Coming home?

[dr_schreber]

It's kind of cramped in Sarah's car on the drive back to Shell Beach. There's a couple minutes where they go through the underpass that marks the city limits where Schreber holds his breath afraid they'll come to just a wall with a mural but then they're through and out and there's the feel of open space around them. Shell Beach is still there. It's still dark and the lights along the road make little pools in the night. The ocean seems to go on forever, making them feel all like they're on the edge of space, insignificant. There's little lights on in the houses along the beach but they're just pinpoints in the dark. It seems to take a long time for the car to reach the house, mostly because nobody's sure what to say. When they finally pull up and Sarah turns off the engine Schreber realizes he's been holding his cane so tight his knuckles have turned white and the raven head carved in the top has embossed the hand that was gripping it.
The lights are still on in the house and there's hints of the Christmas tree through the front window. It all looks a little fake and very out of place against the ominous sky.