On taking the long way round-

Seven hours.

That's how long the island tour lasted.  Out of those seven hours, a good four of them were spent on a boat headed to the next island. 

We arrived at the first island as the captain informed us we would be granted thirty minutes to snorkel and swim. I waited for the boat to dock as I watched the anchor being tossed in. I would soon discover this was our stopping point. The ocean. I sat as my fellow passengers jumped in. Confused I whisper to One Jay, "Are they serious?"

He smiles. "I think so." 

We jump out of the boat--more like I push him first and follow behind. I've swam in the middle of the sea many times before, but there's something about jumping out of a boat that beckons adrenaline. It was a nice surge. The kind that awakens you.

I had spent too much time half-awake. So many months on auto pilot, going to and fro with little thought. In the middle of the sea, beside him, came a sense of release. 

There, inside the Indian Ocean, I pondered. Perhaps home isn't a place at all...

What if it's a person?

                                           What if he's it? 

Oh, it has been such a long way round...