Elijah West stopped to say hello on his way out. Elijah had grown up on Wolf Island, but after high school he’d stayed away for fifteen years. He’d become an art photographer. He’d published a book of photographs of bridges that half the islanders now had on their coffee tables.

“You’ve been busy lately,” I said. “I’ve seen you everywhere, snapping away.”

“You saw me, huh? I’m doing another book. On islands. The islands of the world, the charming, forgotten, undiscovered islands. The best islands.”

“Are we one of the best islands in the world?” I asked.

“I think so,” he said. “But I don’t know which ones my editor will pick.”

“What other islands have you done?”

“Remember when I went to Europe last year? There are a lot out there. One of my favorites is St. Michael’s Mount in England. It’s—”

“Oh, I know that one,” I said, “with the little causeway, at low tide.”

“And how it rises out of the, you know, stone. The castle. You’ve been there?”

“I’ve seen pictures.”

“An island is the best place on earth,” Sebastian, the old fisherman, said from nearby. I looked up at him, and he took off his hat. His hair was thick and wavy and white as the dawn.

“I agree,” I said.

“I’ve been all over this earth,” he said, “and no place feels like an island. It’s where you leave your heart. Every time.”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to capture in this book,” Elijah said.

I beamed at them both. They understood. I loved the island so much I wished I could find some means of expression for my love, but I couldn’t. I was envious of Elijah and his camera, trying to understand the island that way. If I’d been an artist, I would have painted it. If I could have eaten pieces of the island I would have, slabs of rock and sand. If I could have had sex with it, I would definitely have had sex with it. I felt a sudden conviction that the island was in danger, that Cole would do it harm, and it was up to me to protect it.

“I’ve always lived here,” I said.

“I know,” Elijah said. “Me, too.”

“No,” I said. “You left.”

“I came back,” Elijah said, offended. “Same as you.”