Chapter two – Silver Sand

5.10pm

“HANAAAAAA!”

“Coming, coming…”

Hana sighed, brushing his hair behind his ears, clipping his bangs in a position where they won’t blur his vision constantly. Lily was a strange one, now, wasn’t she?

The feminine boy shivered and hid his hands in his pockets, his teeth chattering. “I’m surprised it’s not snowing yet,” the boy growled with a glare to his fair-skinned friend, skipping the final steps that lead down from his front porch.

“Huh… do you remember why we’re doing this?”

“Yes, Lily,” Hana sulked as his shivering escalated into something that could cause an earthquake rated ten on the Richter scale.

The two were making their way down to the beach – near the very edge of the seventeenth island. Ever since Hana could remember, once a week, he and Lily did this… at about five o’clock, just as the sun was making its way down the west, the two silently roamed the sandy edges of the island. The sand was always soft and white, the water always lapped just up to their ankles… Hana used to complain, but, he’d grown fond of it now. Why did they do this? Well…

5.12pm, eight years ago.

Hana? Hanaaaaa!

Yeah, Lily?

Will you do me a favour?

What are you looking for, Lily?

Will you walk with me?

Hana reflexively nodded. He was never one to turn down someone’s request.

“Wait, what?”

“Ever since I was little,” little seven year old Lily stumbled, tripping over her dress as she made her way to the beach, “I’ve always walked down this beach! And even though I’m a big girl now,” the child giggled – she had called herself a ‘big girl’ since she learned to tie her shoes, “I still want to do it! Okay?”

Since then, it had become a tradition that the two walked around the beach. Even though Hana had never really asked why, he just went with it.

Suddenly, realization struck Hana like someone beat him over the head with a pillowcase full of bricks. “Hey, go ahead; I’ll meet you there okay? I have to get something!”

Lily smiled and nodded, distracted by a passing moth. She watched it, amused, for a good fifteen minutes before she snapped back to her senses. Remembering where she should be waiting, she walked onwards to the beach – led by the moth, who was now spiraling around towards the sun.

5.32pm

“You look dead,” Hana remarked with amusement.

Lily snapped back from her trance, offering a smile that showed only the smallest amount of pearly white teeth. She had been staring towards the sunset, wind flapping her dusty blonde hair towards the water, which had grown slightly slushy due to the coldness. Hana glared at Lily in jealousy. “How can you dress like that?!”

“Like what?” Lily mumbled, as if she was completely unaware that she was wearing anything at all – which, in Hana’s mind, was pretty much right. A pale yellow dress, cut off in odd shapes towards the knee. In this weather!? Hana was surprised that she wasn’t freezing to death. … though, she was shivering, as she sat down on the sand and looked out towards the west.

“… stupid.”

Hana sighed, taking off his coat and wrapping it around Lily. “You may have the attention span of a bug, but you should at least have the common sense to dress in what the weather decides is reasonable…”

He glared a little as she looked up at him, with eyes that seemed to say: ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about’. With a roll of his eyes, Hana sat down, put his arm around Lily, and pulled her close. “I swear, sometimes you’re the most stupid out of all my friends…”

5.15pm, eight years ago.

“Where are they going?”

“Iunno…”

Bridget looked up at Ruth, sighed, and looked away. “Is that all you can say, Ruthie ruthie?”

“My name is Ruth…”

“You’re mean,” Bridget sniffled, rubbing her tiny nose on her sleeve. Eight year old Ruth just shrugged and went back to painting.

“… you sure do like to paint, ne ne, Ruthie?”

“… it’s Ruth…”

“I think you’re good at it…”

“… really?”

Ruth always painted. Always. One day, a few months ago, on the start of the school year, she was painting a picture of a cat. A small cat with a leaf. Nothing too interesting… She always painted at home, too. She had a real talent for it, and it was the only thing Ruth ever gave herself pride on. On this day, Bridget saw this painting; this small cat with a single leaf in its jaws. And on that day, Ruth’s confidence went up tremendously.

“Cute kitty.”

“Ah… thank you…”

“You’re a good paintererer!”

“… really?”

Since then, every time Ruth painted something… every single time… she always went to Bridget to ask her opinion. Always.

“Your painting is lame.”

“Ah…”

And then, there was Rockwell. The school bully. He always had to be mean to Ruth, and nobody else. Ruth never really did figure it out…

“Dante, don’t be mean,” cried Lily on that day. Ruth just sighed. He was probably right anyway… her expression fell; she looked as if she had killed many people. Something an eight year old shouldn’t have to bear. She really… really loved painting. Why did he have to say that it was bad…? Even if it was, she didn’t need to know…

Bridget placed her small, chubby hand on Ruth’s shoulder.

“You’re good, okay?”

“… Okay.”

Ruth smiled one of the first smiles that Bridget would see. One of many, that not many other people would get to witness… except for of course…

“Hey! Lame means cool!”

Ruth looked up at Dante with a bored yet somewhat teary-eyed look on her face.

“Lame means cool, it’s a good painting!”

“… mhm.”

Ruth glared at the cat. That cat that would never stop smiling. That cat that would never let go of that stupid, blocky, badly drawn leaf. Then she raised her paintbrush and stabbed right through the paper.

“It’s a bad cat…”

Ruth sighed. That was a couple of months ago, at least. She’d like to think she had gotten better, and the constant approval that Bridget gave her really helped her.

“Do you want to follow them?” Bridget suddenly asked. Ruth just stared. Why would they go over there to FOLLOW them on the beach? It’s not like they’d be doing anything important… and she’d really rather paint…

5.55pm, eight years later.

“Hey, you guys.”

Lily and Hana looked up. Bridget and Ruth were standing above them, the former looking at them with a menacing look in her eye.

“…”

“Hee, what are you two doing out here?”

“…”

“Lily, did Hana finally ask you out on a date?”

“…”

“You suck, guys.”

“I don’t like Lily.”

“I like you, Hana,” Lily mumbled with a cry.

“Ah… no, I meant, I like you, but not more then a friend…”

“… oh. Okay!” Lily went back to staring at the orangey sea.

“More to the point,” Hana sighed, rubbing his forehead in irritation. “What are you two doing out here? You should know we’re always at the beach. Once a week, remember? I believe you two were stalking us the first time it happened…”

“Ehehe, we’re just bored, and we saw you two kids so we thought we’d join you. … Why do you come out here anyway?”

“… Actually, I don’t kno—“

“Because we like the scenery,” Lily interrupted, her eyes chasing after that same moth. It was now flying higher and higher, and soon, Lily would fall over from lifting her head to chase it. But as it reached high up, it suddenly fell, falling out of sight into a tree.

“Aw, it’s gone…”

“… hey, it’s snowing.”

Hana looked up. Ruth was right. A few flakes were now falling onto the beach, and Hana realized that he really didn’t want to be here now that Lily had stolen his means of keeping warm.

He couldn’t help but giggle as a snowflake landed directly on Lily’s nose, and Lily didn’t seem to notice at all. It didn’t last long, as Ruth and Bridget now sat on either side of them, pushing them together in an uncomfortable – yet warm – mass of people.

“You know, you two weren’t really invited…” mumbled Hana.

“I don’t mind!” Giggled Bridget, as she opened a large, black book.

“What’s that?” Lily reached over Hana, pushing him over without noticing.

“A book,” Ruth answered with a monotone voice, giving the most flat, obvious answer available.

“It’s got all my drawings in it,” Bridget smiled with an honest sparkle in her eyes. “Ever since I was a child… well, less drawings and more scribbles. The art expert is Ruth, I’m more into English and stuff…”

“I’m hardly an expert, I don’t even paint much anymore,” Ruth muttered as she stared into the orange sea. The snowflakes were rapidly falling onto the water, being consumed…

“… should we go?”

“Go?”

“… well, you know,” Lily mumbled as she stared upwards. “It’s snowing…”

“It’s probably a good idea,” Ruth sighed, but looking completely indifferent either way.

“Mm…”

“Hana!”

“E-eh?!”

Hana looked up from his random trance, completely unaware that he had been knocked onto the sand. “O-oh, sorry,” he mumbled, though he really wasn’t. He could… smell something. It was a familiar scent. His nose twitched as he tried to locate where the seemingly dancing fragrance was coming from…

…

“Lily! Get your breasts out of my face!”

“Uhn?”

Lily had been reaching over to look at the sketch book, completely unaware of the position she was currently in. “Ah! Sorry!” She squeaked, pouncing away and cuddling next to Ruth for protection.

A face of dawning realization slowly spread across Bridget’s face. “Aaaah,” she smirked, poking Hana in the cheek, which was currently burning as if a thousand explosions entirely situated in his brain. “You were zoning out because you were focused on her, now, weren’t you?”

“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what?”

“Aw, he loves you,” Bridget smirked, poking Lily.

“I do not!”

“You clearly do—“

“Fireworks.”

“… what?”

Bridget, Hana and Lily looked up at Ruth. She… didn’t look like Ruth. Her eyes were distant, instead of narrow and drilling into you… she seemed relax, instead of the usual obsessively perfect postured young woman… she seemed happy.

Everyone fell silent as they looked out to sea. Somewhere nearby, on another island – perhaps even away from the Catena archipelago - there were fireworks. Long, bright, dancing fireworks, twirling, frothing… it was faint, but they could see… just a little…

“Huh…”

…

“I… want to stay, despite the cold.”

…

“… Yeah, we’ll stay.”

--

7.14am, next morning.

“… yeah, I think we were near here… oh! There he is!”

“… hn?”

He felt a prod in the head, but he yawned and rolled over – inhaling sand and snow.

“Augh! What—“

“You fell asleep,” the voice of Lily giggled, as Hana sat up and began coughing loudly.

“Why didn’t you wake me?!”

“You were sleeping. Like an angel. Plus we all fell asleep. We woke up at like ten at night, and we all went home. It was dark and we couldn’t see you, we didn’t know you’d still be out here…”

“I hate you, how could you even tell that I was sleeping like an angel…” Hana mumbled, coughing out a large clump of gritty sand. “Urgh, I feel like I’m going to be vomiting for…”

…

…

…

“… Hana? Are you o—“

Hana’s slim figure was seen darting away behind some nearby bushes – some disgusting and disturbing sounds were heard, and Hana came back a few minutes later, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

“Arugh…”

“Well maybe you should start to learn how to notice your mistakes,” giggled Bridget as she tapped the sickly looking boy on the nose. In return, he lightly slapped her across the face and made his way back home.

“Where are you going?!” Cried Lily after him, as he slowly kicked his feet up the dirt path to his house.

“Feeding Bunny. Explaining to Wolve why I was out with a girl all night, and hiding your present. I was going to give it to you yesterday. It’s what I went back for. But no, you’re mean, so I’m going to hide it.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Wolvie,” smirked Bridget as she ran up to Hana and put an arm around his shoulder. “He saw you with Lily, he figured you’d turned straight.”

“… great …”

And so, Hana resigned himself to the worst. He woke up, his lungs filled with sand. His brother thinks he had sex with one of his friends. … Oh god, oh god. Lily’s elder brother is a badass! He’s going to totally kill me… Oh, life is harsh…

Hana mentally attacked himself with insults, commanding that he moved forward.

And forward.

And forward.

… Into a wall.

“HANA! First you have sex with my little sister and now you go and attack my house?!”

… oh, great.

Yes, Hana didn’t particularly expect that today was going to be fun… but, he smiled, and took relish in the fact that Lily had pressed her breasts against him. He could always twist those words and possibly blackmail her in the future…

“Hey, Hana.”

“… What?”

“I am going to kill you.”

“… oh, great.”