It had gotten colder, and the through the treetops sky looked blotted and puffy with clouds. The road was pitch black now, but somehow her body knew how to guide her. She had been to the beach before, but never alone or at night.

She knew she couldn't go home. At least not yet. She had lost her relationship with her mother, and now she had lost her relationship with her best friend. And in both cases it was her fault. She could see that as clearly as she could see Robert's little silhoutte in front of the TV in her memory. Zoe did not think she was a dramatic person, but right now she needed some place to clear her head. The lake seemed as good of a place as any.

The wind picked up and blew Zoe's hood back, so her frizzy hair flew out in the wind. The tree trunks all around her were vertical black lines set against an even darker blackness. But soon they lines faded into a uniform shade of blackness, and Zoe heard the sighing of waves.

There was a little ticket booth, dark grey in the night light, that led to the parking lot. Ordinarily they charged parking for cars, but of course nobody was there this late at night on this cold of a night. Zoe rode around the ticket booth and straight through the empty lot. Her tires scraped against sand strewn on the black asphalt. Finally, she felt dunes under her tires and saw the black and grey expanse of water.