The forest closes in and the sky brightens ahead as two islands reach toward each other across an unseen gap. A short, building stretch before the channel fills your windshield.
Notice the road start to bend, and the shoulders of forest pulling in close on both sides. The land's narrowing here, squeezing down toward something. Madrona and Douglas-fir crowd the pavement, then thin, and through the gaps you catch it: open sky where there ought to be more island, a brightness ahead that means water, and a lot of it. The trees lean back like they're making room. You can feel the two islands reaching for each other across a gap you can't quite see yet. Slow down a touch. Whatever's coming, it's close now, just past where the road tips down and the green guardrail begins. Let the windshield fill with it.