100 words that will last a lifetime.
This offering is for Friday Fictioneers and is inspired by the photograph below. It is one of my favorite views on the planet and was taken from my office (which has no walls but one hell of a window).
Haleakala means House of the Sun in Hawaiian. Its summit is 10,000 feet above sea level and 28,000 feet above the sea bed of the Alenuihaha Channel that separates the island of Maui from the Big Island. The distance from summit to summit is roughly eighty miles and the clouds in the picture top out around 9,000 feet.
Whenever I see this view I think about distance and beauty and love and I imagine.
Life has me very much behind the curve re comments and replies. I know you all understand, but I still feel the need to apologize. Let me encourage those of you who are equally burdened to comment with a simple smiley face or some such thing. Lots of stories, little time. I know that song well.
And this one, too, a missive from a Captain to the beautiful woman who faithfully tends the Hoaaloha lighthouse on Maui’s northern shore.
Clouds wreath Haleakala’s regal shoulders and all is bathed in radiance. In lofty solitude I gaze north and west to the place where my heart wanders when I am alone.
In scenes from a serene Haiku I see your bare feet glide with feline grace through lush green grass. I see your shadow waving. I see us hand in hand at night on a beach. Wind and surf sigh and starscapes glitter in our footsteps.
So very close, yet sundered.
From salient to salient on unwavering beams of pure intent I send love and hope for you and yours, always.
(This is the opposite view, looking from Haleakala toward Mauna Kea near dawn.)
Full of love and longing, here’s hoping his dreams come true.
P.S. thank you for the lovely photo this week. It brought back memories for me.
Dear Erin,
Thanks for reading and commenting. I hope his dreams come true, too. I’m glad the picture brought back memories. Hawaii trip?
Aloha,
Doug
beautiful and dreamy… just like the photos… they’re truly breathtaking, thanks for sharing it with us.. 🙂
Dear Kz,
Thanks for taking the time to visit my late entry. I wrote that story at altitude, so perhaps that explains the dreamlike quality.
Aloha,
Doug
Dear Doug
I loved your introduction as much as your story. Both poetic.
You evoked so much in your hundred beautiful words, and the place sounds as idyllic as those early sailors’ accounts of the enchanted islands they discovered.
I particularly loved your last sentence, its purity and simplicity and commitment. Beautiful…. Valerie
Dearest Valerie,
I have always told people that I was on my way to Australia in the late 70’s but got stuck in Hawaii. Wanderlust runs deep in me and I may see the southern constellations before long, but there are worse places than Hawaii to get stuck in. Have you ever been here? (You live and write in what I have come to believe is one of the best places left on this planet so I think you know well the magic of tropical and sub-tropical settings like the one I’ve described.) So nice that you are up and about while I work into the night. I get to see your comments right after you write them.
Thank you for visiting, dear friend.
Aloha and Kia ora,
Doug
It’s eight minutes past eight in the evening here, Doug – so what is the time with you?
Do we have the international date line separating us? I can’t get my head round these arcane regulations !!!
Yes, I do know about tropical islands from living in Malaya, but here, we are only sub-tropical in the North… the Bay of Islands, which is beautiful. I would think that Hawii was a wonderful place to get stuck in, and far better suited to your temperament that tough Aussie! with love, Valerie
The entire story is beautiful but I loved this line:
Wind and surf sigh and starscapes glitter in our footsteps.
Also thank you for the gorgeous prompt.
Dear Mystikel,
You are kind to grace my story with such a nice comment. I am gratified that you liked the prompt, too. Thank you for dropping by to visit.
Aloha,
Doug
Interestingly (possibly), one of the things I first thought when looking at this picture, was how “so near yet so far” the mountain seemed. You’ve conjured that beautifully – I can almost see this being a great epic story of lovers separated by a short but impassable distance. Congrats, as ever.
Jen
I find beauty and poetry in every sentence, Doug. Every time I read your stories, you inspire me to improve my writing further, and yet further …. Oh, and some smileys … 🙂 🙂 🙂
Sometimes I get to the end of all the comments and feel that anything else would just be gilding the lily. So it is this time. Clouds like this (or the ocean waves that this picture conjured in my mind) are perfect vehicles for imagination and beauty. Both your intro and your story conveyed that beautifully. Thanks.
janet (whose face right now is the ultimate smiley face)
Now, THAT, is romance.
Doug,
These photos are stunning and beautiful to behold! It’s no wonder you’re thinking of love, it would seem to follow. Your story is eloquent and a fine matching to your photo. Lovely! 🙂
Amy
Dear Doug,
Regal shouders, lofty solitiude, feline grace, close yet sundered, salient to salient…
The stuff of clouds… nicely written (great pic).
Randy
Hi Doug,
Having now seen a few of your photos, I can say you’re a talented photographers who creates beautiful images. Speaking of beauty, your story is a tone poem, haunting, wistful and heartbreaking. This is especially impressive because I think it’s more difficult to write these stories when you’re the one supplying the photo, and you don’t come to the process with a blank slate. Mahalo, my friend, for all of this. Ron
Dear Doug,
A beautifully written and thought provoking piece. Thanks for providing the photo this week. I had a lot of fun with it 🙂
Hi Doug,
Catching up on my reading. I just love this view. The last time I saw it I was sharing it with you, my cousin, and my wife. Good memories. Great story.
Dear Mike,
This comment went to spam but I have resurrected it with my keen eye and spam file editing abilities. Sorry to be so late in getting back to you and thanks for reading. It is a timeless view, isn’t it? Puts everything into perspective.
Aloha,
Doug