(Probably) England, 2018
Sand. There was sand under his feet. His feet! Dylan's lips stretched out into a grin as he wiggled his toes. The wet sand filled up the gaps in between them and creeped under his nails. Anyone else may have hated the feeling, but to him, it was the best thing in the world. He was finally here.
"You bloody arsehole, you just put mayo on me!"
Dylan looked up wondering if he had heard right. Or perhaps he had misunderstood. Mayo? Mayonnaise?
"Come back here you little prick!"
The owner of the voice was pretty easy to identify. A girl, maybe eighteen, chased a slim boy down the beach. The two looked similar, though their expressions were polar opposites. The boy was laughing as he ran while the girl looked like she was about to burst a blood vessel. There was sunscreen smeared all over the girl's arms and face. It was only then that Dylan realised just how close they were to him. The boy looked distracted. He glanced over his shoulder as they drew even nearer.
"No, no, no, wait!" Dylan raised his arms in front of him.
They were like cars with no breaks. They were going to crash into him. He stumbled backwards — and proceeded to promptly fall backwards. Only he didn't fall alone. He had reflexively grabbed at whatever — whoever — was closest to him. The boy's elbow struck his stomach and left him winded.
"Argh!" he cried out as even more weight landed on him. 'Car crash' wasn't the right way to describe them. They were dominoes. One fell, then the next, then the next. Humpty Dumpty was nothing in comparison.
As Dylan stared at the mass of strawberry blonde hair sprawled across his chest, the only thing he could think was: 'Ah. I suppose it was mayonnaise then.' The smell tickled his nose. As if to add insult to the injury, a wave slapped his face and swept past them.
Dylan spluttered as the two began squabbling once more.
"Aili, get off, you rhino!" said the boy.
"Excuse me, rhino? First of all, if you're gonna insult my weight, that's such a weird analogy. And second, you're the one who crashed into someone first, you elephant!"
"You understood that I was talking about your weight, didn't you? Rhinos are obviously a decent analogy then. Now get off!"
"No, you get off!"
"I literally cannot until you lift your bum! And on top of that you stink! Please, for the love of all things sweet, get off!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, who's the one who put mayo all over me again?"
"Argh!" burst out Dylan. Stop. They had to stop. Why wouldn't they stop? He coughed. Then, in a quieter and hoarser voice, asked, "Please. Would you both please get off? I can't breathe."
For a moment, there was only the sound of the waves. In the midst of all the hair, two pairs of eyes turned to look at him. And then, all of a sudden, the weight on his chest lifted as the two scrambled to their feet.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"
"Are you alright?
"My sister's really heavy, I know, I'm really sorry about that!"
"You bloody prick, I just have heavy bones — also you fell on him first!"
"Excuses. Anyway shh, stop talking and apologise! I'm really sorry!"
"I can't apologise if I stop talking! Ugh, never mind, you're just wasting my time." The girl swatted at the boy's face and looked down again. "I'm sorry about my brother. Are you okay?"
Dylan laid sprawled out in the sand as the two hovered overhead. He wondered briefly if he had hit his head somewhere and was imagining things. A wave brushing past assured him that he was not. After a few moments had passed without him replying, the girl squatted down beside him.
"Are you okay?" she asked again.
He cleared his throat. "Um. Yeah. I think so." He pushed himself up and stood — or not. "Ouch!" He fell to the ground like a potato sack. His hand flew towards his aching butt. But that wasn't all that hurt; his ankle was throbbing too. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he felt thankful that he was still on the beach and not further in the city where sand wouldn't have provided a natural cushion (granted its wetness made it a rather terrible one).
"Oh my god, you're not okay, are you?" The boy's hair flopped funnily as he fell to his knees to get a better look. It flopped some more as he shook Dylan's shoulders. "Mister! Random person! Kid! Kid? How old are you anyway?"
"Alex! That's not even important right now!" The girl threw some sand his way.
Dylan's hands flew to his eyes. The girl had terrible aim. "Ah-hah-ah!" He groaned. "Ah, damn, it stings!" His eyes stung and watered.
"Aili!" cried the boy. He lunged towards the girl. His knees landed hard — they dug right into Dylan's sides.
Dylan groaned and curled up into a ball. Torture. This was torture. Why was he here? Who were they? Assassins? Comedians? If so, they weren't very funny ones.
The other two stared at each other in shock for a second. And then they started again. It took about a minute of squabbling and a minute more of constant apologies, but eventually, they decided enough was enough. They hoisted Dylan to his feet and threw his arms around each of their shoulders.
"Sorry again." said the girl. "Did you come here with someone? Or actually, our mum's a doctor, I think it would be good if you see her first. It looks like you're having a hard time standing. Ah, jeez, we're really sorry!"
Dylan wanted to say it was alright, but frankly, it wasn't. Everything already hurt and if he heard the words 'I'm sorry' one more time, his head would probably be added to that list. But more importantly, the only thing he could focus on was the sticky feeling under one of his arms. And the smell — oh, the smell. It seemed that there was still a lot of mayonnaise on the girl's shoulders. And now, it was all over his arm. So instead, he said, "I'm alone. And that sounds good to me."
"Okay, cool!" They began walking. "I'm Aili, by the way. My idiot brother is Alex."
The brother — Alex — scoffed."The only reason you're calling me that is because you're too much of an idiot yourself to realise otherwise." He looked away from her. "Anyway, what's your name?"
"Dylan."
As they walked down the beach, Dylan gradually got used to the smell of the mayonnaise. The sea breeze hid its scent. The pain on his body dulled too. He found himself smiling slightly at the siblings' relentless banter. If nothing else, their talkativeness was at least a welcomed distraction.
By the time they reached the area where the siblings' parents were sitting, Dylan knew more about the two than he cared to remember. Alex was 17, in sixth form, and Aili was 19, in college. It was finally summer break and the day was clear so they were down to the beach on a small family outing. This much, he knew. The rest of what they said went in through one ear and out through the other.
Dylan felt slightly timid as they stopped before a slightly elderly couple laying out a picnic. There was something about the siblings which let him relax (most likely, he had gotten the nerves beaten out of him — quite literally), but this was a different situation. He had to talk to them. Partake in social interaction. Oh, jeez.
"Good timing!" said who he assumed was the siblings' mother. She looked up at them with a kind smile. When her eyes landed on Dylan, her expression changed to a more curious one. "Who's this?"
Alex shrugged off Dylan's arm and plonked down on the cloth they had laid out. He reached for a sandwich. His attempt failed. The elder woman swatted his hand away almost immediately. Alex scrunched his nose and made a face. "This is Dylan. We ran into him earlier."
Aili rolled her eyes. "He means literally. I think Alex needs an eye exam, mum, Dylan was literally right there."
"Hey! You make it sound like I'm the only one who ran into him, rhino."
"Anyway, I think he got hurt."
"Are you ignoring me?"
"Seemed like his ankle. He was finding it hard to stand."
"I see how it is. Why aren't you telling her about the sand you threw into his eyes, Aili?"
"Oh, also, Alex knee-kicked his ribs. It's not too close to the nearest clinic so I thought it would be better if we brought him to see you."
"Annoying." Alex tutted and reached for a sandwich again. This time, he was able to grab it with no problems as there was no one stopping him. His parents were a bit too surprised. Both of them stared at Dylan with wide eyes.
Their father spoke first. "Well, clearly these two won't do it, so consider this an apology on their behalf! Where they get their carelessness from is a mystery, really." His expression was somehow both innocent and mischievous at the same time.
His wife side-eyed him. "Oh yes, real mystery," she said dryly.
Dylan felt his nerves calming. He suppressed a smile. "No, no, don't worry, they apologised already. A lot. Really. Ahem. They're good kids." Ignoring the 'you good?' looks the siblings were shooting him, he cleared his throat. His ears felt hot as he felt the nerves flutter. Awkward.
Their mother smiled. "Well that's good then. Why don't you take a seat? I can't promise a proper check-up now but I can take a quick look at your ankle and maybe if you're feeling alright, you can join us for a bite."
"I would love to!" As soon as he said the words, he started rethinking them. "But, uh, would that be alright?"
Before their mother could say anything, Aili had already shrugged his arm off and sat down beside her brother. "Hey, she offered and we owe you one anyway. Now hurry up and sit so we can start eating!" Alex waved a sandwich in her face almost as soon as she had finished speaking. She pushed his hand aside and scrunched her nose his way. "Unlike this buffoon here, the rest of us have the patience to wait for everyone to start eating." She patted the spot besides her. "C'mon."
Dylan hesitated briefly. He glanced at the parents. Both of them smiled at him. Considering this enough of an invitation, he gently put more pressure on his injured ankle. Still hurt. Ignoring it, he attempted to sit down. 'Sitting' would be a euphemism for what truly happened though. Dylan landed on the ground in an ungraceful lump.
From his pocket, something vaguely circular and flat and possibly gold rolled out. Its shape was slightly deformed, but the image of a man on a horse slaying something was still distinguishable on its face.
Alex put down his sandwich and picked up the coin. "Huh," he said.
He held up the coin towards the sun. Its dulled edges glinted with sunlight as the rest of it fell into shadow.