Lost time is never found again...

   "You seem quiet this morning. Thinking about something?"
   "Just thinking about home."
   "Ah. You know, we're soon coming upon two months here-"
   A cold wind rudely interrupted Cal and stirred the soupy fog around them. Kip quickly rushed to the tent and produced a pair of coats.
   "Thank you, Kip"
   "No problem. Don't know If I'll ever get used to how dense this air is. Every gust hits you like a dip in the ocean... Anyway, you were saying?"
   "I was just saying that homesickness usually sets in after a couple months of being away."
   "That what your psychology classes taught you?"
   "Well, were they wrong?"
   "Hah. You got me there."
   She cracked a grin and withdrew a bit into her coat. Kip continued.
   "It's just... I've recently realized that being away has already changed me. It's a small change, almost unnoticeable. But it's happening continuously and it makes me think about what we're doing out here"
   "Every event in our lives changes us. No one can stay the same forever. And besides you're already here. You'd be wasting even more time getting back home."
   "I'm not planning to suddenly up and leave everyone. I'm just worried about what happens after we pack up and go home. We don't get this part of our lives back, you know? At the end of all this, I'm going to look back at all this time I spent working my ass off in this wasteland and think about what kind of person it made me into. And I'll ask myself..."
   He stumbled on a tremor in his throat, but came back after a breath.
   "I'll ask myself if who I am is worth the time I spent here. Right now, I don't know if the answer will be yes, and that's what worries me the most."
   "You worry too much, Kip. You're driving yourself mad over the natural state of things. My people have a saying for your worries: 'One who fears the river shall perish in the flood'."
   "Well that's certainly uplifting"