South Harbor was a quiet village, like most on the island. Collectively, the population barely rose above ten thousand.
The main street was lined with quaint businesses, and their simplicity attracted the state park tourists; ice cream shops, a pizzeria, inns. To the East, the shore was rocky, cold, and the bay almost always filled with boats coming and going.
Despite how badly she missed the convent, the beauty of Mt. Desert Isle always left Inna in awe; she had to be grateful.
It was early October, nearly too frigid to walk the few miles home, but the appointment with John had left her shaken and somber; the wine from the previous night lingered as a headache. So she walked, cozied in a thick green sweater and warm stockings beneath a pleated skirt, through South Harbor and down to the shore. Dark, dangerous waves beat mercilessly onto the sand, and whitecaps littered the horizon. The sky was grey.
Inna placed each foot carefully, avoiding wet sand, looking for shells and beach glass; she had a collection at home that hadn't been added to in years.
"Opened what, Inna?"
The girl walked along faster, as though trying to put space between herself and the abiding pain.
Before, he'd visited her only in dreams...nightmares.
But there he had stood, right in her own home, among people who couldn't see what she saw, and it all lead her to believe she was truly crazy.
The dreams were enough to pry faith and God from her very hands.
Inna swallowed, looked up to the expanse of shore; mere feet from where she stood, a man sat on a large, smoothed piece of driftwood, facing the Atlantic. In her contemplation, she had nearly walked right into him.
She froze, stood still against the strong winds that threatened to spirit her away. He didn't seem to notice her, and Inna didn't know whether to sneak back the way she came or continue on.
Though she couldn't see his face, something about the man was hauntingly familiar.
She felt a well-known terror, overwhelming her, and he turned.
And they gazed at each other with soundless disbelief.