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A Ring of Endless Light
by
Madeleine L’Engle
I saw him for the first time at the funeral.
He stood beside my elder brother, John, and they both had closed, clenched
jaws and angry eyes. He was as tall as John, and I could see that he was as
full of grief over Commander Rodney’s death as the rest of us.
I didn’t know who he was, but I liked him.
Because he was standing with John, I assumed that he, too, had a summer job
at the Marine Biology Station, which was housed in half of the Coast Guard
headquarters.
It was a strange place and a strange time to see somebody and know that I
wanted to meet him, to call him by name. But there was something about him
that struck me – to use an old-fashioned word – trustworthy; and
that’s important in an untrustworthy world where death can strike you
when you aren’t looking.
This wasn’t the first time that I’d come close to death, but it
was the first time that I’d been involved in this part of it, this strange,
terrible saying goodbye to someone you’ve loved.
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