EAST FALLS FOLKLORE

Dockyard of Despair

Written by @JujutsuSorcerer

Idea by @eilatan

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       Many years ago, there was a young man and woman who lived near the docks of East Falls. They were a happy married couple, often seen going on walks in town, frequenting restaurants and parks together, and expressing their affection for one another almost on a daily basis. They were in love. And anyone who witnessed them for only a moment could instantly recognize their extreme devotion for each other.

       One day, the husband decided he wanted to get the wife something special for the upcoming valentine’s day. He thought long and hard on what would show his wife how much he truly cared for her. Finally, after thinking it over, he devised a plan to both show and express his love- he set forth on a voyage over Ocean Lake to find and retrieve a shiny pearl for his wife. 

       At first, the wife was reluctant to let her husband go off on a possibly dangerous journey. Ocean Lake had been known for its uncharted areas and mysterious history. The husband, however, eased her worries claiming he’d write her many letters, documenting each part of his journey, and sending them all back to her with a glass bottle. The bottled letter would be tossed in a lake current that would seemingly carry the letter back to the shores of the East Falls docks. The husband brought up his many years of sailing experience from working at the dockyard and even promised to bring along his ship crew. With all of these points made, the wife gave in to her husband’s idea, and soon the husband would set sail into the infamous Ocean Lake.

       The wife watched as her lover set forth into a world she was always too afraid to venture into. She always wondered how her husband never feared the waters, always being confident in sailing and working long shifts at the dockyard. She smiled at her husband as his ship departed the port, waving at him as he left, and nothing but optimism in her eyes as she watched closely as his ship disappeared into the vastness of the lake.

       A few weeks would go by, and the wife would come everyday at sunset to the dock shores. She’d always stand and wait, hoping to find a letter. One day, a bottle would arrive on the shores as she expected, and a letter from her husband would make its way to her possession. She read his first letter with a relieved sigh, thankful that he returned good news. She’d take the letter home, putting them on her desk and keeping them safe. 

       The wife would repeat this process, and every few weeks a new letter would make its way to the wife. The letters started off jolly, making the wife feel excited for the next one. But one day, the wife retrieved a letter that would turn everything upside down.

       The letter spoke of the true hardships of the husband’s voyage. How the husband was running low on all supplies, how the maps were outdated and didn’t cover the whole lake, and how he felt himself slowly losing his sanity to the endless waters. The wife, stunned, took the letter to the dockyard, begging the sailors to find her husband before it was too late. The sailors, knowing the dangers of the lake, warned the wife that her husband was too far into unknown territory to be found safely by any crew or ship. She weeped for days, still waiting for another message from her husband to wash up on shore.

       The wife had truly felt hopeless, unable to do anything except wait and pray that her husband returns to her safely. She wasted away her days, standing at the shores of the dockyard. At last, after another week, she received another letter from the waters. Her eyes would light up with joy upon reading the new letter. Her husband had written that he was finally on his way home. He had found the pearl that he had been searching for and was to safely return to East Falls within the next few weeks. 

       The wife was ecstatic. She prepared for his return, even dressing herself up a bit more than usual while she waited at the dockyard, hoping to look her best for when her husband returned. She waited days. Then weeks. Then soon months. And soon after, a whole year. Day after day, she waited, even when the townsfolk and sailors told her to give up, she called them all foolish, and stayed patient for her husband’s return. Red blush and pink lipstick would be plastered on her young face, her resolve never wavering for her husband. People began to worry she had lost it- but eventually on one sudden evening, a bottle made its way to her for the very last time.

       Confused, the wife slowly opened the bottle only to see it was full of red dyed water. Submerged into it was a bright red pearl, almost shining and spreading a small dust around it. The wife quickly realized what this meant for her loved one, and she brought the bottle home with her. She became quiet for a few days, with the townsfolk barely ever seeing her out of her house again. They wondered if she was depressed, grieving her husband’s death, or perhaps even passed away. 

       None of these rumors turned out true as suddenly one day, she emerged from her home, carrying with her many bottles. She approached the dockyard at midnight, the day of valentine's, and proceeded to throw all the bottles into the lake. Each one carrying her husband’s letters throughout the years. Finally, she placed one last bottle onto the shore. She took off her shoes and left them next to the bottle, before beginning to walk into the lake slowly. Each step she took, the farther she got from land. And only after a few minutes of walking, she would seemingly disappear into the water, never to be seen again.

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      What remained was the letter she left in the bottle next to her shoes. The letter reads:

Dear my beloved Derek,

I know it has been a year since you’ve left for your journey, but I will forever wait for you. Lately, waiting on land has become too much for me to handle.

 I miss you every second and everything reminds me of your presence. I have the pearl you wanted so long to give to me. It is beautiful. And I will treasure it always. 

I’ve decided to join the waters that have taken you. The waters scare me like hell, dear, but waiting on this land scares me even more. I’ll listen to what you told me and I’ll leave East Falls. I will enter the waters I fear so much, just to be given the chance to see you again. I will wait for you forever, even if it's at the dark bottom of the lake. 

The waters tell me you are near, that you are still floating around in them, waiting to return. Meet me there my beloved. I will be waiting for you, even if we meet again in heaven. I love you my dear husband. And nothing, not even miles of water, can ever make that disappear from this world.

Love,

Your wife,

Lucy Baevers

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 This document can be taken ICLY

February 14th, 1952