The old man sighed when he spotted the pond, pointed it out to his son. "Still there."

"Hah. Didn't expect it to move," the younger man replied. The bit of smile from the joke slipped back into a sober line though he tried hard to hold it.

They walked up to the crest of the bank and looked over the pond with its reflection of black pines in its depth. The younger man waited for his father to break the calm.