our group disbands

          A group of us was camping somewhere. There was a dispute amongst us and two of us ran away, becoming threats to the rest. B.R. had run away and hidden, waiting for the fray to subside. The two came back or were caught and we settled down. I then remembered that BR was missing. I stepped outside and shouted out into the night to him. He called back “what?” and I told him it was safe to come back. He had been hiding in a shed. I realized that he would not have had anything to drink in there, and that he must be happy to be able to come out. He came back to the cabin and began gathering his things together. He announced that he was going to quit us. He held up some photographs he’d taken – quite good ones – and said he was going back to publish a book of photographs. His clothes kept changing from one outfit to another.

          The volunteer ambulance service arrived for him, and he lay down on a gurney. The crew began undressing him, and treating him in various ways. They strapped him down and drove away. I was very sorry to see him go. He was one of the longest-standing members of our group. Another older man was also leaving, and I had a sense of sorrow that the group was no longer what it was. I didn’t feel abandoned, but just hyper-aware that an era was passing.