Work Text:
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Letter one: found at the beach close to the water, covered in sand and seaweed.
My dearest Ed,
as I sit on this beach with the sand beneath my boots, I find myself surrounded by the whispers of the waves that have carried my heart’s messages across the seas many times.
The wind, a soft breeze, seems to carry your name, Ed, and I can almost hear your laughter in the rustle of the palm leaves.
As the sun dips below the horizon, casting hues of orange and red upon the canvas of the sky, I am reminded of the passion that burns in my heart for you. The crashing of the waves on the shores is destined, and I am reminded how fleeting the beauty of life is.
With a heavy heart, I pen these words on parchment, I fold it, seal it within it my deepest affections, and I place it tenderly into a bottle.
As the moon takes its place in the night sky, casting a silver glow upon the restless sea, I stand at the water's edge. With a silent prayer to the sea gods, I cast the bottle into the waves, watching it get carried away by the current.
May it find its way to you, wherever you may be sailing under this sky. May this message in a bottle reach you, a testament to my love that is endless, like the vastness of the ocean.
And when you find it, know that each word is a whispered promise.
Until our paths cross once more, until our fates allow our compasses to align, let this message be the light that guides you back into my arms.
With love as endless as the sea,
Stede
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Letter two: buried in the sand by the dune that leads up to the Inn
My beloved,
as I sit in this weathered boat a fisherman in town borrowed me, with nothing but the endless sea around me and the infinity of stars above me, my thoughts drift to you.
Like a ship caught in the gentle currents.
The stars above may twinkle, but they pale in comparison to the sparkle in your eyes. The moon may tinge the waves in a silver glow, but it can't hold a candle to the shine of your smile, Ed.
Every creak of the boat, every whisper of the wind, reminds me of the moments we shared on the open sea. The salt in the air carries the memory of the taste of your lips, and the rhythm of the waves echoes the beat of my heart when you’re near.
The memories of our adventures together keep me company in the loneliest of nights, and the hope of our reunion buoys my spirit through the darkest of days.
Until the day we stand once more on the same shore, under the same sky, know that my love for you grows stronger with each passing wave.
Forever Yours,
Stede
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Letter three: caught on the hook of Ed’s fishing rod.
Ed,
I miss you, beyond the capacity of words. My heart aches with the weight of a thousand chains, each link shaped from the memories of our shared moments.
You are the first light of dawn that banishes the darkness from my soul, the compass that guides me through the turbulent seas of life. We are not just two ships passing in the night, we are bound by the same constellations, destined to navigate the cosmos together.
You are the anchor that keeps me steady in the tempest, the wind that fills me sails and propels me forward. We are not just lovers, we are soulmates, intertwined like the threads of the finest silk.
I long for the day when we’ll be on a ship together again, sailing side by side. Until then, my dearest, know that you are missed with an intensity that surpasses the breadth and depth of the mighty ocean.
With love as enduring as the tides,
Stede
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Ed’s letter, written in scrawly handwriting on a piece of parchment, put in a bottle, left inside the basket with fish he brought home.
Stede,
I'm out here every day, hauling in fish and trying not to get myself killed. Life on the sea is hard as I get seasick now that I’m older, but this week something happened.
I found some of your old letters.
The first one was half-buried in seaweed. Sand stuck to the paper like barnacles, but I managed to read through the mess. You wrote about whispers of waves, the wind carrying my name, my laughter in the palm tree leaves.
Your words are poetry, dude. Sometimes they’re like slippery fish that you try to catch with bare hands. But wow, they’re really beautiful fish.
The second one was in the sand. Dunes near the Inn. You went on about the endless sea and the infinity of skies. Stars are just distant lights to me, but you made them sound like they're watching over us.
I liked that idea, that even when we're apart, we're still under the same damn sky. You always did have a way of making ordinary things sound grand.
Third letter caught on my fishing hook. Practical advice, next time tie it better, babe. Almost lost it to a hungry seagull with a taste for paper. Would've been a shame. It turned out to be my favorite. You wrote about us being intertwined like threads of the finest silk. Way to make a grown man cry, Stede.
Look, I ain't good with words. You know that. But your letters, they mean something to me. They are like ghosts of the past or something. Remind me of our adventures together, of times we didn’t have a care in the world. I miss them. Don't know how to say it right, but I'm happy I found those letters.
I'm writing this on a scrap of paper. No fancy sealing, no promises. Tossing it into the sea with the rest of the day's catch. Maybe it'll find you, maybe not.
Or I’ll just bring it to you, to make sure you get it.
I miss you, even though you're at home and I'll be back soon,
with way too many fish,
Ed
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