Isaac went speechless for a moment, finally thinking of the things he’d been avoiding in his mind since the second he woke up to the clanks. His feelings, his swell of emotion had nothing to do with Sadina—she had a serious girlfriend for crying out loud. But her kindness triggered thoughts of the tragedies that had assaulted Isaac’s life over the last few months, the real reason he was so desperate to lose himself in the hard work of the Forge. All that pounding of metal and heat and hissing and steam and sweat, all that hard work, protected his mind from where it wanted to go.

“You know we all love you,” Sadina said. “We want you with us today. Screw everything else. We’ll go and act stupid and if we wanna cry, we’ll cry. If we wanna laugh, we’ll laugh. But I swear on Old Man Frypan that we will have fun.”

Isaac nodded, so full of gratitude that he still couldn’t speak. Sadina pulled him into a hug, probably having decided that more words couldn’t help at this point. She took him by the hand, gave him one of the sweetest smiles he’d ever seen, and then pulled him away from the Forge, its black pillar of smoke leaking all the way to the sky.

The hum of the ocean grew louder as they approached the north side of the island, where the waves hit heavier and higher, the beachhead packed with rocky cliffs. When those waves crashed against those cliffs, the roar of it filled the air, along with billions of spray droplets and sheets of white rain. Hundreds of tiny waterfalls appeared and disappeared on the black rock with each cycle, little pools scattered across the low places. The whole area was beautiful, and it never grew old, and Isaac’s heart broke at the sight of it. This had been his mom’s favorite spot on the whole island, or in the world for that matter.

He was still holding Sadina’s hand when they reached the path that wound its way from the top of the cliff to the many places of adventure below. Their friend Trish had just reached the first switchback but when Sadina called her name, she turned and sprinted back up to them. The longtime couple embraced, kissed, but then immediately showered their attention on Isaac. He joined their hug, felt their kisses on his cheeks. Not a word was spoken for a full minute.

Finally, Dominic appeared, from which direction Isaac didn’t know.

“What’s with the lovefest?” he asked. “Should I avert my eyes?”

Dominic always said things that, in theory, would make him unlikable, but his delivery somehow softened the blow every time. It was a gift Isaac wished he could learn. Everyone loved Dominic, no matter how many insults he rained upon them.