Letters from the Harbor — 2. The Missing Bench
An archivist follows a correspondence through a coastal town. A three-chapter sample series.
In the photographs, the bench appeared every summer until 1984. After that there was only a square of newer paving. Theo laid the pictures in a row while Ben made coffee in the museum kitchen.
One photograph showed two young men painting the bench blue. On the reverse someone had written: A place to begin again.
Ben recognized his grandfather. The other man stood half turned away, laughing at something beyond the edge of the picture.
They checked the old council minutes. The bench had been removed during repairs, its timber put into storage rather than thrown away. The storage building still stood at the far end of the harbor.
‘We could ask tomorrow,’ Ben said.
Theo looked at the clock. There was half an hour before the harbor office closed.
They took their coffee with them.