Nina reached the harbour seven minutes after departure. The ferry was still visible, close enough to suggest it might change its mind. A man sat on a bench with a large paper bag. He told her waving did not help; he had already tried. Nina put down her bag and opened the timetable. The next departure was in the morning. Until then, she had imagined the island as a day trip with a precise ending, never somewhere she would be stranded without a toothbrush.
The man's name was Boris. His bag contained a broken wall clock collected from his late aunt's house. He did not want to call his relatives and ask them to take him back to the house he had just locked. Nina did not want to call the colleague she had told she was travelling with friends. She had travelled alone for two years, but every explanation at work ended with an offer to introduce her to someone's brother. The two of them shared two small lies before sharing a sandwich.
The owner of the only open inn had two rooms available. Nina made no effort to hide her relief. Boris merely asked what time dinner was served. At the table he told her about his aunt, who had kept the clock stopped for years because its ticking annoyed her. Nina asked why he was taking it to be repaired. He did not know. His relatives had told him he should, and he was good at carrying out final tasks.
After dinner they walked to the harbour. Nina admitted she had lingered in a little museum because she had not wanted to return. Monday held the same job that had awaited her for nine years. Boris said he had deliberately walked slowly down the hill. The house had been sold, and leaving would end the possibility of his aunt appearing at the door to complain that he had closed the shutters incorrectly. Neither offered the other advice. The sea filled enough of the gaps between their sentences.
In the morning Boris arrived at breakfast without the bag. He had left the clock with the innkeeper, who immediately recognised it from his aunt's kitchen. Nina bought two tickets and checked the time only once. They sat together on deck without making grand statements about coincidence. When he suggested lunch the following Saturday, she said she would need to check her schedule. Then she put her phone away before unlocking it. "Actually, Saturday works for me," she said, leaving the return journey open.