Find Your Oasis

Chapter 17

July 27th

I quietly pull my shirt over my head and feel around in the dark for my flip flops, trying not to make too much noise. I find my flip flops and carry them in my hand, while I slip my wallet and phone in my pockets, and then slowly open the bedroom door, silently praying it doesn't squeak.

"Hey, Noah." Kailani whispers to me through the dark.

I smile as I finish shutting my door, looking across the hallway to see Kailani at the door of her bedroom, and I raise a finger to my lips.

"Shhh.'

I quietly walk over towards the front door, gingerly grabbing my set of keys off the counter as I pass. Kailani shuts her bedroom door and follows me, carrying her shoes as well. My grandparents are extremely light sleepers, and don't get much sleep as it is, so we're trying our hardest not to wake them up. Kailani quietly climbs into my Subaru and puts it in neutral, while I push it out of the driveway and down the street just a little bit. Once we're a few houses down, she starts the car and scoots over to the passenger seat while I climb in. The clock on the dash lights up 5:02am, and we anxiously look back at my grandparent's house, and don't see any lights flick on.

"Ha, we did it!" I say enthusiastically, and hold up my hand for a high-five.

Kailani hits my hand with hers, and grins widely in response. "Good morning. That was fun."

"Good morning to you too." I laugh. "Now, are you ready to go see my favorite spot in town?"

Kailani nods vigorously as I drive down the street, heading north. This is our second full day in town, yesterday we just slept in late, hung around the house with my grandparents, relaxing and catching up with them. We made plans last night to wake up early this morning and go see the sunrise, and then I'm going to show her around town.

"How did you sleep?" I turn my had and glance at Kailani.

She nods. "I slept good! I don't know how that bed is so comfortable."

I chuckle. "My grandparents have always had the comfiest beds. I don't know how, but as far back as I can remember that's been the case."

The drive is short, just over ten minutes, and then I pull into the small, sandy, southern parking area of Ten Mile Dunes Preserve. I glance over at Kailani, and she doesn't even attempt to hide the excitement in her face.

"You don't even know where we're going!" I say teasingly.

She shrugs. "We're going to see your favorite place here. Obviously I'm going to be excited."

I shake my head and smile in return as she climbs out of my car, leaving her flip flops behind, and I do the same. I open the back door and grab the small backpack I'd put in here last night, and swing it over my shoulder. We use our phone's flashlights on the lowest settings to guide us as we walk over to the trail at the edge of the parking lot. We make our way down the trail beside each other, within a few moments we come to the spot where the trail meets the beach, and we walk down into the sand, the dunes rising high behind us like miniature mountains. We walk for a few minutes, and then I stop and drop the backpack.

"Right here. Let's sit here."

I drop down to sit in the sand, and Kailani sits down beside me as we turn our flashlights off. We lean back on our elbows, letting our eyes get adjusted to the dark, staring up at the stars in the sky. Suddenly a huge gust of wind comes from the direction of the ocean, and both of us get covered in goose bumps. I unzip the backpack and pull out an Indian blanket, offering it to Kailani.