I closed my eyes before the last of it vanished, and I then felt physical surroundings a few moments later. I opened my eyes and realized I was on a beach, Conch Beach. But I wasn't exactly there. Then it clicked why everything looked somewhat familiar. This was when I had gone with my family on a vacation almost seven years ago, back when I was still in middle school.
"Come on Summer let's go!" I heard a familiar voice say into my ear. "You said we would go into the water now!" I felt myself stand up and then run after Miley down to the water. Miley was my little sister, an amicable but sometimes quite irritating little girl. Well not exactly little since she was in 6th grade, but she was tiny for her age and so was I thanks to our genes. But I still loved her with all of my heart. The sun shone down with it's scorching rays but we cooled off in the sea. It was cool and playful, lapping at our waists and sometimes catching us off guard with a small wave or two.
"I love the ocean," Past me said, sitting down in the shallows. Miley joined me and nodded. "It can be so different and unpredictable which is kind of what I enjoy about it. One day it can be playful and warm like today, and then another day it'll be tearing up the beach, and I think it's interesting how it changes like that."
"It's like you," Miley said, turning to face me. A smile was plastered over her face and she laughed. "It's a compliment, don't worry." I smiled. But then a new voice spoke in my head. She's lying about it, it's not a compliment. I then realized that it was one of the voices that I used to have back in middle school. Crap, I didn't want to ever go back there. She doesn't think you're good enough, it's all pity points.
I saw something falter in Miley's gaze. "Are you okay?" I nodded, feeling myself having to start putting effort into keeping myself together. That little nagging bit that always told you it wasn't good enough started getting louder. It was so weird to be able to feel, to be present at the moment yet so removed. Almost as if I was I was me, just with no control about how I felt because this was all in the past. But it still hurt the same, if not more.
She sees right through you, right through your pathetic masks. I felt a pang in my chest and tried to think of a way to get out.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom," I said. I could feel panic blooming in me. I got up, water dripping from my swim shorts and t-shirt. I put on my sand covered sandals and started walking down the shore. I tried to stop myself walking away, to go back. But the memory started to end and the world started to crumble down again.
YOU ARE READING
Photograph
Teen FictionA photograph is powerful, a picture that captures a single moment in time, speaking a thousand words, and often telling a story. That's what Summer Myers believes. For her, photography is almost everything. She has photos everywhere, from her bedroo...
