"Mrs. Foust, I have something for you." Austin says reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the letter.

"Please, call me Dena." She says as her shaking hand reaches for the envelope. She let's go of a shaky breath as she sees the handwriting.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Emily asks, rubbing her mother on the back.

"That's Tim's handwriting. How long have you had this?" She asks looking up at Austin.

"Uh, probably close to two weeks." Austin answers.

"Where did you get it?" Dena says rubbing her fingers across the writing.

"Mam, Tim gave it to me." Austin says with a nervous voice.

"How dare you come in here and upset my mom like this. Mr. Brown, we have mourned my brother for five years. Trying hard as hell to pick up the pieces and continue on without him. Not knowing what happened to him. We buried an empty coffin, Mr. Brown, empty!" Emily says as she wipes her tears. 

"Emily, I'm not trying to upset your mother in any way. I'm here to tell you that Tim is alive and well. But he can't come home and I hope he fills you in, in that letter. He was on the island that I washed up on. He saved my life." Austin says as a tear rolls down his cheek.

Dena quickly opens the envelope and begins to read the letter. A smile growing on her face as tears stream down her face.

"He's alive, Emily!!! Tim is alive!!" She giggles through her tears.

Emily begins to read the three-page letter over her mother's shoulder.

"But, who is this guy, he mentions, that put him on the island?" Emily asks, looking up at Austin.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me in fear that it would put me in danger." Austin shrugs.

"How did he look? I mean, did he look healthy?" Dena asks.

"Very healthy." Austin smiles. "Actually, the guy has been sending him supplies such as food, stuff to cook with, even clothes. The cave where he lives has a small waterfall that he uses as a shower. He has a pretty neat set-up."

"He sounds pretty fond of you in this letter." Dena smiles at Austin. "He says that you gave him what he was missing, companionship."

Austin smiles and hangs his head, his cheeks blushing.

"I fell in love with your son, Dena. It broke my heart to leave him." Austin sighs. 

"Well, from the way he talks about you in this letter, I have a feeling he feels the same way." Dena says as she slips the letter back into the envelope.

"He wrote 'I love you' in the sand. I saw as I was leaving." Austin says as he quickly wipes a tear.

Dena slowly reaches out and takes the sharks tooth in her hand. "Is that a real tooth?"

"Yes, Mam. It's a shark's tooth. Tim found it on the beach the first day I was there and gave it to me. He put it on this chain." Austin says with a smile.

"I didn't want to be rude but I thought that chain looked familiar." Emily smirks. "I gave that bum that chain for his birthday just about a week before he went missing."

"Ladie, I'm thinking very seriously about going back to live. But no one needs to know where I'm at. Except for family and you two." Austin smiles. "I can't live without him."

Dena leans over pulling Austin into a loving hug.

"You've made me very happy, Austin." Dena says through her tears. "Would you please tell him that we love him and that we never gave up hope."

"I can do better than that, Mrs. Foust." He says as he pulls a small video camera out of his pocket. "I've got a plan that will allow you and Tim to keep in touch with each other by video or by letter."

"But how? Once you go back how will the messages..." Dena says but stops as Austin begins to grin.

"I've got a cousin that owns a small airfield in Georgia. He owns a helicopter. He's the one that is going to take me back to the Island." Austin smiles. "And he's also agreed to deliver extra needed supplies and messages. And MAYBE even passengers for a short visit."

"Oh my God!" Dena cries hugging Austin again. "You're an angel."

"But! Like I said. No one can know." Austin replies.

"My lips are sealed." The older lady smiles.

~~~

Tim falls to his hands and knees on the sand, gagging and gasping for air.

It had been over three weeks since his lover had left. He couldn't handle the loneliness anymore. He slowly reaches for the frayed broken vine and sighs.

"What the hell am I doing wrong?" He says in a quiet voice. 

This had been the second time since Austin left that he had tried to kill himself. But something always managed to go wrong.

He pulls the vine from his scarred neck and looks up to the sky.

"Are you trying to tell me something or are you getting a good laugh at watching me suffer. I'm actually a pretty good guy, Lord. I know we don't talk that often but I do believe in you." Tim says. "I don't want to live like this anymore. Lord, I don't even know if my prayer is even getting pass the clouds. But could you help me out a little, Please."

Exhausted, he makes his way back inside the cave. Picking up one of Austin's shirts, he lays down on the blanket and clutches the shirt to his chest.

He slowly drifts off into a deep sleep, not hearing the helicopter as it landed on the beach.

*************

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