Where Sky Meets Sea

1: "Do I Know You?"

'Why is it always so cold in here?' The coffee mug warmed his chilly hands as he absently stared at the LED display on his office wall flashing the latest business projections. Win was mentally juggling a list of things to do at work and errands he needed to run after business hours. His office thermostat seemed to be perpetually set at Arctic levels despite numerous complaints to the maintenance team.

He set his drink down and carried on reviewing the various documents on his laptop. While he enjoyed his job, this aspect of the work is something he can do without. Win is a people person and gets his energy from interacting with the different teams on the ground in his role as the corporate head for the start-up he and his best friends, Mix and Mike, ran straight out of university. 'We do what we must!' he told himself before powering on through the rest of the day.

At 5 sharp, he switched off his laptop and stalked out of the office while calling out his goodbyes to the teams on his floor. Two guys in garishly coloured tropical inspired shirts waited for him at the office entrance. "Dude, I didn't get the memo!" Win complained good-naturedly as he plucked at his well-fitted but rather conservative shirt and slacks. Smiling widely, Mix whipped out an outlandish shirt similar to his own and said, "We know. So here you go". Mike clucked like a mother hen and ushered them out into the waiting luxury four-wheel, "Come on guys, hurry or we won't make the party on time!"

The three men were en route to a weekend getaway featuring a foam party at a beachside resort and water sport activities to celebrate Mix's 25th birthday. Win leaned back comfortably in his seat and savoured the happy chatter between his best friends. They were young, healthy and had milestones to achieve, 'Life can't get any better than this'.

Dinner that night was noisy and smoky. They grilled skewered meats at the al fresco beachside restaurant famous for their bbqs and inhouse rice wine. "Guys, guys, guys. This is our 3rd year of operating our start up and I gotta say, we aren't doing too bad at all," Mike said a little drunkenly. A red-faced Mix loudly proclaimed his birthday wish, "NOT BAD AT ALL! And to many, many good years ahead of us! Happy birthday to me!" Win chuckled at his friends' antics and chimed in.

The foam party had already started and they were well on their way to getting sloshed. The DJ was already blasting hypnotic beats and folks were starting to get rowdy on the frothy dance floor. The three guys were busy dancing - if you could call their random jumping that at all - and generally having a good time together. Win decided to take a breather and went to the outdoors bar for some water. While waiting for the bartender, he was busy brushing off stray bubbles off his hair and clothes when someone bumped into him and apologized. "Sorry bro," Win didn't bother looking up and just waved his hand dismissively. He took his glass (finally!) and drank his water in long gulps. Thirst quenched, he sighed and noticed that the guy was still at his side, staring at him. "Uh...yes? Do I know you?" He couldn't really make out who he was talking too although he was close enough to feel the heat radiating off the guy. The bar was an extension of the restaurant, meaning it was barely lit and whatever illumination provided was kept at a minimum to enhance the party vibes.

The guy stammered and rubbed his neck awkwardly, "Sorry, no. It's just...I...nevermind". He had an arrestingly smooth voice but Win shrugged and went back to his friends, now very tipsy and covered head to toe with foam. They tried to pull him into a group with some random women also out on a group trip to enjoy the event. He danced but didn't feel as excited just a moment ago for some reason. Something about the earlier encounter at the bar disturbed him for reasons unknown and threw him off his night. He looked up at the direction of the bar and saw the tall silhouette of the guy earlier, still there, as if looking out at him on the dance floor.

He shook his head at the whimsy and turned back to his friends.