There, right at the waterline, lay a body. His face was altered by time and the sea, but I recognized him instantly – it was my husband.

Months of waiting, empty tears, conversations with the sea… And there he was. Not alive, but found. I cried and laughed at the same time. I stroked his cold hands, as if I could still warm them.

And for the first time in many months, I felt not only pain, but also relief. At last, he had come home. At last, I could truly say goodbye.

The dog sat beside me and did not move – as if he knew that on this very day, we had finally found what we had been waiting for all along.