Say Hello to the Night

Prologue

The first thing Dawn heard every day was the waves crashing along the shore. Her house was just close enough to the beach and just far away enough from town that it would never be looked at as a vacation home. The structure wasn't new it,but it wasn't falling apart by any means. The building stood not big enough to stand out with a scattering of trees and sand from the shore below around the property. It was painted a light faded shade of dusty blue and the wood was dark with light scratches from years of rain and sea breeze.

Dawn had lived there with her grandfather and grandmother almost her whole life. At the age of 7 the state had deemed it in her best interest that she no longer live with her parents so the sent her to stay with her only living family members. Dawn had loved it, from the moment she stepped foot in the blue shore house the only thing she ever felt was love. Her grandfather with his old jokes and faded smile lines made the little girl giggle any chance he could. Her grandmother was a women of the earth and kept the most beautiful garden with all kinds of life growing in it, food, flowers, and herbs. Dawn often remembers her childhood filled with dirt and love. 

When she opened her eyes this morning the house had felt different. It was the first night since both her grandparents where gone. It was a heavy fog over her as she woke up that morning to the sound of the shore. Not hollow but not filled with life as it once was. Looking at the picture that sat on her bedside table she smiled. A small 7 year old girl in the arms of an aging old man with a warm smile and tan skin, while a women with long curling grey hair and deep brown eyes waved from a garden covered in dirt.

Once her grandmothers health fell into poor condition her grandfathers wasn't far behind. Dawn called it the gods not wanting to split one soul into two. Now they were gone and she had her memories to smile back one when she needed a warm hug from them both. With a long stretch and a small groan she climbed out of bed and pulled herself into the shower. After washing and pulling the knots from her curls she smiled at her reflection. She was a mix of her mother and her grandmother. While her mother was pale and pointed, her grandmother had been tanned by the beach rays and days out in the garden. Dawn got her paler complexion from her mother and her rounded figure with long curled dark hair from her grandmother.

While brushing her bangs out she let out a sigh.

"Beautiful." a small smile gracing her lips, she wasn't vain but, took pride in her appearance even if others did not.

Dressing herself  in her favourite flowing floral skirt and ripped up band shirt pulled  into a bow in the front she applied her lip balm and scrunched up her hair. She beamed as walked into the kitchen pouring herself some tea and preparing a bagel. Dawn needed a quick breakfast if she was going to make it to the stand before it opened. Grabbing her denim cross body and slipping on her Keds she was out the door with half a bagel in her hand.

Times had changed for Dawn. She was rise to meet that change head on. After all this was 1986 and Santa Carla was a town that forced people to keep up, or die trying.