Between Emeralds Pearls

Three years ago…

They dwelled together in Southern California. They resided in a beach house just a couple of miles walk from the ocean. Shane gawked at the seashore. The gusty wind whistled in his ears. The ocean swirled, the waves clasped together, and touched his feet before it retreated. Across his head, a host of sparrows flew in unison, which caused him to stare upwards as he noticed for the first time the beautiful sunset. Somewhere nearby, he heard the crackling sound of burning woods. It was six p:m and twelve hours until his final moment.

Shane's hair was dyed blue. He was tall, handsome, well built, and always looked fabulous. He had lived his entire life with his family on the beach house. The beach house was secluded from the noisy city. Smaller beach houses, six of them scattered around the beach, lodged guests who came to visit the ocean for vacation. The beach was private property but opened for visitors every day till 6 pm except for those who were in temporary accommodation.

He stared at one of the beach houses and drifted into a temporary reverie. He had come out on that perfect morning last summer to jog. He was going to sweep past her when his legs did an emergency brake and a complete U-turn a few distances from her. She wore a fedora hat and a pinkish short town top gown. Her chocolate skin glowed! Her shape was a perfect eight, and her face was extremely beautiful. For a moment, his brain interpreted her image as strawberry and chocolate ice cream on that hot summer.

"Hi, my name is Shane," he said.

"Hello Shane, Stephanie here," she chuckled.

He facepalmed himself and pointed to her, "Nice, so do you reside in one of the beach houses?"

"Yeah. Any Problem?" Stephanie said, adjusting her hat.

"None! It's just been a couple of years since I've seen any beautiful person around here," he said.

She smiled a huge smile, "Really appreciate the compliment. You're a handsome man yourself. Did you say years? That must mean you're in some way related to the Griffins."

"Yeah, I'm the second and last child. So how long are you here for, and are you with your parents or partner?"

He smiled inwardly, an intelligent way to ask if she was single.

"Whom I'm with is none of your business Mr. Shane Griffin," Stephanie said, enjoying throwing him off balance. "You should run along now. I was enjoying the view, and I think you've stolen enough of my time."