(222 words)

As he read the letter in his trembling hands, revealed in the candle light, his tears fell one by one on the old wooden desk. Surrounded by the deep darkness of the old, small house, his mind was a world away, in an even deeper, colder darkness. He clutched the letter and screamed, his soul plunging into the depths that had swallowed his beloved.

-I'm lost in the darkness, and I'm afraid. All I can see is water, and the universe ends six feet from the bow. That's as far as I can see, even with the lights on. They'll die, soon. I want you to understand, my dear, that I will die out here. The battery will fail, the cold will come in, the ice will break this boat, and I'm going to sink.

When the waters come in, when the coldness makes it so I can't move my body, when I'm drowning in the dark, I'm going to think of you. I'm going to imagine you're here with me, and I promise you, I'll feel warmer. So, when you get this, even though it's too late, please, be here with me. Come into the past and hold me. Imagine you're here, in the cold, drifting up and down on the callous waves. We can be together, here in the dark.-