Outside, the weather had changed; the heat finally died down. The air was unnervingly cold considering how warm it had been earlier. North Carolina weather could be unpredictable, especially this near the coast. A fog was forming, unusual for this time of year. She wished she had brought the wrap. As she walked back to the cottage, she passed the structures she’d seen before, the smokehouse and laundry room and kitchen, now closed up. A quiet cloaked the land. Those staying on the property were already in their cottages. Couples making love in their air-conditioned rooms, settling off to sleep. Mira was the only one out roaming.

Seeing Jesse had sparked a reverie of remembering and she found herself roaming the grounds. She wanted to find the barn, to see if it was still here. The barn had been the last place she and Jesse had been before their lives fell apart. She let herself think of the feel of his hand as he’d gripped hers tight, leading her through the woods. The slow exhale as they found the barn and crept in. The creak from the springs of the wooden door as Jesse pulled it open. They’d stood inside an abandoned marker of history and it felt like a secret for them to keep.

Any action, however small, carried the weight to alter a life. What if she’d told him about her feelings then, in the barn? Part of her lingered in the fantasy. “Mira,” he would have whispered, moving close. His hand touching the small curve of her back, drawing her toward him. He would have kissed her, and nothing after would have happened in the way it did. Who knows how different it could have been?

The closer she got to the tobacco fields, the darker it got. Her heels dug into the soft earth with each step and after a while she gave up and pulled them off, walking barefoot the rest of the way. There were no light posts this far out past the main house. Her eyes had adjusted to the night but it was still hard to see. She relied on her memory of the layout from when she’d read the map earlier in the day.

The barn should be near here. Not far this way, only a few minutes more, she thought. She hugged herself against the crisp night air. What if she got lost and ended up wandering around the grounds until morning? She would never get through the wedding then.

Up ahead, in the tobacco field, Mira saw a figure, a woman, standing at the edge. Where had she come from? Mira hadn’t seen anyone else during her walk. The woman had appeared from nowhere. Was she lost like Mira seemed to be?