“He’s always working on that ‘telescope’ of his. Such a preposterous idea,” the man scoffed as he righted his suit jacket.
“Not to mention how much time and money he has spent, and all for what?” The other gentleman added.
Silently Jacobs continued moving, ignoring their remarks as he hauled yet another lens to his little cliffside windmill. This was the third his week and the eleventh all told, but no matter how many he broke, he would finish this design. So tirelessly he continued, pleading with time to slow just a few seconds, so he might be finished in time.
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As he toiled, the sharp metal tool slipped, cutting into his hand.
“No matter,” he would mumble.
The sun faded, and the wick burned deep into the old wax leaving little light to work by.
“I can see just fine,” he would tell himself.
His determination burned in his heart as the hours, days, and weeks rolled by. Leaving yet more to the interpretation of casual viewers.
“How can one possibly be so obsessed with the sky above? Is it not good enough to see the stars with your own eyes?” They would mock.
Shaking their words away, he pressed on.
Through rain and wind, snow and ice, he trembled. Never once slowing to the speed with which any normal human would resign themselves too.
People would inquire of his invention, asking why he would waste so much time on a theory. Telling him he would never be anything more than a leech living on his grandfather’s inheritance.
He knew these words were false, mostly because the fortune his grandfather had left him was already gone, but even so he would tell them, “I’m searching for the moon.”
The men would leave in an air of confusion, never to truly understand.
Then, one fateful night, the last bolt had been secured, and the proper lens fitted to the telescope. Impatiently, he combed the waters, finally landing upon a single ship sailing under the cool light of the full moon.
Stepping back, he formed his hands into the shape of a heart and placed them between the moon and his telescope.
On board the ship, a perfect heart was emblazoned upon the main sail with the captain gazing softly upon it. She wandered to the bow as her cloak whipped in the breeze.
“He did it,” she mumbled to herself.
Jacobs lowered his hands and looked eagerly into the telescope.
Leaning over the handrail, the woman used her pocket watch to reflect the moonlight back. Quickly, Jacobs wrote down the number of flashes and decoded it with a handwritten note from years before.
The final message read, “Warner Cove. Love Elise.”
Dropping the paper, Jacobs ran down the winding staircase, over the grassy fields, and down to the cove.
After years of waiting, planning, and trials, he was able to let Elise know they were finally safe. Then, away from the eyes of the unforgiving public, the two were wed and made their way to South Africa.
Behind The Telescope
I have always been obsessed with the moon and stars, but as I was writing this piece, I began wondering what other uses a telescope might have. Now what would a good story be without people assuming what they don’t know? I’m really happy with this plot twist between the female captain and windmill worker and I love to imagine them living happily in a beach side home living off of her trading expertise.
Thank you for reading this post on the Welcome To My Shoes blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Want to read more? Check out the post “The World Through The Forbidden Cave”. I may or may not be adding another chapter to one of my fiction posts so stay tuned and drop your email below so you don’t miss a thing!
I look forward to sharing more stories with you, and don’t forget, you’re the main chracter of your own story, so make it a good read!
I love your posts, this one was really good.