A halo of fog encircled the small cove. For a whole week it rained in Cambria but today on this beach, the sun broke through casting warmth on the small crowd of people that gathered at the water's edge.
Simon came home at last.
On the fifth day of rain, Vanessa said that she sat at her computer searching the lost people message boards of India when she heard Simon's voice call out to her.
"Mom," he said, "come find me."
Something compelled her to get up, put a raincoat on and take a walk in the pine forest. She found him in a small hollow underneath the great Tarzan eucalyptus tree. She knew it was him because of the Dodgers baseball cap.
She said he looked peaceful and that was also the conclusion of the coroners. That he went peacefully. Most likely a heart problem that hadn't been diagnosed. He was playing, got tired, decided to lay down in his favorite hiding spot, and didn't wake back up. The day Simon disappeared it rained hard and didn't stop for two weeks. The hollow must have been covered by mud and only been uncovered by the recent rain. It was strange that the search dogs didn't find him in such a likely spot, but it was not unheard of.
Now, she stood ankle-deep in the ocean water with her arm wrapped tightly around Justin. On the other side of Justin stood her husband, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, his other squeezing Justin's shoulder.
Justin held tightly onto a small box painted with a map of the world. Behind them, their grandmother held a portable Bluetooth speaker and the voice of Jimmy Buffet sang out, "Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call. Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall. You've seen it all, you've seen it all." It was Simon's favorite song.
Bending down, Justin opened the box and released their brother into the water. They watched as the water pulled his ashes into the deeper ocean, their mind imagining all the shores in the world that water would touch. The sound of distant thunder echoed out from the fog.
"I will meet you on a distant shore," they said out loud. "For our next adventure."
YOU ARE READING
The Wizards of India and the Hunt For the Beast
FantasyPlaying in their pine forest after school, twelve-year-old Justin stumbles upon a strange neighborhood. A strange neighborhood filled with even stranger houses, like one made out of snow, even though it doesn't snow in Cambria, California, and anoth...
