an ending

sunny september day

the four of us at the lake

four girls in swimsuits and sun-soaked smiles

four almost-adults not yet ready to leave childhood and each other behind.

we sat in the water

as the day cooled around us

tossing rocks into the stillness and secrets into the silence.

she picked up a stone and handed it to me,

told me “don’t throw that one.”

i tucked it into my pocket.

when we ran back to our picnic table

i put the rock in my backpack.

we were getting chilly

it was getting late.

just one more perfect moment, please?

we stood in the parking lot and hugged

so tightly

so dizzily

that when we let go i thought i would

fall over.

nothing could ever be this good again.

on the way home i looked for the pebble in my backpack but

it was gone.

i guess that’s what happens when you

put your heart out in the open.

you lose track of it.