"One Book"

 

They had built a fire to serve as both a signal and a source of heat. They had spelled "SOS" in large letters in the sand, using rocks from farther along the shore as well as debris from the wreck--"A little late for our ship," the woman said while working on the first S, "but they'll get the idea." Their first aid kit lay open nearby; sections of their arms and legs were patched with gauze and tape. There was little else the two could do afterward except lie on either side of the fire and wait.

"Anna Karenina," the woman said.

"What?" asked the man.

"That was my answer for a long time," she said, "whenever someone asked me what one book I'd want with me if I were stranded on an island. I never read it, but I figured that being shipwrecked would give me enough time to make it all the way through." Her laughter sounded weak when laid out on the open sands. "I think I'm officially changing my answer to a wilderness survival guide, though. Or at least something a little less heavy and a little more comforting." She looked at him around the side of the fire pit. "What was your one book?" she asked.

The man reached into the first aid kit. He produced a book, which he tossed onto the sand close to her.

"I never could decide," he said, "but I like to come prepared."

The woman rolled onto her stomach and reached for the book, flipping it open. "It's blank," she said.

Back into the kit the man went searching, this time bringing out a pen. He sat next to her and held out his hand for the book. "So tell me how you imagine this comforting, not-too-heavy story you want to read goes," he said, holding the pen above the first empty page. When she raised her eyebrows, he shrugged. "I figure we at least have time for a chapter," he said. 

"You know, from what I've heard about Anna Karenina, it doesn't end too well when a person decides to spend some time doing frivolous things." 

"That's why I'm suggesting we only write one chapter," the man said. "As long as we don't get to the end, everything's all right."

The woman shook her head and chuckled as she sat up and added kindling to the fire.