September 6, 2048
The next day he drove to the Gulf. He waded out naked into the warm ocean until the salt water burned the wound on the back of his neck, as if scalding it clean. He?oated for a long time, allowing the ebb and?ow of the water to carry him away from the beach.
It would be so easy to just give up, to allow the sea’s embrace to deliver him down to a peaceful surrender.
After a while, Jubal rolled over and swam back to shore.