As we walked down the path to Sand Beach at 5:15 this morning, this is what we saw. Loolie, Hershey, and me.

Then we kept going to the cove behind the cove. I was happy that the tide was at its lowest, suiting my purposes exactly. Loolie scampered to the beach up ahead as Hershey lagged far behind me on the foggy trail, his ghostly white body finally caught up to us on the beach.

Our friend Maureen and her dog Max would be joining us soon. I wanted to get there a bit earlier to take in the serenity and the awesomeness of this natural cathedral.

I had released most of Scott’s ashes at two beaches in Goa after he died. This summer I had let some go at Balance Rock, a favorite place of his in Bar Harbor on the beach. The last little bit remaining I had saved for this day, this beach. One year since he left us. His favorite all time beach in Stonington, Maine.

I lit nine candles. Later when I downloaded these two photos I noticed strange orbs of light all around. Like the moon amplified over and over again. Loolie patrolled the beach the way the feral beach dogs did in Goa.

This ancient granite rocky place was Stonehenge today. Temple on the Mount. Notre Dame. Sacred space. A time to say goodbye again.

A cycle that now has been fully completed. A tie that binds Goa, India to Stonington, Maine.

A lover, a friend, a brother, a son, a dog dad–we cherish the short time we had with you, Scott David Morgan. We will never forget you and all you meant to each one of us.

Ashes to ashes to snails to shells to rocks to sand pounded by water eternally and forever. When Maureen arrived we lit sparklers and put them in the sand. They flared and spit brightly and shortly they burned out.  A poignant metaphor that was not lost on us.

The dogs barked and romped together, reminding us “Hey! We’re still here! We’re still alive! We want you to play with us! We are alive!”

When I returned from the beach and opened my email, I found the photo below that was sent to me by our friends the Mucklows in Atlanta. Bob wrote, “Scott took me here… I believe he said it was one of his favorite places to take Loolie“. How would he have known that we were at that very spot at first light this morning.