Wishes and Tradition

Their wine glasses clinked together in unison, and together they yelled, "To us!"

Their voices and the clinks echoed through the beach, even as much as making ripples in the already thoroughly rippled waves of the blue Atlantic Ocean.

They both lounged in their (appropriately named) lounge chairs, hers was blue, and his was orange.

They watched in silence as the sun slowly shrinked as it was covered by the horizon. The sky was not its normal blue, no, it was all shades of orange, and pink, and even rare erratically placed splotches of a light shade of purple. It was the most breathtaking sight they had both seen in their whole lives.

In addition, ironically, this was not the first time they had gone to this beach, in fact, they had gone here many times before. They had made it their own annual tradition to go to this beach, on the day of their anniversary, every year, and they had kept this tradition since their first anniversary, for the last twenty years of their marriage.

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Their friends and family asked them where they were going for their anniversary each year.

Their response was always the same, "We're going to the beach at sunset."

Their family and friends would just shake their heads. They did not understand why they went to the beach.

They would suggest, "Why don't you go to the spa? Or to a restaurant?"

Their response, "We're going to the beach at the sunset. It's tradition."

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They both looked up to the sky, and then back to each other. They both smiled.

"Is it time?" he asked.

"It is time." she answered.

He got out a tripod, and put his state-of-the-art camera on top of it and set it to go off in ten seconds.

Then he ran to her, put his arm around her, and they both smiled, just in time for the timer to go off, and take the picture.

They both went back to their lounge chairs, and they added this year's picture after the other nineteen photos, in their photo album, which was a wedding gift for them, those long twenty years ago.

He smiled.

"Happy twentieth anniversary, honey." he said.

"Happy twentieth anniversary, darling." she replied. They were in as much love now, as they were on their first anniversary, or maybe even more.

Their brothers and sisters, and friends, had bet when they would break up, when they would get a divorce.

The bet was ongoing, and it probably would not be completely finished until the day they both died.

They both laughed, thinking of the same thing. They had become so in sync with each other over the years. They practically knew what the other was thinking.

Their brothers and sisters and friends thought that the couple didn't know about the bet, but they were well-aware of it. They laughed inside as they remembered them pretending to talk about the weather, or their jobs, when really they were discussing the bet.

They kissed just as the sun disappeared from view. Then they slept, side by side, in the complete darkness and complete silence, not even the sound of a cricket was heard.

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Her blue eyes fluttered open, and all she could see was black. With her mind still half asleep, she realized the yellow sun had not risen up in the sky just yet.

Her eyes blinked wildly, trying to adjust to the darkness.

She took out her cell phone, and opened it, the light of the screen dancing on her husband's face.

Even at age fourty five, he still had the face of the young handsome boy he once was.

After a minute, he rubbed his eyes, and sat up. He stretched his arms and yawned.

"Honey, what are you doing up so early?" he asked. It was still dark, after all.

"I have no idea." she said. She really didn't know why. She had just woken up, and without looking at her cell phone, she estimated it was about four am in the morning.

Then they looked up to the star filled black night sky, and then they saw a shooting star.

They both made the same wish, right at that moment.

"I wish we are together until the day we die."

That's what they wished for every time there were any instances, or circumstances, or situations, where they could wish for something, or anything at all. It was always the same thing. It never changed.

Their New Years’ Resolutions: "I wish we are together until the day we die."

His birthday wish: "I wish we are together until the day we die."

Her birthday wish: "I wish we are together until the day we die."

Their Christmas present: "Being with each other forever."

They didn’t wish for fortune, or material things.

They wished they will be together until the day they die.

And that's what they planned to do.

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Most people thought it would be boring to do the same thing over and over, year, after year, after year, after year.

But to them, it was the only thing they could think of that they could do that would make them happy, let alone things they wanted to do.

This weekend of their anniversary, every year, was the only two days that they didn’t have to work, or take care of their children. Not that they disliked doing those things, but they needed a break.

Besides, it was tradition.

”We’re going to the beach at sunset. It’s tradition.”