11.

Through a large ornamental gate and across a narrow cobblestone road, Sam followed Rhin to an alley next to a jewelry shop. He lit a joint, took a deep drag, and passed it to her. She leaned against a
concrete wall that was patched with plaster. She inhaled deeply and looked at the stars.
"I hate this place." She blew the smoke up at the sky. "This island."
"Why?" He took back the joint.
"Because it's so beautiful and the people make it a joke."
"The tourists?"
"Everyone."
He passed it back. "So ignore them and enjoy the view."
"I can't. They're everywhere. Even when no one's near, I see what they leave." She inhaled deeply, then spoke without breathing out.
"Coke bottle caps, and cigarette butts, and renovated quaint little houses, and hovels with rusting autos and children playing around them." She exhaled.
"So look out... out at the water, out at the sky." He took back the joint.
"And see sailing yachts and cruise liners and airplanes and pollution."
"No. Past that. Look past that. You're looking at the way people are, only. There's more to it. There's a larger pattern we're a part of."
Rhin looked intently at an iron grating that was partly blocked by small green leaves. "Give me a break. Are you one of these hopeless mystic cannons I see around?"
"No. I'm just stoned." He laughed and took a long hit.
"Hey. Save some for me."
"Sure." He handed it back. "So what's a mystic cannon?"
She walked a few steps to the cobblestone then followed the cracked concrete gutter back to the grating. She stamped on it as if testing its
strength. "Oh. You know. The la-de-da New Age spirituality dead-beats who talk a whole lot but have nothing to say."
"Well I'm not one of those, definately."
She looked at him with her head cocked slightly, thin eyebrows arched over pale-green eyes. He stared in her eyes silently, then said, "I am very attracted to you."
She didn't break eye contact. With a thin trace of smile on her lips, she pinched the end of the joint and handed it back to him. "It's time for the set," she said. "I have to get back. Thanks for the smoke, Sam."