” she cried.
And that’s when I saw it. The way Anthony looked at her, at Kaitlyn. I knew that look.
Now he looked at her that way. Not me. I was just some woman who’d shown up and destr0yed his peace.
“No. I can’t do this,” I nodded.
“What do you mean?” Anthony asked.
“I can’t take you away from this life. The Anthony I loved, the man who was mine… he passed away three years ago. You’re someone else now. Your heart doesn’t be associated with me anymore, it belongs to her,” I said.
“I’m really sorry,” Anthony whispered.
“Don’t be. Maybe this was something I needed. I never got the chance to say goodbye. Now I finally can,” I said.
“So what occurs now?” he asked softly.
“You go back to the life you know. And I’ll finally start living mine,” I told him.
“So… you don’t want to see me again?” he asked.
“No. I don’t. I wish I could have my Anthony back, but that’s not possible. So goodbye… Anthony. Or Drake,” I said.
I could breathe after three years,. He had his new life and it was no longer mine.
