Rain. The rain is light, almost a drizzle, and definitely hasn't stopped a whole gaggle of girls and other, younger, kids from heading out onto the fabulous playground that has four mini ziplines and a huge jungle gym, among other things.
Aiden sits on a bench in the nearby shelter. She isn't going to come, is she. Staring out depressedly into the grey rain, he sighs. What kind of fool does he have to be to ask his best friend out? Marina probably said yes because she didn't want to hurt him, she was always frustratingly considerate. He flicks his longish brown hair out of his eyes and stands, turning to go. What is the point of waiting any longer? She sure as hell isn't coming-
"Leaving so soon?" He spins back around, he would've recognised that voice anywhere. Sure enough, Marina, his long-time best friend, and yes, crush, is standing there, looking rushed and somewhat hassled, but still striking. Literally, she punches him lightly in the arm. "Hey."
He can't help a huge grin spreading across his face. "Y-you came?" She smirks. "Nope. This is a hologram. I'm way too busy to actually see you." The grin widens, and he glances out at the grey sky, which seems to be lightening. Finally, it appears things were actually going his way. "Then I suppose my finger will just pass through you if I-" He pokes her, faking a surprised look. "Hey! You're not a hologram after all!" She shakes her head at him, smiling.
He walks back out to the playground, turning back to look at Marina, who runs after him. Her long caramel hair cascades down her back, a few runaway strands flying in the wind as she grins perfectly white teeth standing out against her tan skin. "So what do you want to do first?" Aiden asks. She pauses a moment and looks up at him, eyes twinkling. "Let's go on the swings!" She gestures over to the odd swings that shift slightly in the wind at the back of the playground.
The swings look like upside down mushroom caps, except hollowed out, with two strong ropes on either side attaching it half a meter off the ground to a pole on either side. He examines them closely, there's an unoccupied one, next to a loud group of girls, who seem to be swinging each other almost vertically and shouting hysterically. They hurry over to the swing and Aiden gestures for Marina to sit down. She does, dusting off the sand on it and looks up, waiting, a twinkle of excitement in her eyes.
Aiden grins as he pushes the ropes once more, propelling Marina forward as she laughs. The people to their left are still speculating whether or not they were dating, rather loudly as well, making Marina flush slightly as she looks pointedly ahead. He sighs, and motions for her to join him, as they walk off the playground and onto the adjoining field and sparse forest.
Eventually, they are alone, out of sight and earshot of anyone around. They walk a while longer, before stopping in unspoken agreement, and sit with their backs to a tree. Aiden is thinking about what the girls back at the swings said, and judging by Marina's flush, she is too. He turns to her and begins apologising, and she lets him for a few seconds, before stopping him with a wave of her hand.
"Shut up and kiss me."
So he does, lowering his chapped lips to her soft ones. There are no sparks, no fireworks, just the slightest warm tingle of happiness, he smiles and she does too, mirroring him. He pulls away, and they grin at each other.
She jumps up, and so does he, gesturing for her to follow him.
They walk a little longer. After what seems like forever yet no time at all, they are at the beach. He smiles at her and she beams back. Slowly, with no hurry at all, they stroll down to the waves, and sit, tracing patterns in the sand, a comfortable silence settling around them. The high tide comes and goes, and a gleaming stretch of wet sand lies before them.
Marina. She smiles at the word, roughly carved into the sand just above the waves. And it is. A natural basin, trapping the sea and soothing it. A true marina. Aiden puts his arm around her, and they watch the waves.
Somehow they end up at the base of a oak tree, thick and sturdy, and around the tree trunk there are ruts, roughly carved and fashioned after handholds. They gaze up at their childhood haunt, and almost as if on autopilot, Aiden climbs the tree, followed by Marina.
The climb ends on a rough wooden platform and they sit on it, high up enough to see the sun set on the last day of summer paradise. Aiden glances over at the girl sitting beside him, and the dreamy smile etched onto her face stirs up a warm feeling in him. He gently slides his hand under hers and takes it.
They gaze at the blue sky, streaked with brilliant orange, vivid crimson and light pink. Marina leans on his shoulder and when he starts in surprise, she merely looks amused. Aiden drapes an arm around her shoulder and they stay that way for what seems like eternity, an eternity coloured with a soft golden and orange glow.
Eventually, the sun is gone, and still they watch as the sea of dusk washes over the sky and the stars awake and cast their twinkling radiance across the dark blue ocean above them.
That's how they remain until dawn, watching ruby rays of sunlight shoot through the slowly brightening sky, followed by arrows of peach and lazy drifting clouds flared pink by the rising sun.
She slips away from him, leaving the lingering taste of her lips on his, and a soft, sad, sweet smile. And as she begins to descend, lit by the sun as she is, he can't help but feel like she looks like an angel.
"Thank you."
My heart is sinking, As I'm lifting up, Above the clouds away from you, And I can't believe I'm leaving, Oh I don't know what I'm gonna do
Behind them, high tide washes over the beach, over the scratched letters, over the name of the girl, the girl who is soon forgotten, washed from the memories of those who knew her, much like the name on the beach.
Later that day, she falls into a coma. Eventually, there is nothing left of her, only memories and a shrivelled husk, yet another victim to the fatal claws of cancer.
Aiden remains, of course. He moves on eventually. He finishes college. Gets a job. Marries a girl. Has children. He lives a long and fulfilling life, filled with love for his wife and children. He never truly forgets Marina. More like pushes her to the back of his mind. She is buried by mundanity, a waterfall of thoughts that push her further and further down.
Yet one day, when he is a grandfather, when he is old enough to have seen the passing of an era into the next, another waterfall, this time cleansing, much like the waters of the fabled Lethe, wash over these thoughts, carrying them with it, and finally uncovering that which he has strove so hard to forget.
When this day arrives, he knows. Without hesitation, he orders a ticket online, and without bringing a thing other than the clothes on his back and money, he flies back to the place of his childhood.
The old man drives just far enough, gazing at the broken down, decrepit playground, remembering its former magnificence. He sighs sadly, and gets out of the car. Slowly but steadily, he trudges towards the beach.
Not much has changed. It'll take longer for Mother Nature to change than about 60 years. Sure, there's a bit more litter, random pieces of trash, but everything is how he remembers it, from the sparkling sapphire waves to the dazzlingly white beach surrounding it.
He sits on the beach, ignoring the protests of his creaking limbs. With a stick, he carefully carves the word again, trying to steady his shaking hand.
Marina.
But someday, I will find my way back, to where your name, is written in the sand.
Standing after a while, he stretches and heads to the tree. The platform is overgrown, the handholds almost impossible to navigate without the agility of his youth, but somehow he makes it.
And he sits there. He sits and waits for the right moment, he sits through the night, gazing up at the heavenly bodies orbiting the earth, twinkling as he admires their brilliance.
He doesn't know when dawn comes, it seems to creep up on him, the same one that shone on their faces so many years ago. The light illuminates his face, and he glows, but not all of the light is from the sun. It's as if he is shining inside, a soft, contented smile spreading across his face.
Time slows. His breaths come slower, deeper, as he has come to terms with his fate.
A single heartbeat.
An angel, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, tawny cinnamon hair flowing down her shoulder like a cascading waterfall. She is lit from the back by the sun, making her glow at the outlines.
She extends a hand towards the old man, inviting him to shed the heavy burden he wears around him and come to her.
The old man sighs, exhaling his breath, and with surprising ease, takes her outstretched hand and leaps.
