Long Goodbye

They swim to the island. The water is cold, and they shiver on the sandy bank, twined in the roots of an oak tree. Fog covers everything beyond the bowl of rocks and trees. 

He waits with a milky fear in his gut. No way out of the draft. He promises them he’ll come home. Nobody hears. 

He’s not ready to leave. He can’t see beyond the lake and the shine of clean lake-water on her shoulders. He throws an acorn. It makes a tiny splash when it hits the water. She looks up and smiles. 

He smiles back.