As the sea rose, the people of the town tried valiantly to stop it. They raised the breakers and extended the sea walls, but the waters kept rising. Day by day, more and more of the beach slipped under the waves.

At the town meetings, the older residents insisted on saving the town at any cost. “This has always been our home,” they said. The younger people grumbled amongst themselves.

But the waters continued to rise. The waves bit into the edges of the town, engulfing the sea wall, and still the sea continued to rise. People saw their efforts were in vain, and the town was abandoned.

On the night the last old man left, he stopped by the cemetery to say goodbye to his wife, who had passed on so many years before. With the sound of the waves rushing toward him in the darkness, he paused a moment to trace his fingertips over the cool, rough surface of the headstone.

As he drove away, he could see in his rearview mirror the water tearing away the cemetery and sweeping black caskets out into the churning sea.