The Story of Rose

Rose and her sister Amy were orphans and lived in a convent in a small village by the sea. Rose clung to her sister, the only family that she knew. Her aspiration was to become a nurse.

Amy was younger than Rose, a tom-boy whose dream was to sail the open seas. Oftentimes Amy dressed as a boy and would take odd jobs on the tall ship the Falcon Crest. The day came when the captain finally gave Amy permission to go on a voyage.

The sisters stood on the dock the day of Amy’s departure.

"And why would you want to help the sick when it's so dangerous?" her sister Amy asked. "You're bound to catch the same disease as your patients."

"Tending to the sick is not nearly as dangerous as sailing." Rose said, hoping to convince Amy to forget her wild dream and stay with her.

"Maybe not, but sailing is adventurous. Besides, will you meet your husband in the hospital?" Amy laughed as they gazed at the main mast and the handsome sailors that balanced the ratlines.

"Even if you find a husband on board, your life will be dedicated to the sea,” Rose said.

"And where will yours be?" Amy asked.

Rose shrugged.

Amy weighed anchor soon after. Rose stood on the shore to wave goodbye. The wind lifted the sails and blew her sister, the handsome crew, and the majestic ship away from port. A warm breeze stirred up whitecaps and orange and pinks of the day glistened on the water.

That night a hurricane blew through the village. Trees fell, roofs flew, and the sea swallowed the shore.

Amy never returned. Months passed. Rose waited until hope gave way to longing, and longing to despair. She concentrated on her work, spending long hours with the patients, giving up her own sleep to care for the ill.

One morning, Rose woke up to a brilliant sunrise. She walked to the beach where she had waited so often for Amy, and looked out over the sea. There she watched the sun stretch its golden hands across the horizon as if her sister Amy was saying farewell, and asking her to embrace the world like she had.

That morning the same golden light shone on her patients and her heart filled with joy as she cared for them. Her yearning, just like Amy’s, had been fulfilled.