At the Edge of the World

Vera and Lukas grow up at two ends of the world. Life in Kamchatka and Chile is very different, but they both seem to long for companionship. And if you persistently and patiently send signals – one day a miracle might happen.
In the evening, my mom and I walk to the ocean shore. I stand by the water and imagine – what if I had a friend over there, beyond the edge of the world. I take a flashlight out of my jacket pocket and shine it into the darkness above the sea. A short flash, two long ones, then another short one: dot-dash-dash-dot. Two dots, dot-dash-dash, dot, dash. In Morse code, this means: “hello.” I blink into the darkness:
“Hello, my name is Vera. Hello, my name is Vera”
For junior and middle school age.