It was slow going what with only one working hand, but I had nothing but time as I replayed our recent conversation in my mind, trying to make sense of her sudden departure. I shook croissant crumbs from the mat, but couldn’t shake the thought that something was bothering her. I tossed the remainder of yesterday’s sandwich that had gone stale out of the small rock divide that had formed our shelter last night before hauling the sleeping bag onto my pack. If...when she came back, we would have to make another go at trying to find our way to the highway. As much as I wouldn’t mind spending another night with Ella, this wasn’t the time or place. Our modest food supply wouldn’t hold out much longer and we had both been through enough health hazards. Even from behind the rocks, I could feel the breeze picking up and I figured that it must be coming off the ocean in the distance. Somehow, we had headed west instead of east, the direction we should have taken to get back to the highway.
