They come and sat on the beach, and the air is so thick with smoke you cannot see the opposite shore, ten miles away. It is the pall of faraway wildfires making the sailboats hazy shadows in the distance.
They walk out into the water, so much more shallow and rocky than in years past. They reminisce about years when it rained all summer, or when they still dumped chemicals into the lake and the fish lay dead and eyeless up and down the shore.
They say to themselves, “This is fine,” as they gaze out at the smoky horizon.

“Bohol Beach Club” by Lost In The RP is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.