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I nod “Good for it”

Rob nods to the wooden bench behind me “Have a seat”

I sit, the motor rumbles, and we’re off

The sea looks like a sheet of black glass as we zip over it A fine spray arches up on each side of the boat, dotting my arms and cheeks with cool water The breeze liftsthe island’s rocky coast

I look up at the grassy cliffs with eyes that sting From down here on the surface of the water, I can’t see the valley that covers most of one side of the island; Tristan da Cunha sirass-covered cliffs that stretch to an unseen plateau

I’htly inland, toward the cliffs, and I see…yeah, that’s penguins A bunch of little dudes on a low-lying, flatter-looking rockface, hopping up and down and doing penguin shit As we pass by, I swear one looks right at h and rub ether

I’ll feel better by the tiht Until then, penguins

We curve around the island’s edge, and finally I see it—Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the long nae I remember

Frohtly colored buildings in the shadow of a

I wrap a hand around the top of my pack, take a deep breath I rub my forehead Christ

We’re headed toward the jagged shoreline, which has dipped doer, rising only ten or fifteen above the crashing waves I tighten lances at me

Soon the htly, its nose tipping up, and I see we’re co outward fro an al toward the sky in a wall of frothy white As we edge closer, spray slaps h rin back at me

As we idle into the gap between the arms of the dock, the waves beneath the boat shtly I can hear birds caw above us, smell the thick, salty air A wave hits the dock behind us, and I see a flash of rainbow just ahead of the boat I’ at the shoreline—blurry figures through reet me

Fuck, I’ain And suddenly I feel like I can breathe

Three