Sunset on a Boat

It was 11:50 PM on the night before the greatest day of David Peterson's life, and he was reading a book. The moon was intense enough that he didn't need a reading light, and there were no clouds or trees to block the rays from it lighting the white pages of his book.

He was sitting in a boat that he had built and dragged a mile himself. Next to him was a lawn mower that had recently been used, something he couldn't quite forget since it was old and the gas smell wouldn't stop hanging in the air, as if to keep reminding him that it had done its work admirably. There was a wide field surrounding the boat. It had taken David twenty minutes to figure out the exact center of the more or less circular field, but he had found it and that was where the boat now sat. It had been a long, tiring night, though, he thought, absolutely worth it. David felt good about himself, so he sat in a boat (that he had made himself) at night in the middle of a field that was a mile away from humanity. And he was reading a book by moonlight.

Yes, he felt exceptional.

He could see himself clearly in the book he read, though he hoped he didn't someday "light up like a Christmas tree" and die beautifully of cancer (though a beautiful death would certainly be okay with him. In fact, that was the only kind of death he would accept). He loved this book because of this, because it was so easy to see that he was doing it all right, something all humans desire to feel. It was such a simple thing to David, to be accepted and right in the eyes of the universe.

On this immensely satisfying thought, he decided to close the book and make sure everything was in exactly the right place for the next day. When it was, he walked home confidently in the dark and went to sleep with a smile on his face.

It was a gorgeous dusk in early October. The highest temperature of the day had been 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the sky was cloudless. The air was thin and unimposing, any breeze being pleasant and slight.

They sat there in this picturesque weather on a boat that overlooked the sea of clearest green grass that came up just to the edge of this boat. They sat there surrounded by the grass field of the sea which was surrounded in an ocean of trees that were just beginning to change color. The sun was barely above these trees, shadows spread out beneath them and dancing whenever the wind blew. Quiet classical music played beneath them.

David and his girlfriend were having a picnic together. It was beautiful and thought provoking and absolutely, simply positively romantic.

"I can't believe you just happened to find this boat all the way out here," said the girl politely, sitting up straight and having only taken one bite of her ham and cheese sandwich during their time here, an observation which David attributed to her being in so much awe of the moment they were sharing.

David swallowed hard, as it was hard to chew when lying back on your elbow as he was. He fiddled with the open top of his button up shirt before saying, "Oh yeah, it's crazy isn't it?" He took another bite and sat up quickly, too quickly, for the boat creaked and shook at the change in weight. She grabbed the edges of it rigidly. David laughed at her and said, pointing, "That was cute."

She didn't say anything, only smiled strangely and looked down at the sandwich she had dropped in panic.

"Yeah, this boat." He patted it lovingly, though carefully. "Pretty remarkable, huh? Who would think to just build a little wooden row boat all the way out here?" She looked up at him and tried to shift her weight, as the flat seats in the boat weren't the most comfortable, especially after their hike to get there.

"You think someone just kind of built it here? I thought that someone may have dumped it here for some reason. It is in pretty good shape though, isn't it? Almost new I think." She said this with a (probably being playful) suspicious tone.