A Sea of Unspoken Things

James heads into the neighboring town of Six Rivers. It is tiny and isolated; even on main street, the forest looms large in the background. James always felt that the town was only temporarily carved out of the forest and that the forest could reclaim its space at any time. She heads to the ranger station to meet Amelia Travis, the officer who informed her about Johnny’s death. James is hoping that there have been new developments in the investigation, but Amelia explains that there have not. The bullet recovered from Johnny’s body was old, from an antique style of gun that didn’t have serial numbers and was often unregistered. Amelia says it would be difficult to even figure out who was in the forest that day: It’s elk hunting season, and hunters from all over the country are in the area. She says Johnny wasn’t wearing blaze orange clothing and was likely mistaken, from a great distance, for an animal. 

Amelia asks James a series of questions that James is sure she must already know the answer to, and she wonders why she is being questioned in this manner. When Amelia asks James about Griffin Walker, her classmate who died right before James left town to go to art school, James’s suspicion mounts. It is later revealed that James and Johnny’s connection to Griffin’s death is the main reason James wants to stay away from Six Rivers. Amelia then backs off and explains to James that she only wants to be helpful; she tells James to call if there is anything she needs. Then, she gives James Johnny’s coat and belongings. The spot below James’s collarbone—the exact same location where Johnny was fatally wounded—begins to ache again. James is overcome with emotion and hastens out of the ranger station. She finds a roll of film in the pocket of Johnny’s coat.

James makes breakfast, feeds Smoke, and then sits down at Johnny’s desk. She has the distinct feeling that Johnny is still there. She can hear typing although she hasn’t opened his computer, and the spot just below her collarbone aches. The desk is a mess, and she begins to sort through everything that is piled on it. 

James is romantically involved with Johnny’s boss, Quinn Fraser, though they’ve never made their relationship official. Quinn works at a science organization called California Academy of Sciences (CAS) and chose Johnny for the photography project because of his “uncanny” ability to get closer to their research subject, owls, in spite of his not being a scientist. James locates the project files on Johnny’s computer, hoping to learn anything that might help her understand his death. She pores over the material and is unsettled that Johnny chose Trentham Gorge as one of his research sites. This was the site of Griffin Walker’s death. She finds it eerie that Johnny died there, too, and wonders if there is more to his death than Amelia knows about or is letting on. 

Gazing down at the floor, James realizes that Johnny’s camera is in the cabin. She wonders how it is possible that he was out shooting photographs on the morning of his death if he didn’t have his camera on him. Smoke interrupts her reverie with a high-pitched whine, directing her attention to the closet. There, she finds a gun that she doesn’t recognize as well as Johnny’s blaze orange safety gear. She wonders why he didn’t wear it, since everyone who grew up in the area was trained in gun and hunting safety.

James heads back into town. Instantly she feels as though she is on display. Newcomers stick out like a sore thumb in Six Rivers. However, James is not a newcomer and as soon as she is recognized, people will start talking. She heads into the town’s only restaurant, a small diner. Sadie Cross, whom James knew in high school, owns the diner now. Sadie was Johnny’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, and James sees now that she was too protective of her brother and it caused problems for both Johnny and her. Sadie, in spite of their antipathy, is polite. She gets James a cup of coffee and introduces her to her teenaged son Ben. James does some mental math and wonders if Johnny could be this boy’s father. She is sure, however, that he would have mentioned having a son. 

James sees photos of Griffin Walker on the wall. He was the town’s golden boy, and he became an even bigger local legend after he died. She notices that a few townspeople recognize her. James texts Olivia Shaw, who teaches high school art, to see if she’ll develop the roll of film James found in Johnny’s pocket. Based on the date on the film cap, these are likely the last photos Johnny ever took. Olivia tells her to come right over. As she leaves the diner, Sadie warns her that Micah is taking Johnny’s death hard and to tread lightly around him. To James, this sounds like a warning or a threat. Olivia, Sadie, Griffin, Johnny, James, and Micah were close before Griffin died, but afterward, James, Johnny, and Micah closed ranks to protect themselves. Now, alliances have shifted, and Sadie considers James an outsider.

James heads to the high school to see Olivia. Although it is rural and public, it hosts the best soccer team in the region; as a result, it is well funded by various grants and large-scale donations. Olivia has the same effortlessly cool style that she did as a teenager. James and Olivia both wanted to become professional artists, but Olivia ended up as a teacher. James thinks that Olivia lacked grit—she was too sensitive to critique and wasn’t driven enough. However, she thinks it is also possible that Olivia is happy where she is. Some art teachers, James reflects, are bitter because their art careers stalled, forcing them into the classroom. Others are happy to have a softer place to land. James and Olivia’s reunion lacks the tension that characterized her interaction with Sadie, and James feels a sense of relief. Olivia tells James that she’s been following her career and thanks her for helping to wrap up Johnny’s project: He was using the high school darkroom, and the entire school was happy to be part of his work. She says Johnny was popular in town. 

Olivia shows James to the darkroom and then surprises her by asking if she’d like to get a drink later. Happily, James agrees. In the darkroom, she finds Johnny’s cubby and sorts through his notebooks, hoping that she can give Quinn enough material to finish the study. She then gets to work on the film. Once she is done with the negatives, she begins making prints. Most turn out to be shots of the gorge and the owl that Johnny was tracking there. One, however, contains a backpack, proof that Johnny was with someone. James wonders who it could have been. As she develops this photo, she feels like she can hear Johnny call her name loudly.

James is at home in the cabin. She recalls swimming in the gorge with Johnny and Micah. There was one day in particular that comes to mind: Johnny leapt daringly off the cliffs into the water, and James felt exactly as he did during the entirety of his jump. She realized in that moment that they shared a powerful, inexplicable bond. However, she also realized that she and Johnny had some key differences: He was more of a risktaker than she could ever be. She recalls feeling slightly scared of him in that moment. Both she and Micah were angry with him for pulling the stunt, but he did not seem to care. 

James feels that same connection to Johnny at various places: at Johnny’s desk, in the darkroom, in the diner. She thinks that perhaps these spaces channel Johnny’s energy. James is uneasy and wonders again what really happened on the day Johnny died. She is happy to have the distraction of a drink with Olivia and heads into town with Smoke in tow. Just after she sets out, she sees Rhett Walker, Griffin’s father. He is gutting a deer carcass and notices her watching him. She thinks of the moment when he assaulted her, not long after Griffin died. He wanted to know what she had seen that night and what she knew. In that moment, James understood that she needed to leave town and that she was starting to become fearful of Johnny. 

James arrives at the only bar in town to find Olivia waiting. There is a moment of slight awkwardness, but it quickly fades and they are happy to reconnect. When Micah walks in, their talk turns to Johnny. James asks if he was working with anyone, and Olivia tells her that there was someone named Josie who was also involved in the project. This is the first that James has heard of her, and she takes note of the name. 

Olivia tells James that Micah and Johnny seemed like they had a disagreement, but that Micah still took Johnny’s death hard. Micah works as a fly-fishing guide and spends much of his time out on the rivers. He’s rarely in town. James reflects that she and Micah are the only people who truly understand Johnny’s stormy moods; she wonders what happened between the two of them. She and Johnny were so distant lately, and she hasn’t a clue what was going on in his life. Amelia comes over to say hi, and James notes Olivia’s coolness. When she leaves, Olivia tells James that Amelia is too involved in the town’s business, so people keep her at arm’s length. This makes sense to James. The town is insular and has always preferred to solve its own problems. Even the previous ranger who investigated Griffin’s death was treated icily.

The next morning, James breaks down and texts Micah to see if he wants to get together. Then, she continues to go through Johnny’s files, focusing on bank statements. She finds deposits from Quinn’s project and wonders what discrepancies she will discover. She has already decided that if Johnny had mismanaged any of the project’s funds (he was given a small discretionary budget in addition to his stipend), she will make up the difference personally and pay Quinn’s organization back. She has been covering for Johnny in this way forever, and she has no intention of stopping now that he is dead. 

Johnny never had the same boundaries as other people, and he developed a reputation early on as the “bad twin.” James understands that Johnny was willing to do whatever was needed to achieve his goals. He lived only for himself and for James. Johnny’s bank records look normal at first, but James discovers a large transaction for nearly $12,000 that seems out of place. As she is mulling this over, her phone rings. It’s Quinn, but the service is bad, and she has to go outside in order to hear him. Quinn wants to know how her work is going, and she tells him that she should be able to provide him with all of Johnny’s project notes and photographs. Quinn seems relieved that the project can conclude even without Johnny. James asks him about Josie, and he tells her that Josie trained Johnny and that the two had worked together as needed. 

When James hangs up, she heads back to the cabin and is surprised to find Sadie’s son Ben inside. He hastily explains that the door was open and says he was looking for her. He has a basket of muffins from his mother, but James wonders if he was snooping around. She walks through the entire cabin after he leaves but finds nothing out of place. She still wonders if he is Johnny’s son but has no idea how to broach that subject with Sadie. Micah texts back with his address, inviting James over.

James makes the difficult drive to Micah’s house. Although it is close to town, the roads are winding, and she needs to use her brother’s SUV to make it up the steep hills. Once inside the vehicle, she has another moment of almost supernatural connection to Johnny. She can feel his presence, and she hears a woman’s voice. The vision is over quickly, however, and James wonders if these moments are real insight into Johnny’s experiences or a figment of her imagination. She looks around the SUV, remembering the fateful night when she got the scar that is on her arm. There are still bloodstains on the floor. That night, she realized that she would do anything to protect her brother. 

She shakes herself out of her reverie and proceeds along the steep road to Micah’s. Once she arrives, her anxiety increases. Micah, too, seems both happy and nervous, and he pours them both drinks. The topic of conversation, of course, turns to Johnny. James asks what was going on with Johnny in the months leading up to his death. She explains that they were more distant than normal, and Micah scoffs. He accuses her of leaving them all behind when she went to college and guesses that their estrangement began then. James cannot believe that Micah has been nursing this resentment against her for 20 years. Micah asks her what she is really doing in town. He doesn’t believe that she’s just there to finish Johnny’s project. James explains that she doesn’t think Johnny’s death was an accident. Micah appears upset but is silent for a moment, and she remembers Griffin Walker. He developed feelings for her after Stanford recruited him, and she was accepted to Byron in San Francisco. Griffin didn’t know she was with Micah and kissed her. She shoved him backward, not realizing what would happen next. 

James and Micah both take deep breaths and start over with less animosity. Micah tells James that Johnny was almost normal in the months preceding his death. He seemed like he finally found his calling through his work on the photography project. Everyone in town noticed and was happy for him. However, being Johnny, he also had moments of darkness. James understands exactly what Micah means. She gives Micah one of the photographs she developed from Johnny’s film. It is a shot of Micah. He seems to tense when he sees the image, but he says nothing. Then, he tells James then that he was the one who found Johnny’s body. Johnny had been missing for a couple of days, and he and Amelia went looking for him. James wonders if she’d be able to sense what really happened to Johnny if she were to go to that exact spot. She asks Micah to take her there.