Sunrise for Two (Addie)

[Dr. Isaac Yang]

Isaac put his car in park and turned off the engine, welcoming the silence that followed. It had been a long week, as many of his weeks were, and he was happy to just have the day off to spend time in quiet solitude. It was very early in the morning, earlier than most people even thought about getting up, and the sun had yet to rise over the horizon. That was why he had come to the lake - to sit on the end of a pier and watch the sunrise. It was one of the things he looked forward to most in life; he felt that each new day brought new life and new beginnings to everything, which helped him cope with being a doctor who quite often had to tell people that their life was going to be cut short. Of course, he always did as much as he could, but there was only so much that could be done.

He hadn't bothered to do anything with his hair today, other than comb it out a bit, and he felt laid-back in his light grey sweater and jeans, along with his normal black-rimmed glasses. He slowly made his way towards his normal spot, nodding pleasantly to the few fishermen who also had decided to spend their morning at the lake. It was chilly, but not overly so, and he felt that the day was going to end up being a warm one. Birds chirped pleasantly nearby, and a small smile crossed his face. He wouldn't be totally alone to greet the new day.

He found his way to the end of the dock and sat on the edge, his feet dangling a little ways above the water's surface. It wouldn't be too long now, so his gaze was positioned to the east, right between two mountains where he knew the first glimpses of color would appear.

[Patricia Reed]

Addie had been up for a few hours. That was one of the drawbacks of growing older. She very rarely slept later than five in the morning anymore. It was a shame in some ways. When she was younger there was nothing better than being able to sleep until mid morning. But she supposed it was more practical this way. She usually got quite a bit done.

Now for instance, she had her rescue dog, Rocks, on a leash as they made their way around the lake. When they’d first started, he’d been so excited, that Addie had to use her full weight to pull back on the least just so he wouldn’t rip her arm from his socket. Rocks obviously doesn’t know his own strength. But he did respond to Addie’s multiple commands for him to heel. Dogs took a lot of training. But she liked it.

Reaching almost back around to the beginning though, he was calmer, his energy drained, and he walked beside Addie instead of dragging her along.

She was surprised that somebody else happened to be at the lake. It was so early. The sun wasn’t even up yet, though it would be soon it seemed based on the changing color of the sky. Maybe it wasn’t actually a person. She was getting older. Maybe her eyes were just going bad. Squinting, she was sure it was a man. Because it most definitely wasn’t a walking tree after all.

Clicking her tongue at Rocks, she walked to pier the man taken a seat on. When she reached the end of it, she released her pet from his restraint, allowing him to play in the shallow water, while she went to take a seat next the man. “I didn’t believe young people knew that such early times even existed. I suppose it’s possible that you haven’t yet been to bed though. But you don’t look the type.” Smiling, she held out her hand. “Good morning. I’m Patricia. You can call me Addie.”