He watched as it bobbed in the indigo wash of the sea, moonlight glinting–green glass, white paper, black ink. It rose on the crest of a wave and was swept back to his feet.

He knew that she would never see his plea. He knew she would never return.

Nick Young is a retired award-winning CBS News Correspondent. Several of his pieces have appeared in 50-Word Stories. His writing has also appeared in the Nonconformist Magazine, the San Antonio Review, Backchannels Journal, Samjoko Magazine, Short Story Town, Danse Macabre Magazine, Pigeon Review, CafeLit Magazine, the Green Silk Journal, Typeslash Review, The Potato Soup Journal, Sein und Werden, Of Rust and Glass, Little Death Lit, Flyover Magazine, Sandpiper, Fiery Scribe Review, The Chamber Magazine and Vols. I and II of the Writer Shed Stories anthologies.