On a rocky spit mired in the deep blue of the ocean and smothered by the unending pale blue of the sky, only a man broke the monotonous beauty. He was still as the stone he sat on, staring out to sea. Sometimes he thought the ocean spoke to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting," he said. He continued staring into the lazy waves.

The ocean lapped up against the rocks, reaching out to comfort him but never coming close enough. "What are you waiting for?"

The man was silent for a dozen heartbeats. "If I wait here, I'll be the first to see her when she comes back."

The ocean had to think about that for a while. A cloud rose on the horizon, a dingy white that looked to be dragging grey clouds behind it. Eventually the ocean said, "This is private property, you know." The man just nodded, gazing out at the water, never still, never going anywhere.

After another period of silence, the ocean said, "I guess he's harmless. C'mon, let's go. If he's still here tomorrow, we'll call someone."

Out on a rocky spit, under a sky darkening with stormclouds, a man waited.