And Never Was There A Sadder Pair

          Camille Addison stood on the beach and looked out at the ocean. The ocean had once been her favorite place. She recalled happy memories from times long ago. Visits to this exact beach filled with good food, sun and fun. But all that was gone now. This was a short visit, so there would be no food. Dark rain clouds covered the sky, blocking the sun. And the memories that now came filled her with an emotion that was not fun. Pausing to the spit in the ocean, the only revenge she could bring on a non-sentient thing, she walked in the opposite direction, away from where she had parked her car, and towards other unhappy memories.

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          David Baker watched the tide as it hit the sand of the beach. In, out. In, out. In, out. The ocean, calm before the storm that was inevitably coming, seemed to be taunting him. I don't care what pain I've caused you, it seemed to say. He felt his anger building by the second. 'Why did I come back here?' he asked himself. This place, that once brought so many feelings of joy to him, now only brought feelings of pain, sorrow, and loneliness. He continued his walk along the beach.

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          Somewhere in the middle, David and Camille met. Although the town where they both lived was very small, they had not talked to each other in a long time, despite having been best friends since they were small. But neither was truly suprised to see the other. They both shared memories of this place, of the good times and the bad time.

          Both of them, when they had woken that morning, had felt an urge to visit the beach where they had spent much of their time as children. Silently they acknowledged each other. And the memories came racing back.

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          "Loreli, when are Mommy, Daddy, Auntie and Uncle going to be back?" a younger Camille asked of her and David's babysitter, Loreli Simon.

          "They should be back soon, sweetie," Loreli replied as she absent-mindedly pulled her two charges closer to her. 'They should have been back hours ago,' Loreli thought worriedly.

          Loreli, David and Camille were standing on the beach, staring out at the ocean, waiting for a boat to appear, containing Camille's parents, as well as David's. The two couples had decided to embark on a week-long sailing trip down the coast. They had promised Loreli that they would be home by noon on Sunday, and it was now five o'clock. The babysitter was starting to get worried, but didn't show it. She didn't want Camille and David to panic.

          Dark purple rain clouds suddenly covered the sky, as they had the previous night, and it began to rain heavily. As Loreli had no car, she and the kids had walked to the beach that day. So they ran to the nearest Coast Guard post, and asked for shelter.

          One of the men made them hot chocolate, and another got them each a dry towel. The three guests thanked the men, and then watched as they worked.

          "Post 49, this is Alpha Boat," came a voice from a walkie-talkie. The man that had provided the hot chocolate piched up the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.

          "Alpha Boat, this is Post 49. What's going on?" the Hot Chocolate Man said.

          "Post 49, we appear to have an abandoned sailboat," the voice informed them. Loreli, David and Camille all sucked in large amounts of air, but none of the busy men seemed to notice.

          "Alpha Boat, what the sailboat's tag?"

          "Post 49, the sailboat's tag is The Angel. We have a team going to investigate right now. Over and out."

          Camille burst into tears.

                                      **A few hours later**

          "Post 49, this is Alpha Boat. We have found the people from The Angel."

          Camille sat up with a joyful cry. She shook David and Loreli, who had both fallen asleep. "David! Loreli! They found them!" the young girl shrieked. David and Loreli both woke instantly, their hearts feeling lighter at this breaking news.

          "Post 49, this Alpha Boat. It seems that the people from The Angel are...dead."

          With the most soul-shattering sounds ever made by human beings, David and Camille fell to the floor. They screamed in pain at the fact that they had both just lost their only family. "MOM! DAD!" they both cried, as if sharing one mind, "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE US! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

          In that instant, the other occupants of Post 49, as well as the occupants of Alpha Boat (who had heard the children because Hot Chocolate Man had accidently pushed the talk button on the walkie-talkie), felt their hearts break.

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          Camille had been adopted by her favorite teacher from her school, Ms. Watkins, and her husband, although she had kept her parents' surname. David had been adopted by Loreli's family, and he had kept his parents' surname as well.

          Although they had occasionally seen each other in school and at town events, they hadn't spoken, convinced that they would have to relive the memory of that horrible day.

          And now, here they were, ten years later. They were both twenty, and very successful in whatever business they had chosen to pursue. And this was the first time both of them had been back to this spot since that night. It was the spot where Coast Guard Post 49 had once resided, but that had been torn down a few years ago, when they had built a bigger and better Post 49 just two miles down the beach.

          "David? Do you still think about them?" Camille finally whispered.

          "Every day, Cami. Do you?"

          "Of course. And every night before I go to bed..." David interrupted his long-ago best friend.

          "You ask them why they had to be selfish and leave us behind?" David finished her statement, but as a question. Camille nodded her head sadly. "So do I, Cami. So do I," David informed her as he grabbed her hand.

          Together, they stared out at the ocean that had cruelly stolen everything from two young children.