Hello, Goodbye

Chapter Thirty-Eight

There were several ferries that left Whidbey Island for Seattle every day, and when they pulled into the ferry terminal, Emersyn ran up to check the schedule and found that there were four leaving port within the next two hours. She bought tickets for herself, Kiel, and her mother in the hopes that Zeke would be on one of the three ferries. There was a seventy-five percent chance that he would be on one of the ferries they had tickets for. The odds were definitely in her favor, and so as the gates opened for the first ferry, she walked on, leaving her mother and Kiel behind to do the same just a few minutes later.

Once she was on the ferry, she ran around from floor to floor, searching for any sign of Zeke. It was only a thirty-minute ferry ride to the mainland, so she had half an hour to find him if he was on the ferry at all. She looked all over for him, darting between tired looking passengers who were probably just getting off work and heading home. Once she got to the top deck, she cupped her hands around her mouth and started calling for him, screaming his name into the gentle August winds. A few people looked at her like she was out of her mind, but she didn't care. It was worth looking crazy for a few minutes if she could find him.

But no matter how many times she called his name, he never answered her back. She went back to the floor beneath her and started searching around, even poking her head into the men's room in case he was using the restroom. After receiving some dirty and confused looks by some men standing at the urinals, she fled the restroom and went another floor below. Several minutes went by, and she felt a stitch start to form in her side as the horn blared, signaling the ferry was pulling into port. Okay, so he wasn't on her ferry. That was okay. There was still a chance he'd be on one of the others.

When the ferry she was on fully pulled into port, she bought another ticket back. This second ferry ride was significantly less frantic, and she took a seat on one of the chairs outside, sucking in air like she'd been deprived of it for weeks. Her arms cradled her side as she hung her head, wiping more sweat off her brow. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called her mom, knowing that her ferry would be pulling into port very soon. Her mom answered on the third ring, and she sounded just as out of breath as Emersyn felt.

"Hey," Emersyn panted into the phone, gulping down some more air. "Any sign of him?"

"No," her mom replied breathlessly, and Emersyn felt her stomach sink. "I'm sorry, Emmy. I searched this whole damn ferry. Even checked the bathrooms. But he's not here. I'll be heading back soon. Hopefully Kiel will find him."

Emersyn nodded her head. "Yeah, let's hope. Thanks for helping, mom. I appreciate it."

She could practically hear her mom smile into the phone as she said, "Of course, Em. I love you. See you at port in forty-five minutes."

"Love you too," Emersyn replied, and she hung up the phone. Then she stared up at the clear night sky, looking for any signs of shooting stars. She'd been praying all night, but they seemed to be falling on deaf ears. So if prayers weren't working, maybe the wishes would. She searched the skies, hoping to catch sight of even just one star. But the meteor shower was over. And there no streaks of light in the sky, unless you counted the slow-moving airplanes flying above her. She hoped she would see Zeke again before he got on one of those planes and left her forever.

Her mind went back to the last time she'd seem him. The pain in his eyes as he pleaded with her not to leave him. And she wished she would've stayed. She blinked and felt the tears slide down her cheeks like raindrops down a mountainside. Kiel was her only hope now. And if he didn't find him, then he was gone. Most likely forever. Would she be destined to live a single life forever, waiting for him to return to her? She should've listened to Kiel sooner. Should've talked to Zeke. There were so many should'ves and what ifs running through her mind, and her future felt so foggy as she stared out over the calm waters of the Puget Sound, watching the lights from the city dance in the surface's reflection.