The Lost Ones

Chapter 8

It took a week to complete the raft, mostly because they took their time searching for materials while exploring the rest of the island. During the making of the raft, Kit took note of how moody Skye had become, and after discovering a small cave near the hot springs containing a shallow pool of murky water, Skye decided to leave their main cave and make the smaller one her home just until they finished the raft. When Kit asked her why, she only swore at him and threatened to smack him in the face.

The nights when Skye wasn't sleeping under the same shelter, Kit learned how empty and quiet it felt. He began to think how his situation would be different had he not found her, if she never made it off the cruise alive. What were the chances of him ending up with someone other than her? Would that have been a good or bad thing?

Now that Skye was gone, Kit had more time to spend alone with his thoughts.

Standing outside the empty cave, he stared into the night sky, and the millions of still, twinkling stars took his mind from how utterly lonely he felt, how much he missed the company he never realized Skye gave him.

A gentle wave crept up on the sandy shore and that's when something caught his eye. As he drew closer, he spotted a large, brown cardboard and snatched it before the wave could drag it back into the sea.

Oddly enough, the thick piece of stiff paper dried within a few minutes after he held it above the fire. He went back outside, bringing along a sharpened stone he had used to cut rope from the vine trees.

He carefully started carving into the cardboard. I was supposed to have a memorial ceremony with Rin and the others on the cruise. But since I couldn't...When he finished, he fixed the cardboard deep into the sand and stared at the name carving:

HOLDEN

He pressed his hands together and let his weary eyelids fall. "Dad," he whispered. "Even though it's been ten years since you left me, I still feel like you're with me. I know that Mom hates you for what you did. But I still love you...I miss you so much."

He swiped his arm across his face, drying the tears that began to form in his eyes. He continued to sit and stare at the memorial cardboard in silence.

Then he heard a voice behind him. "Kit."

Kit turned around. Dazed, he stood up and said, "Skye! You're back?"

Skye smiled. She looked extremely tired. There were dark circles under her eyes and it looked like she hadn't finger-brushed her hair for days.

She sat down in front of the memorial and Kit took a seat beside her.

"You're such a good person," she gently told him, running her fingers over the carved name. "Your dad's name is Holden, huh?" When Kit nodded, she said, "My dad used to have a friend named Holden. They'd been best friends since kindergarten and they even competed for valedictorian in high school. My dad ended up as salutatorian, but they were still close friends after that."

She said used to. "Are they not friends anymore?" Kit replied.

Skye wore a contemplative look. She shrugged. "Not sure," she admitted. "He used to always come over and he and my dad would swim laps in our indoor pool. My dad told me they used to be on the swim team together. But then Holden stopped coming over and they eventually stopped communicating with each other..."

"Not all good things last forever," Kit told her.

But Skye shook her head, as if she was trying to remember something else. "No. It was because—" She gaped at Kit. "—he killed himself."