Never Let Them Define You

MARCHING TOWARDS FATE

Today is a very special day, I can feel it...something is off, not in a bad way, but in an atypical way. She stares out as the sun rises over the shimmering, dark ocean waves; the oranges and yellows of the sky beam through the clouds. Puffy pillows of fiery hues fly above the sea, casting shadows over the boundless waters, as they move towards some place so far away. She glances back at the windswept cabana, which sits just 30 feet into the shore, and rests right beneath dancing palm trees with shaking leaves. I always wake up earlier than him, which is good since I like my time alone, but it makes it weird when he's so groggy, and I'm already peppy.

She grabs the blue ceramic cup next to her, with intricate island patterns wrapping around its surface, and takes a sip of her warm green tea. She inhales the calming, soft smell and places it back on the slightly wet sand, then clutches her coat, and shivers. Maybe winter wasn't the best time to come, but it really isn't that cold, definitely a lot better than back home...Marco's been weird. He keeps looking at me like...I don't know how to explain it, but I have a bad feeling; what if he knows? He should know, but how do I tell him when I don't even know what I want?

"Hey."

She's taken aback as she turns around to see him standing above her. "Jesus...why do people keep sneaking up on me?"

"Because you're so intimidating."

She laughs and turns to keep looking at the sunrise.

"What are you doing out here, anyways?" He sits down next to her and shivers a bit.

"You don't get sunrises like this in the city; it's just not the same."

"Hmm..." He looks to the right towards a white rocky cliff, with waves constantly bombarding it, causing a spray of foam to whip out across the surface of the peak each time. "So what happened?"

"What?"

"When you went to see your mom."

Her eyes instantly move from the ocean to his eyes, which gaze at her intently. "What do you mean? Why, no, nothing happened, what are you talking-"

"Stop bullshitting me; you haven't been the same since."

She sighs and looks back out at the ocean. "I slept with someone."

"You...what?"

"I was gonna tell you-"

"Does that make a difference?!"

"No, which is why I didn't! I'm not stupid, just..."

"Just what?"

"I'm-"

"Reckless? Arrogant?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"You have no idea what you're doing!"

She stands up and begins to walk away. "We need to talk another time-"

"No."

Her head spins around and she lays eyes on him gripping a Smith & Wesson and pointing it at her head. "What the hell is happening? Who are you?!"

"Sit down."

"NO!"

"You don't have a choice."

"What, you're gonna shoot me? After everything?! Do I mean absolutely nothing to you?"

"You mean a great deal to me, but you have no idea what that is, so sit."

Her limbs begin to tremble as she reluctantly approaches him once again, then she brushes her hair a bit, and takes a deep breath as she touches down on the washed-up ocean floor. Her eyes fixate on the shimmering water, the fiery swaths of colors filling the atmosphere, and the tip of the sun that's just beginning to rise over the horizon. "Why did you want to come here?"