Wednesday Words

Some of you have commented about The Beach, a short story I shared, and when I'm going to post part two. Today is the day! A lot of the above pictures were taken at the "beach" where I live now. This lowercase beach is nothing like the sandy one I grew up with, but still very beautiful.

For those of you tuning in now you can read the first part here. And yes there will be a part three; coming soon.

I hope you like it. 

As I got close to the shore and stared out at the endless-seeming body of water a voice said, "Hey!" 

I yelped and whipped around. 

The Beach had closed at 11. Who the heck was this guy? Beach police? Oh well, I was too far away from the entrance by then. The Beach is one of the only places I didn't run. I could be still there. 

"Hey, you," the voice sounded again. This time I could see a dark figure near the pier relaxed against the sand. Definitely not Beach police. Probably just some homeless guy, although his voice sounded a little younger than your average hobo.

"Hey what?" I responded back. Who did this guy think he was? Like I didn't have problems enough without some bum trying to scam on me. Why else would he be talking to me?

"Could you move a little to your left, you're blocking my view," he said.

I turned around, the lake as big as an ocean stretching behind me with the full moon hanging over it like a single-orbed chandelier. Granted I wasn't the skinniest girl, but how could I block all that? He couldn't see me raise my eyebrow, "Whatever."

I drifted further down the stretch of sand. I wasn't going to let him or anyone for that matter make me leave my Beach. Not that I can go home right now anyway. I concetrated on the horizon not wanting to think about home. Lost in my non-thoughts I stared at the water lapping the shore, creeping closer to me.  I ignored him so well that I had almost forgotten he was there.

"Uh... you might want to move," my vagrant called out.

"Oh yeah? Am I obstructing your view again?"

I could hear him shifting in the sand but I didn't turn around to see what he was doing. "Nope, but those guys over there look like Beach police, and I think they throw you in jail for trespassing here. Or at least call your parents and have them come pick you up."

The last part of his warning caught my attention. I looked towards the parking lot and sure enough there was a vehicle with it's lights beaming, driving onto the sand. "Aww crap." They were a ways away, but soon their headlights would spot me. 

I considered going into the water, but number one, I hated being wet, number two, I was wearing my shoes and number three, I really hated being wet. I glanced up at the pier. It was the only place I could hide; the rest of the Beach and lake was flat all the way to the horizon. I crept towards the wooden overhang, trying, unsuccessfully, to blend in with the bleached sand.

"What are you doing out here tonight?" 

Ugh. I jumped and then turned around. That guy had snuck up behind me and was lounging against a pillar three feet away. Now that I could see him up close he looked even younger than I had originally suspected. Maybe seventeen. His hair was a non-descript color in the shadows and a little long. He was wearing a grayish t-shirt and jeans. He still could be a hobo. 

"What?" I asked belatedly.

"It's kind of late for you to be out, Nila." He stared steadily at me even through the darkness under the pier. And he was smiling. Nice teeth.

"That's none of your business," I said. Why do people think that just because I'm young-- 

"How do you know my name, you creeper!" I backed away from him, hearing the sound of tires on sand behind me. 

"Who the heck are you?!" I didn't care about his answer, that was just the second question that came to my mind. I kept my eyes on him just in case he tried anything and continued to back up.

"I'm Nate. Nila, I'm here because of you. The view is nice and everything but do you really think that I would be waiting here under this pier, in the middle of the night, unless I knew you would be here tonight?" He stood to his full height; a few inches taller than my own 5' 9".  And began walking towards me.