In the early hours of a gray-clouded dawn, he awoke in his cottage by the sea. The old man stoked a dying fire then prepared a kettle for tea.

As he washed and dressed he heard quite clearly, light tapping upon his door. “Who would call upon me,” he wondered aloud, “on this desolate island shore?” He came to this lonely place In the days that followed the first great war. He sought only solitude to heal his wounds, to rest his soul, and nothing more.

He had no family, his only brother was lost at sea in the Battle of Dover Straight. Tap Tap Tap  … he reached for his cane and seemed to hesitate. Who would call upon this recluse old man in this desolate island estate?

As lonely days passed into decades he quietly wept in his self-imposed isolation. Tap Tap Tap … he unlatched his door with a degree of trepidation. “Who would call upon me,” he again wondered “on this lonely island shore?”

He opened the door to find a young woman, drenched and shivering in the bitter cold. She looked up with pleading eyes seeking shelter as the wintery tempest seemed to explode.

He hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside and welcomed her in. He offered her tea and warmth, and a place to rest her weary limbs.

As they sat by the fire, the old man listened to her tale of great sorrow and woe. She had been shipwrecked in the storm, that had claimed the lives of her family and now she had nowhere to go.

He felt a sense of compassion he had not known in years and knew that fate had brought her here to rest her soul and dry her tears.

They spent the morning in quiet conversation, sharing stories of their lives and their weary isolation.

Later that day, as the storm passed and the skies turned bright, the old man knew he had found a soul, who would finally be alright.

From that day forward, the recluse knew that his life was forever changed, For the first time in years, he no longer felt lonely, sad, or estranged.

For the young woman became his companion and friend, and they spent their days together, until the very end.