𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐀; jj maybank

𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 - 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐚

— ⋆  ⋆ ⋆ —

THE NEARING END OF SUMMER has always left a strange taste in the Outer Banks. The colder breezes and the kinder rays of sun turn the paradisiac island into a globe of grief that's made up of the left trails of summertime visitors, empty beaches and littered shores. Once the month of August comes to an approaching end, the sun stops beaming as much and the loud chatter that usually accompanies the island turns into the solitary murmuring of the lonely waves.

However, the ocean is never really lonely in the island, for there's always two heads of blonde surfing the un-surfable or enjoying the bits of the tired seas. No weather truly draws an addict away from the waters, and when Oakley Cliffton's inner storms get rougher than the ones that shake the territory, the beach never misses its usual audience. Between the gentle waves, the lulling sound of waves and sand colliding and the merciful zephyr that blows between the palm trees and the bushes, the girl finds an immense comfort that consoles the deepest of her wounds.

Because, in reality, no one can truly fear the sea. It's strong, and it's brute, but in the depths of its razzmatazz, no bad intentions hide in the shadows. Truly every person who hesitates before entering its mantle is merely afraid of disrespecting such humongous body of perfection, and only the ones who know how to treat the life underneath it with passion have managed to domesticate its wild nature without ever suffering the consequences of its violence.

That's what Oakley would always teach Sarah when she used to fear the water.

It's been almost three weeks since their deaths, and Oakley Moon has been trying to crawl into the ocean's embrace for comfort ever since, but has been failing miserably. Almost a month of empty days out surfing, of boat rides to the Château just to find it crumbling in loneliness and grief. Perhaps it's not the best time to isolate herself, but the loss has been so heavy it urges her to breathe her own air and go off on her own without warning— Without anyone. In all honesty, it never really gets boring, but though she'd never admit it, it gets unrealistically overwhelming.

People say being alone can be the most convenient escape at times, but between her four unrelated siblings, her three actual siblings and the unity between the whole island, Oakley Cliffton has never really learned how to be alone— She's never learned how to inhale without someone stealing her breath. But after the great loss, she's learnt that the void they've left inside her can only be filled in her solitude, or at least that's what she thinks. That's why she's been coming to the beach more than usual, which is. . . unhealthily too much. Beatrice barely catches onto her daughter's shadow when she leaves out the door at inhumanly early hours of the morning and only ever sees her again when she pries her door open at midnight— or past midnight— to see her already out cold on her bed.

Her father is still gone too— Gone with no warning or even a goodbye letter. He's vanished into thin air, claiming he had work in the motherland. Beatrice Clifton was confused at first, she didn't know what to think or feel about her husband's departure, but it took no more than a sat down chat with her children for the woman to settle on the fact that she would never open her door to that man ever again. And though it's hard to explain that to little Bug, it's also hard for the older Cliftons to get over the fact that their father will never be part of their lives again.