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Tim walked out onto the glistening shore of the lake. The air felt fresh and clean, it was the first breath of clean air that he’d had in a while. His stuffy overbearing job having taken over his life wasn’t exactly conducive to getting outdoors, much less getting out at all. As he looked out at the calm waters ahead all of what came before this drifted away with the water. Now all he had to think about was some good old fashioned kayaking. He double checked his supplies, paddle, check, sunscreen, check, water bottle, check, so on and so forth ensuring he had not neglected to bring something important and leave himself stranded. He shuddered remembering when he forgot his compass and ended up several miles downstream in a neighboring town. When all seemed to be in order he fastened his life jacket, brought his kayak parallel to the dock and lowered himself in.
The lake was gentle and relaxing, today was a good day to be out. As far as he could tell, everyday would be a good day to be out. Maybe it was the quietness of it all but as he paddled he began to reflect on his life. It felt good to be out in the open, he thought, all the time he spent cramped up in his work. All the time that was spent alone trying to keep himself busy missing the people he cared about and suffering with his miserable coworkers trying to avoid the seemingly endless catastrophe that befell his work place. He thought back to even before that. To his brother, Danny, oddly enough thanks to this new “permanent vacation” he was on he finally got to see him again. They had met shortly after Tim left, Danny said Tim looked tired. He was.
His thoughts were disrupted as he heard someone shouting his name. He looked up confused to see a woman waving at him excitedly. She was tall with round glasses and dark curly hair. It took a few moments for him to register who she was until it clicked. It was Sasha! He had hardly recognized her at first but seeing her here and now brought it all crashing back. He nearly dropped his oar in his effort to wave back.
"Sasha! I can't believe it!"
She made a motion with her arm ushering him over, both of them smiling ear to ear. He really couldn't believe it, all these years, all the time and distance, the incredible coincidence of them being in the same place at the same time, it was nearly overwhelming. They had so much to catch up on, so many events that she missed. So many things that he had missed about her. He brought his kayak over to hers almost knocking the two of them under in the process. The moment he was within a comfortable earshot Sasha fired off with questions.
"So how have you been all this time? How has everyone else been since I've been gone? When did you get here? I hope you haven't missed me too much, after all I'm unforgettable!" She smiled and laughed a bit after the last statement, though it brought Tim a heavy heart. But nevermind that now, he had to catch her up.
"Oh Sasha it was just horrible without you, your absence was just too much. Even the weirdly consistent disasters couldn't keep me entertained, i almost had to resort to hanging out with our weird boss" Tim joked in a light hearted tone
"That's not specific enough Tim, the sleep deprived one or the 8 times divorced one?" Sasha barely contained her laughter at her own joke. Tim smiled with glee, the time may change but somethings stay the same.
“Sasha! You’re terrible, but it’s the sleep deprived one. He somehow actually became much more sleep deprived in your absence. Not sure how he managed that, but I suppose working with literal monsters will do that to you.” Tim spoke light heartedly Sasha nodded in somewhat understanding.
The two paddled around the beautiful lake until their arms were too tired to keep rowing, catching each other up on recent events and reminiscing on the past all the while. The sky above them grew dim and soon the lake became starry as the sky above. With the lack of light and the growing exhaustion they decided to rest on the bank of the river for tonight.