Heritage of Light

Chapter 2

Kaelie jolted awake from her nightmare, her heart racing. It had been years since the last time she'd had a nightmare. Not since the year her father died. This was none other than Madame Chazelle's fault. Even if she knew Madame Chazelle's words had no real meaning it hadn't stopped her from dreaming about fields covered in blood.

On the other side of the room, both Chloe and Angelica were deep asleep. Kaelie gave up further rest and padded quietly into the bathroom where she rubbed her red eyes in the mirror. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep, instead she decided to head down to the beach. She quickly wrote a note to Angelica and Chloe who had decided to sleep late, before she slipped out. There was so much to experience, and she only had a week to do so.

It became even more real as she left the hotel that she was actually in Spain. All she'd ever wanted was to travel the world. It had started when she'd seen a travel program with her father. She wanted to see the whitest beaches, visit the highest mountains and bathe in the deepest and bluest lakes. Not to mention the large cities, like Paris, London and New York. One of her biggest dreams was to see New York from the Empire state building and put a lock on the Pont des Arts bridge in Paris. One day she would have enough money saved to realize those dreams. Her only hope was that by that time, she would have someone special to share those memories with.

As she neared the beach, the walkway became weathered. At the end of it, Kaelie stopped to take off her flipflops. A tingly feeling spread through her toes as they sank into the sand. She smiled to herself. The sand was nothing like the cold clay that passed for a beach back home in Ariton. Around her, elder couples lay strewn around on large towels with their sunhats and bright swimwear.

She picked her way between them and found a free spot down by the water line where she dumped her bag in the sand. With her towel rolled out, she grabbed the book she had started reading on the plane. The book was exciting, yet she couldn't seem to focus. There was this feeling that spread from her stomach, causing her skin to crawl. She shivered lightly.

Unable to explain the feeling she looked for any other explanation. Her eyes met the eyes of a man in his forties who quickly looked the other way. Next her eyes came to rest on a man sitting a short distance away. On a beach where everyone else was wearing swimwear, he sat in the blistering sun wearing a t-shirt and jean shorts. How could he stand the heat?

It could be he'd just arrived or was about to leave, but something told her he'd been there for a while. He sat unmoving while she watched him, his brown hair swaying slightly in the light breeze. Almost as if sensing her gaze on him, he rose to his feet. He kept his back turned against her until he was out of sight. She breathed out relieved, as her stomach went back to normal and she was able to relax again. Perhaps it was another reaction to Madame Chazelles prediction? Most likely that's exactly what it was. Just her mind reacting to the bizarre prediction and a lack of sleep.

"Not easy getting up early is it?" said a dark shadow covering the sun. Kaelie sat up abruptly. She'd fallen asleep on top of the book she'd been reading. She squinted at the burning sun to see who'd awakened her.

"There you are," Chloe said coming up behind Angelica.

"Are you coming or not?" Angelica asked.

"Sure, where are we going?" Kaelie brushed her hair out of her face.

"To have lunch, unless you want to sleep some more," Angelica said laughing.

"What time is it?" Kaelie asked, frantically searching for her phone.

"Don't worry, it's only twelve, it'll be breakfast for us and lunch for you."

"Ooh, you scared me. I thought I had slept for hours," Kaelie said and laughed with relief. Her body felt sore after lying in an uncomfortable position. She picked up her towel and her bag and headed towards the promenade with Chloe and Angelica. Halfway to the path, she recognized one of the younger men sitting on the beach. He'd moved from where he sat earlier, but he wore the same white t-shirt and jean shorts. Though, she couldn't see his face, a cold shiver travelled down her spine at the sight of him.

"Let's go," she told the other two girls and quickened her pace.

"What's wrong?" Angelica asked, following her gaze.

"That man," Kaelie said nodding in his direction, "is the same man who was sitting at the other side of me before I fell asleep."

"So, what if he moved?"

"Yes, obviously he moved. You don't get it. I had this feeling of being watched and then I looked around and he was sitting there. He was the only one wearing clothes on the whole beach. Then he got up and left and the feeling went away. He must have come back while I was a sleep and sat down on the other side of me. I couldn't see his face, but I know it's the same person. I can feel it."

Kaelie glimpsed behind one last time. He was gone. It was like he'd disappeared into the thin air. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. While rounding the corner of one of the buildings, she shook her head and told herself to stop imagining things. The man was probably still there, most likely he had finally taken his clothes off and she couldn't identify him in between all the other shirtless men on the beach.