the map in the table

There is a simple map of coastal Carolina on each of the tables in the lounge of our ferry. I read for a while, walk around the empty green cushioned chairs, step outside to search the dark horizon for lights. I see only a green navigation light forward on the port side.

I come back inside, look at the map on the table and use my finger to trace the path of my sailing plan for this fall from Elizabeth City to Cape Lookout and back. Outside on the upper deck I still see the green marker. Then I see the red lights of towers to the north. A dark shape on the horizon, darker than the rest of the night sky, is Bluff Point, which I have sailed by a few times. Swan Quarter glows in the distance.

steve