Resilient Prequel Short: The Calm Before the Storm

The waves kept coming, one after another. Unlike their life until now, the rhythm of the ocean was cathartic. Its cadence, its wide expanse across the horizon and the sun’s reflections dancing across the surface, stirred her soul. Selene smiled as she tilted her head up and closed her eyes. She could smell the sea. The crisp, tangy saltiness seemed to bring her senses to life. She turned her head, wondering if Kiera was as captivated as she. Kiera lay motionless, stretched out on a towel, sunglasses on. She could have been sleeping, but Selene doubted it. Kiera was ever vigilant. Always watchful.

There was a time and a place for that. Had been. But not today. It wasn’t the time nor the place. Selene would take this day. She deserved it.

She stood up and rushed headlong into the ocean, laughing as the tide lapped against her feet. She didn’t stop. She kept running until she was submerged up to her waist, chills shooting through her body. Cold, but… exhilarating.

Without overthinking it, she ran back to the shore, flopped backward into the shallows, arms and legs sweeping wide, enjoying the warm gritty texture against her wet body.

“What the hell are you doing?” she heard from the shore. I knew it, Selene thought. I knew she was watching.

“I’m making sand angels. What’s it look like? It’s fun. Join me!”

Kiera didn’t move from her towel, but sat up now, clearly watching. Sunglasses on, arms crossed, she looked like a lifeguard who’d already decided everyone was going to drown on her watch.

“You’re going to freeze your ass off,” Kiera muttered, “and I don’t want to even think about where all that sand is going.”

Selene could see the tiniest twitch at the corner of her mouth. Almost a smile.

Selene stood up, dripping, hair plastered to her cheeks and watched as the water rushed in to fill the shape, then pulled back again, leaving her outline shimmering like a ghost. “One angel. That’s all I’m asking!”

Kiera sighed the sigh of a woman who had lost every argument since birth and finally stood. She kicked off her flip-flops and waded in just far enough for the water to lick her ankles.

“Happy?” she asked, already turning to leave.

Selene grinned and tackled her sister backward into the next wave.

They came up laughing. Real laughter. The kind that only happened when no one was watching. For three full seconds, they were just two girls on a beach.

Then Kiera froze.

A woman was walking along the waterline about thirty yards down, a big German Shepherd trotting happily at her side. The dog spotted them and let out a friendly bark, tail whipping the air. The woman laughed and waved.

“Nice angel!” she called.

Selene waved back without thinking. The woman looked her age or maybe a shade older. Long dark hair blew across her face. She wore cutoff shorts that revealed long sun-kissed legs and a faded Phillies tee like she’d thrown on the first clean thing she found. The dog bounded forward, tongue lolling, clearly hoping for new friends.

Kiera’s hand closed around Selene’s wrist. “Don’t.”

But Selene was already at a crouch as the dog came to sniff her fingers. “Hey. What’s your name?”

“Sasha,” the woman said, jogging the last few steps. “And I’m Rachel. Sorry. She loves people. Especially happy ones.”

Sasha rolled onto her back, begging for belly rubs. Selene obliged, laughing when the dog’s hind leg thumped like a jackhammer.

Rachel tilted her head, studying her with curiosity. “You look like you’re having the time of your life.”

Selene glanced at Kiera, who stood rigid a few feet back, arms crossed again.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I kind of am.”

Rachel’s smile softened, like she understood something deeper. “Well, you picked a good day for it. We don’t get down here often, but when I do, I never want to go back.”

“To Philly?”

Rachel looked surprised, then glanced down at her own shirt and laughed. “That’s right. For a moment, I thought you were clairvoyant.” They both laughed. “I’m usually more observant, but I’ll blame it on vacation brain.” She paused, as if she wanted to say more, but didn’t. Finally, she spoke. “I guess we better get back. My husband is working on his laptop like a responsible adult. I dragged Sasha out for some fun.”

She said “husband” the way some people say “home”. Warm, certain, safe.

Selene felt something twist in her chest. A longing with no words.

“You should bring him out next time,” she said before she could stop herself. “The sunshine would be good for him too.”

Rachel grinned. “It would. I’ve been trying. Anyway, enjoy your angels. It was nice to meet you.” She motioned and Sasha bounded back beside her, shaking water everywhere. With a final wave, Rachel continued down the beach, Sasha trotting happily at her side.

Selene watched until they were out of sight. “We don’t make friends,” Kiera said, standing next to her now.

“I know,” Selene whispered.

The twist in her chest lingered long after the waves had erased her angel.