Lost in the sand

Dear Alex,

You know when you said that the best part about traveling is meeting new people. Well I'm certain there are exceptions to that case- Faizal.

For someone who was bartender he was far too flimsy. But I guess he has kinder versions too. But I can't get ahead of myself. You need to know the whole story first.

But I still stand by my observation. Meeting new people is the worst part of traveling.

“Hi, I'm Faizal. It's really nice to meet you Astoria”, he said as he grabbed Tori's hand and shook it. Astounded by the greeting, Tori remained standing for a few seconds before blinking became a necessity and she realized she had spaced out again.

This new people business was becoming unnerving

Trying to clear her head, she looked around and sat down on a sturdy looking wooden stool propped against the counter, or she hoped it was sturdy. Settling herself in the wobbly stool she looked around the mini bar. It was more of a shack, with a roof of hay thrown over four wooden stilts, it looked like it was constructed overnight. The backside of the shack had a wall filled with pictures of people on the beach and what looked like employee pictures. However a larger surface was covered by the menu, which mainly consisted of light drinks and snacks. Reading the menu in her head she contemplated on her order as Faizal appeared out of thin air and stood in front of her again. He was gone? She never noticed.

“What drink may I get you ma'am?”, he inquired politely all while smiling at a few ladies who had crept behind her to watch the spectacle. She looked back to see a posse of girls in the shortest of bikinis trying to grab the attention of the very fit bartender, and succeeding. A fiery feeling erupted in the pit of her stomach, disgusted by the way the ladies threw themselves at this nonchalant looking boy. He couldn't be older than she was, he looked quite young in his flowing pastel yellow shirt with the shack's emblem stitched to one corner paired with khaki pants that reached his knees.

Throwing a last smirk at the ladies Faizal turned to look at the girl sitting across him and checking his clothing.

“Like what you see?”, he questioned, cocking his eyebrow to one side. The girl's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she stuttered for a coherent answer.

“It's not like that...I wasn't....I swear...this is..”, her hands were flying around frantically trying to make sense of the situation, she looked like a dear caught in the middle of the road. He chuckled at her response and raised both hands in defeat.

“It's alright, just tell me what you'd like to drink or eat?”, he asked politely. Tori wanted to, no needed to, get out of this situation as fast as possible. Mumbling the name of the first thing on the list, she fished for her wallet in her shorts. Patting the pockets of the shorts she was wearing, a quizzical look made its way on her face. Just as she looked around for any sight of the two people who had accompanied her, Faizal returned back with the tropical drink in hand.

“Right. That'll be 10 bucks”, he instructed coolly. Fiddling with her hands she looked around the beach once more for the familiar pair of brunettes that were hanging around the beach. They were nowhere to be seen. She patted through her pockets once more only to come up empty-handed.

“Umm...10 right.”, she mumbled as her head whipped around in different direction trying to spot Rey or Jer. A tall guy with brown hair walked nearby and she nearly cried out in joy, “Jeremiah”, she shrieked across the beach. The man turned, leaving Tori gaping at a stranger with huge eyebrows and someone who certainly wasn't her cheery jovial friend. She gulped loudly and waved the man off, apologizing soundly for her honest mistake. How was she going to face the bar-tender now. She had no money. This was turning out to be the worst day ever.

Faizal was staring at the girl shouting across for someone named Jeremiah, his hands still tight around the mango cocktail he had whipped up. Soon enough, the girl was edging nervously to the shack, absolutely embarrassed by her encounter with the man. Apparently she was seeking for someone else. Astoria, or that's what she had said, seemed to be having the worst moments of her life, but to Faizal this seemed like one big day at work. He found it quite entertaining that this shy girl seemed so out of place in this giant sandy scene. Watching her fumbling with her hands, he decided to humor her.

“So, no Jermiah huh?”, he questioned, a tint of concern making its way to his voice. The girl looked up with a hint of fear etched in her crystal Grey eyes. He was taken back by the intensity in the gaze that those eyes held. He had never seen anything so beautiful and vacant at the same time. The flecks of black surrounding the iris seemed like a painter's masterpiece hidden for a stranger to notice. But it seemed like they were the broken parts of her, hanging there for someone to piece together. He wasn't the soulful philosophical kind of person, but now and then his mind would wander and question the workings of the world. This was one such time.

“Uh...Um..My friend..”, she stuttered over her words, failing to meet his eyes once more and staring a hole into the ground. Finally she straightened visibly before taking a deep breath and readying herself to blurt out the truth.

In what seemed like an intense moment, everything slipped into slow motion. The young boy of 12 was hidden behind the huge figure of another adult, grabbing the handle of his bucket loosely he flung it over his shoulder, aiming to tackle his friend in a mount of sand. But as luck would have it, he missed his target by a long way and sand and mucky water splashed all over the girl in front of the counter.

All at once he heard her gasp in shock, as the two boys clutched their stomachs, rolling on the sand in laughter. The people around the shack all turned to whisper at this spectacle. Some considerate old ladies expressed their condolences while the younger ladies only seemed to smirk and walk away. Finally he turned to help the girl in front of him.

Astoria was mortified. If she had imagined things taking a turn for the worse, this was the epitome of bad luck. In just a moment her flustered confession was turned into a gasp of shock as she felt the gooey mixture of sand and water slip down her back. The muddy brown stained her peach colored shirt and a giant blob grew on her back as she let out a yell out of sheer disgust. Those little demons responsible for the act were cackling away on the sand, while she was being humiliated among thousands of people on the beach. That was it. She had to die anytime soon.

Faizal had to hold back his laughter as her nose crunched up in disgust, painting a different look on her otherwise pale beautiful face. Wait, what? He shook his head and looked back on a very angry parent stomping towards the boys. Watching the angry mother approach, the two boys had stumbled on their feet and were looking around for ways to escape. Now they were done for. Meanwhile Astoria had taken to flinging off the little sea-shells that had stuck to her lacy peach top which had turned to a murky brown color. Little spots of brown covered the sides of her face and hands as she tried to shrug the stuff away from her body.

People on the beach held spectacle to the boys being soundly punished with “no hours of after-school TV for a month”, Ouch! Realzing that the people were watching, the woman quickly made her way to a very dissatisfied looking Tori and tried her best to apologize.

The lady in front of her mumbled away several apologies before beginning to explain the uselessness of her boys. Trouble never seemed far away as the two ganged up, not that that information was vital for Tori's state right now but she couldn't find a way to stop the out-pour that was happening in front of her. Shaken up by the lengthy apology that seemed to go on for ages, she looked around for someone to rescue her from this state, when she felt a tug on her arm. Turning around she came face to face with the bartender who had nodded politely at the woman before dragging her off from the scene.

“Were you planning to stand there all night?”, he looked down at the girl who barely reached his shoulder. She was still staring at him, a stunned look clouding her Grey eyes. She didn't answer for a while before she stopped dead in her tracks and looked up to meet his eyes, drawing herself to her full height.

“Where do you think you're dragging me?”, she challenged, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest.

Shocked by her sudden inquiry he fumbled with his words before saying, “The beach clothe store. I thought you'd like a change of clothes”

“Right.”,she sighed, before looking down at her ruined attire once more.

“Thought so”

“But I don't have any money”, she cried, her palm thwacking her forehead as the realization hit her. The embarrassing scene in the shack flooded her memories once more before she tuned to look at the boy in front of her, a smile playing at his lips.

“Yeah, I figured that one out. It's alright, my sister owns the place, she'll get you something”, he said before walking away on the sand, heading to another shack that looked even worse than the previous one.

The doorway had been decorated with hanging strings of beads and sea-shells, making the shack that much homey and welcoming. Unlike the other one, few people crowded this store as Faizal walked into the place like he owned it. Technically he did. The smell of cinnamon and sand hit her nostrils as she walked through the beady curtains and into the shack. Racks and racks of clothes, shoes and swimming accessories hung around the shop. A giant wooden counter covered one side of the shack behind which a lady was slumped over a magazine thrown open.

“Eh Aaliya! Look what I found!”

The girl looked up to glare at her brother and saw a dirty muck covered girl cowering behind his shoulder. Specks of dirt were splashed across her shirt as she fumbled with her hands behind her back. Her face softened at the sight of the girl and soon she attended to her new customer.

“What did you do now Faizal?”, she tsked as she made her way to the girl who was now taking in the shop.

Faizal straightened himself at the accusation and returned his sister's glare with his own. “What do you mean by that?”

Aaliya waved him off as she pulled the girl in front and inspected her for any bruises. She couldn't trust her little brother, in his carefree ways he could have hurt this girl. Surprised at her rather calm demeanor, she looked up to see a pale girl staring back at her in confusion.

“Hello, I'm Aaliya. And I'm sorry for whatever my brother did”, she rushed with the apology, hoping that this time money and fines weren't part of the deal. Faizal had sneaked into the back part of the shack which joined into their small house. Suddenly realizing the eerie silence settling between them, Tori decided to speak up.

“Um..I.. can I have a change of clothes?”, she was still flustered by the day's events. Even now the walk to the shack seemed a bit shady in her mind, which is funny considering not a drop of alcohol had entered her system. Maybe she'd like that drink after all. Her mind wandered off to the different kind of drinks that she had sighted on the bar's menu as Aaliya ruffled through the racks for a suitable piece of clothing.

Finally the black haired woman stood in front of her, her arms outstretched with a clean dress to change into. She smiled sweetly before ushering her into the changing room. Once into the tiny make-shift dressing room, she heard Aaliya and Faizal bicker at each other just outside the tiny box.

“But I didn't do anything to her”

“You expect me to believe a particularly beautiful girl like that would just end up muddy and dirty?”

“Why do you assume it's me?”

“You were the one who got her!”

“I was being nice”

Aaliya snorted in a way that no lady should ever witness as she smacked her brother upside the head and walked behind the counter to shut the magazine soundly and shove into one of the drawers below the desk. Tori got out of the dressing room, inspecting the white material that seemed to flow down from her middle section and stop just below her knees. Intricate patters surrounded the area around her arms as the lazy material hugged itself to her body. Aaliya looked from the desk to nod her approval before glaring once more at a gawking Faizal.

“Like what you see?”, Tori echoed his words as Faizal's eyes shifted from her dress to meet hers. He seemed taken aback by her bold comment but regained his composure far too quickly.

“Ah! She talks”, he exclaimed before shaking his head and grabbing a soda bottle lying on the desk.

“Don't mind him, it looks wonderful on you.”, Aaliya commented, excusing herself for her brother's impudence.

A smile lit up Tori's face as she looked back at the duo slip back into their bickering ways. Faizal trying to poke Aaliya for a comment about his hair. She shrieked before hitting him on the head once more and stomping through a wooden door set to the back of the shack.

Tori had been so surprised by the quick exchange that she hadn't noticed Faizal walking towards her, the soda bottle still in hand.

“She's right. This looks good on you.”, he commented before lifting up the material hanging from her hands. He turned it and inspected the queer looking material under his curious eyes before Tori smacked his hand away and stepped away to look at the shop. Pervert.

Now that she noticed, the shop was decorated with twinkling fairy lights that hung low from the ceiling, building up an ethereal atmosphere. A board was stuck to the ground with “Aaliya's Clothes and accesories” stamped over it in red ink. Kudos for originality huh?

Faizal watched the girl stepping from one rack to another, watching her every move as she flitted from one corner of the shack to another. She seemed like any other girl on the beach, but there was something in the way she carried herself. On a cold evening like this one, her arms were tight across her chest, hugging herself for warmth. Her nose had tinged red from the cold air and she seemed to be bouncing on the balls of her feet. Heaving a sigh, he tapped her on the shoulder and tipped his head to the door before walking out. He didn't wait for the girl to follow, she could take care of herself.

Hurrying to catch up with his long strides, Tori tripped over some drift wood which lay abandoned on the beach. This part of the beach had become eerily quite and she could feel the warmth of the sun escaping from her. A tinge of orange had taken over the sky as the big ball of fire threatened to slip into the water. She saw the glimmering surface of the ocean shine in front of her eyes as dolphins jumped happily along the horizon. Without realizing it, she had stopped in her track to observe the sight unfolding in front of her.

A lazy old couple was walking slowly, hand in hand. Their old feet dragging across the grainy surface as an ethereal glow overtook the ocean. The wind had died down to a pure zephyr blowing and lifting the lady's hair off her shoulders. Her husband laughed soundly next to her and brushed off the stray strands that had settled across her face. Slowly they stopped, their shadows dancing across the water's surface as the orange light from the sun created an other-worldly halo around them.

Tori hugged herself tight as the old woman leaned into the man's shoulder as he wrapped his arms securely around her waist. The sight brought tears to her eyes which she brushed off immediately. How silly of her to cry. What was she? A foolish teenage girl? Faizal walked back soundlessly and stood next to her, watching the coupe sigh heavily as they watched yet another sunset together. It seemed like just another day ending to them, but for the couple it was yet another memory that they would hold close.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her eyes shine with unshed tears. He knew the scene had moved her, but she didn't make a sound. Just as the sky changed from a deep red to a glowing purple, she smiled and walked away from him, her footsteps making impressions on the wet sand.

Walking away from such a sweet scene he wondered, just how alone was this girl?