Teenage Castaways

Epilogue

Emma gazed intently out into the horizon as a vaguely familiar island slowly came into view. Years later, Emma returned to the island where she spent a good portion of her high school junior year.

She had graduated college now and was working as a veterinarian. Before that, she had spent a good many years cooking aboard a warship until the world war finally ended.

Biting her lip, Emma found herself gripping the railing of the ship until her knuckles went ghostly white. What if all her friends had died? What if there was no one to visit? No one to rescue?

Emma titled to her head, breaking her watch on the island in the distance, to look at her husband. She had met him in the warship and had dated him throughout college. He drove the ship with steady hands.

He smiled at Emma and she smiled back. "Don't worry," he seemed to say silently.

The island inched closer and closer until-

Emma's husband docked the boat on the shore of the island.

This is it, Emma thought, having a main character moment.

Steps slow and measured, Emma got off the boat. Her boots met the rocky shore of the north part of the island. Many of the stones, she noted, had been rearranged or taken away.

And there was a girl. She was young looking and had short, fiery hair. Her face was dotted with freckles and she looked relaxed, laying in the sand. Her name was Joy, but Emma didn't know that yet.

"Hello?" Emma inquired.

Joy snapped up and let out a gasp. "Hi!" Her face broke into a smile. "Who're you?"

"I'm Emma."

"Emma? Really? Oh my gosh! Emma!"

"You... know me?"

Joy rushed up to her and took her wrist. "Of course I do! My mom and dad told me about everyone! Now come on!" Fast as light, Joy led Emma away from the shore and into the thicket.

Past the thicket, the energetic girl stopped and released Emma.

"Aunt Pierre! Aunt Adeline! Emma's here!" Joy called.

Emma gasped when she caught sight of her old friends. It had been so long. They looked so different, yet still the same.

Pierre's wavy hair had been cut to right-below-ear length. She looked older, obviously, and her glasses were nowhere to be found. Adeline's features had grown sharper and she looked happier.

"Emma!" Pierre welcomed.

"Emma?" Adeline asked in disbelief. "How did you get here?"

"My husband took me," Emma said, breathless. "I just had to come here. Lexie and Elijah agreed, but their both busy with their kids-"

Adeline held up a hand. "Lexie and Elijah are still together? With kids?"

"Let's go find mom and dad!" Joy squeaked in delight.

"You're Jovie and Chad's kid?" Emma asked.

"Yes! I'm Joy, the third and youngest," she said.

Emma tried her best not to let her jaw fall, but, then again, was it really so hard to picture Jovie with three kids?

Joy rushed the three of them to the west, where Jovie and Chad still lived. The campsite had been rearranged with a stronger, larger shelter for Jovie's large family. Ruby's old shelter had been dismantled.

Emma's breath caught and her hands flew to her mouth. Upon spotting Chad, she let out an embarrassing gasp. Chad had turned from a scrawny teenager into a man. For some reason, Emma had expected to find all of her old crashmates still young like she left them.