The Skeleton Tree

In the present day, sitting by the sea beating the drums, Chris believes he’s keeping the fog at bay. Just out of sight, he imagines, is the rescue fleet. As he pounds the drums, all he can think about is the look of frustration on Frank’s face when he was fishing for salmon six weeks ago.

In a flashback, Chris loses the fish hook on his first cast into the salmon creek. He expects an outburst of anger, but Frank is silent. They eat the salmon raw, sitting on the beach, and Chris announces that his father was an accountant and died in an accident a year ago. Chris asks what Frank’s father does, to which Frank replies that he decomposes. In silence, Frank remembers small, happy moments with his dad.

The raven returns, and Chris throws a piece of salmon to it, despite Frank’s insistence that it will become a pest. In the sky they spot a plane and run to the cabin but can’t find the flare. Frank grabs a mirror and attempts to signal the plane, but it flies on.

That night, Chris hears scratching at the cabin door and hears a