Calypso's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Leo spent his mornings at the workbench now, building things Calypso didn't ask for. A wooden trellis for the climbing beans. A rain barrel with a spout that actually closed. He sang while he worked, off-key but steady, like someone who expected to be around long enough to finish. Calypso brought him water one afternoon and found the workbench different. Tools hung on moss-covered pegs, organized by size. Beneath a weathered tarp at the back, something large bulged against the fabric. She lifted the corner. A wicker basket sat there, wide enough for two people. Above it, folded fabric in bright colors—reds and yellows and blues—lay bundled with rope. A burner made from salvaged metal rested beside it. Her breath caught. A hot air balloon. She let the tarp fall and stepped back. Leo wasn't at the bench. She turned and saw him coming up the path, carrying a satchel packed tight with supplies. He froze when he saw her face. "How long have you been building it?" she asked. Her voice came out steady, but her hands shook. Leo set the satchel down. It landed heavy, like it held more than just food and water. "A few weeks," he said. "I wasn't sure it would work." Calypso looked at the tarp, then at him. "Were you going to tell me?" He opened his mouth, closed it. "I don't know," he said finally. The honesty of it hurt worse than a lie would have. She had thought he was different. She had thought he chose to stay. But he had been planning to leave the whole time, just like the others. She walked past him without another word. Behind her, she heard him call her name, but she didn't stop. Back at her cottage, she sat on the step and pulled the driftwood charm from her pocket. His name was still carved there, clear and deliberate. She traced the letters with her thumb. The balloon didn't change what she wanted—it only proved she had been wrong about what he wanted. She wouldn't beg him to stay. She wouldn't hold him here. But she also wouldn't pretend it didn't hurt to know he had one foot out the door while carving his name into gifts for her. She set the charm on the step beside her and left it there. When Leo came to find her that evening, she would listen to whatever he had to say. Then she would decide if love that came with an escape plan was love at all.