Where the Compass Leads

The dog days were being tamed by the sharp crack of the semester’s whip.

Hastily.

The long, lazy sun soaked days felt like distant memories. Replaced with the shorter, chillier autumn evenings, almost overnight. Gone were the mornings filled with nothing but an iced latte and making plans for what beach to hit up. Here were the not-enough-hour-days of barely enough sleep, supported by coffee IVs.

The building responsibilities of the college term were the momentum-gaining waves that crashed the shore notifying of a storm. Naturally, Jane felt the swirling on her mind. You’d think by year two I’d have a little better handle on settling into this chaotic shit.. I still have like twelve thousand more pages to read before tomorrow and haven’t even gone grocery shopping yet.

Before her tangent took her too far, she was stopped dead in her tracks. Daniel. He was walking out of the building she was fast approaching.

“Hey you, I didn’t expect to see you around here…”

I hope he doesn’t see me rolling his eyes, is this dude serious?

“…I thought you marine life majors had classes strictly by the water.”

Oh, her face instantly melted, of course he knew I was going here.. he even remembers what classes I’d be taking. He did always try to do good. “Yeah, good memory. But I’m on this side of campus for some electives. More interesting to my mind kind of classes.”

He chuckled, “you did always have a way of making sure you got what you wanted. Well, I better go. I’ve got lots to do and not enough time to do it!”

Shit! I’ve got like two seconds before I’m late for class.. She darted inside and found a seat in her classroom in no time. I can’t let him distract me again.

Jane spent the rest of her day lost between a daydream and reality. One moment staring off into the vast memory of sunset beach bonfires with her old flame, the next jolted back to campus by a professors comment. She floated through her classes, brainstorming ways to get grounded.

Ending the day with a new nightmare of a chemistry professor. Two technical papers due by Friday and she doesn’t directly answer questions…? Yeah, okay lady. Walking off campus, she was lost in thoughts of strict educators, grocery store choices and unruly exes.

Thank God this day is over, she throws her bag into her apartment and heads for the water. I just need to sit by something calm. Let my worries wash away and get pulled out to sea with all the forgotten sailors and their troubles.

The fog-fenced rocky coast line never felt more inviting. She steps off of the grass and onto the natural stair case. She chuckles. A bit more jagged than I would’ve designed.. but who am I to question nature. The instant she arrives the calm slowly splashes her as the spray from the water hitting stone. She lets out a deep breath. Finally. Peace.

When Dan and her split, she was devastated. Like end of the world, life is over kind of sad. To remedy that, the water was all she had. He had tainted it, at first. They had spent so many happy memories under the supervision of the sea. So when he showed his true colors, she almost lost her sacred space.

“Not today Satan.” She declared, walking down the shore. She loved the coastline up here because it made her think about each step. The rocks were in all shapes and sizes with no perceivable order to them, so it called for the upmost presence.

That’s when she saw it.

A little sparkle of gold. The metal shown out brightly. Wedged under a grey-brown rock, it looked like it was waiting for her. An old compass. Rusted in spots, but still intact.

She bent down to pick it up and wiped the sand off. The arrow stayed in place as she turned it over to get a better look. Etched in the back were some words;

“trust in me,

I’ll help you see,

in rough waters,

where you need to be.”

Okay.. that’s weird. How did the universe know I needed this?

Turning the compass back over, she gave the glass a little love tap. C’mon move. She got the stuck arrow to jump, but it landed right back where it was pointing. Not true north.. but a fixed spot that seemed to be up the beach. Oh what the hell, let’s give it a shot. Curiosity always gets the cat.

As she continued with her careful, horizontal bouldering, the arrow slowly moved down. So focused on keeping her feet flat on the stones, she all but forgot what worries brought her here. Until the arrow finally fell due to her right. She looked up and over to see a little clearing in the tree line.

A bench called her over. How many times have I walked past this and not noticed? She mused about her inobservance as she sat down. She expected the falling apart, weather stained wood to feel different. It was warm to the touch.

That bubble bath kind of hot. It felt blistering at first then quickly welcomed her in. Her body adjusting quite comfortably, she heard a rustle in the leaves to her left.

“Hello, is anyone there? Can I help you..?”

“Oh,” a deep throat clearing, “hey, yes hello I didn’t mean to startle you. I like to sit here sometimes. It soothes me.” The voice came from somewhere off in the brush, but she couldn’t see anything.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude,” Jane tried to peer through the leaves, but her insides turned to ice and her stomach started to twist. “I can’t quite see you.. I.. I .. better get going…” she slowly stepped back, tripping over a rock. “Ooof!”

“Oy! Careful there. Don’t leave on account of me.” His leather words cut the air, but there was something inviting about them.

I’m sure he’s just a harmless old gramps. There’s hundreds of land locked sailors living out here until the earth takes them back. Maybe he knows about this compass. She held up the sea-worn piece. It glowed eerily dim as the fog was thickening.

Before she could get a word out, a weathered hand reached out from the foliage. Quickly followed by it’s owner. Hunched over by years on this earth. Face hidden in a lost at sea beard. This man looked like he walked straight out of a hundred year old copy of Moby Dick. He was almost dimly glowing; like his compass. Ethereal.

“That belongs to me, but you look like you could use it.” He smiled, revealing teeth the color of the rocks she stood on.

She instinctively jumped back. “Oh, I’m sorry.. I went for a walk, and found it so I picked it up and followed it here..” She all but tripped over her words, startled at how easily they spewed from her mouth to this stranger.

“A walk along these waters always helps soothe the soul,” he offered as he sat at one end of the bench, patting the other. “Why don’t you take a seat and spill to an old stranger. I’d love to help.”

Oh brother, she chuckled to herself. I highly doubt this old man has any experience in the droves of modern day heartbreak, or professor problems.. or food that isn’t caught by his own two hands.

“A listening ear never hurt anyone.” Just the left side of his mouth curling up this time. “Tell me your woes, sweet girl.”

She found herself sitting down next to him. Oh what the hell, who could it hurt?

She spilled it all. From her daily meal dilemmas on a tight schedule and budget, to more abstract, far off worries. How she didn’t know how she felt about Dan. So much so that she wished they’d never been close. How her chemistry professor was an extreme hindrance to her enjoying the semester at all. She wished that woman would get a major reality check. On and on she went. Finally ending with the true issue at hand, her loneliness. With no roommates, no boyfriend, and friends thousands of miles away, she felt truly alone.

She stopped, bricks hitting her chest. “Wow.. I didn’t know I had that much in me. Thanks for listening.”

He curled up both ends of his smile,“It’s my pleasure, my dear.”

Jane noticed the sun finishing it’s set through the mist. “Oh, it’s late! I got lost there for a minute. I’d better go, I’ve got a lot to do and so little time. It was great talking to you.”

The old man nodded his head as she stood up. Closing her eyes for a minute to steady herself. Her head swam with the sudden movement. She’d really done some talking there. Jeez. She turned around to say goodbye, and he was gone.

No rustle of the leaves or crunch of gravel. He dissipated into the haze.

She was chilled to her bones again. The moisture really buffers sound, he’s got years of experience out on this coastline. He knows his way around. She told herself a narrative of a sweet old man who had grown up by the sea. A sailor through and through.

She found her way back to her apartment. Whipping up a makeshift meal with whatever leftovers she had, and settling into her work. She read and wrote early into the morning.

Snoozing through her first few alarms, Jane rushed to leave for class on time. Her phone continued playing the radio station it woke her up to. She made coffee and popped her headphones in. It was nice to hear other people chatting in her single apartment.

Sipping her rushed coffee on the way to class, she scrolled her emails. No way. She stopped dead in her tracks.

An email from her chemistry professor.

‘Dear CHY 201 Students,

I received some news regarding my health late last evening. I will be resigning from my position for the time being. It was a pleasure welcoming you to this course, but your lectures will be taken over by a colleague.

Best….’

This is a joke right? Jane didn’t know how she felt about being so excited to hear of someones ill health. She hoped her professor would be alright, but boy was she stoked to be free from that.

Well, I guess I can’t be blessed too much. Dan turned the corner to come her way. Her throat tightened up, palms getting drippy and heart rate speeding up. This is a nuisance that won’t so easily go away.

But to her he walked, and away he kept on going. He gave her that half nod half smile greeting that he gives faint acquaintances. No freaking way.

Her conversation with the gray sailor popped back into her mind. Two of her main complaints had been solved. Don’t be ridiculous, she tamed her wild imagination. There’s no way. She mused on the odds that this man was an angel… or maybe something worse. Her headphones playing a constant stream of background noise. Keeping her from getting too deep into thoughts.

The day whizzed by, full of chatter with peers new and old. She was always surrounded by others on campus. The constant bustle felt comfortable. Safe. She knew she had to go see that man again after class. The minutes ticked by slowly. But as time has a habit of doing, it eventually passed.

Chatting with a classmate on her way back home, she kept her afternoon plans a secret. As she stepped into her apartment and locked the door, she was finally alone.

Or so she thought.

“Hello, Jane.”

A chill went down her spine. She froze, seeing no one else in the apartment. The voice belonged to the sailor. It did not belong here. She tried to leave, but she felt drawn into the room.

“I helped you with everything. But the best is this. Now you’ll never be alone, my dear.”