During the four days I spent in Vero Beach, the sky cleared only once (not pictured): mostly, however, it looked like an angry nightmare (pictured).
The local birds expressed their dismay by turning into carved wood and tiny orbs of glass.
In lieu of going to the beach, we went to a local environmental center, where we learned about the myriad ways people were destroying the environment. On behalf of our destructive species, I apologized to all of the non-humans present.
Outside, we looked for more flesh-eating zombies in the mangroves and were once again disappointed.
The flesh-eating moss and lichens on the tree bark were abundant and beautiful, however.
Back at my parents’ condominium, the flowers continued to bloom, giving us hope that the sun might eventually come out.
And it did, exactly thirty minutes before we left for the airport.
Under the big Florida sky, the canal stretched east, reminding us why we had come down, and why, in one short year, we expected to come back.
