Ships

Do you know why its a bad idea for ships to travel side by side over the sea?

They sat side by side, husband and wife, not touching. She sat perched on the edge of the sofa, as though she was scared to come into contact with anything solid. He, on the other hand, lay so far back that he was almost flat, as though hoped that the cushions would swallow him. He was wrapped in a blanket (he was always cold these days) whereas she just looked cold. Not as if she was cold, but as if she radiated it, as though it was some sort of negative heat. Neither of them looked at each other. They both acted as though the TV was their entire world.

The motion of the waves acts on the outer edge of each of the two ships.

"Do you still love me?" she said suddenly. He didn't reply. This wasn't particularly surprising, as she had been dead for a year now. She sighed, and he wriggled deeper under his blanket.

But the really interesting part is that each of the ships acts as a natural shield for the other, but only on one side.

He wasn't really paying attention to the documentary. He hadn't paid attention to great deal of things over the last year, and he wasn't going to start now. He left the TV on as a sort of background noise, so that the silence wouldn't deafen him.

As a result, the waves gradually push the two ships closer together.

She could see him trying to go to sleep. It was an active effort, not like the gentle descent into slumber that people normally enjoy. He was trying to force it on himself, as an escape into the oblivion of his dreams. She was still alive there.

Eventually, the ships crash into each other.

She waited until he was on the edge of sleep before speaking. There was no reason for her to do so, of course. He couldn't possibly hear her. But she didn't want to disturb him. She envied him his peace. "I'm sorry, you know".

"I know, dear," he said in a voice blurred by sleep.

Of course, a knowledgeable captain will make sure that this doesn't happen.

She blinked unnecessarily. She didn't know what had just happened. She didn't know if it would happen again. She hoped not. No man should have to live with the ghost of his wife. How could such a man ever be said to truly live?

She left.