Her walk in the neighborhood starts at midnight. From the streets to the ocean she walks barefoot, leaving behind bloody footprints. When she reaches the beach, she sits on the same rock, facing the ocean. By that time, her feet are bloody and her dress is soaked from the rising tides. A fruit vendor walks by on the road, exhausted from the business today. He turns towards the ocean to feel the cold breeze on his face and relax. His eyes fall on the girl, sitting with her back behind him on the rock which is almost submerged. He yells at her, but she gives no response, the tides were growing, covering half the beach. The fruit vendor hesitated before stepping on the wet sand. He walked slowly towards her, calling out to her. The girl didn't budge. When the breeze went by again, she started a small hum. He couldn't hear the melody because of the strong winds but watched as she swayed slowly side by side. Her black hair, now wet, stuck to her back.

The girl half disappeared underwater as the rock was not visible anymore. The man yelled at her again, he was knee-deep. She stopped swaying. The man felt relieved as he thought she had finally heard him. But he still looked at her with worry. The tides were bigger and stronger. The man had to plant his toes in the sand to not be carried away by the ocean. The tides came closer and closer towards the girl, they couldn't do anything but watch and yell at her to move. The waves crashed down on the girl and took her away in the vast ocean. It also provoked him, by making him stumble and fall in the water. It challenged him to go after her but the man was scared. Of Course, he knew that she was dead. He stuck his fingers and toes inside the sand and waited as the waters receded. He stood up, soaked and shivered from the cold, and walked back towards his fruit cart. The image of the girl implanted in his mind, although he didn't see her face, another face came to his mind. The face of his 13-year-old daughter who met the same fate by the cruel waves.

'It is never the same with anyone now'. Rachel thought as she headed back from Nate's apartment. A while ago she had caught him inviting a blonde girl into his apartment. Rachel had wanted to confront him right there but gave him the benefit of the doubt. She could be anyone. Besides, it had only been 3 weeks since their relationship took off. She doesn't even know his whole family yet. Her fears came true when she witnessed him kissing her goodbye on the streets. The Thai food in her bag slipped as she watched how passionately he kissed the girl. 'He never did that with me', she thought. After a few seconds, they

let go of each other and said their goodbyes. Rachel had this weird feeling,she wanted to throw something at him for making her feel this way. Also, why was she hiding? 'Why should she hide?', she thought. 'She wasn't the one who betrayed me'. Rachel came out of the bushes and yelled his name. "NATE!", The boy with the brown curls turned around, and for a second, she saw the expression of shock on his face. 'At least he is scared'. But the expression on his face only lasted a few seconds. The perfect smile she fell for came back. She wanted to forgive him immediately. That smile could get him out of any situation. He could play prey while being the predator. She was scared of it, and at the same time, she loved it. Nate walked towards her, his arms spread "what are you doing here?" chuckling. "I can't give my boyfriend a surprise when he is studying?" Rachel said with a mocking tone. "I mean you should have called, I would have ordered something"

He was standing so close to her now, she could smell the woman's perfume on him. It disgusted her. She couldn't hold back anymore. "I saw you kiss her, '' she confessed. "Right, listen to Rach" he started. "She kissed me suddenly, she's my ex. I wanted to get back together but I said no, so she, you know, wanted to show how much I still meant to her" he finished and smiled. 'No', Rachel thought, 'not today, not right now, I will not fall for his smile'. "Nate, I don't want to continue this. Us. I am ending it, like an adult. I know what I saw and all the lies you tell me will not make me forgive you." Her words were cracking, she did not want to cry now, not in this situation. She held the floor, she had the power, "you can have the Thai food, it's your favorite." She did not wait for him to speak.

Rachel turned around and left him standing there alone. She felt relieved and yet sad. He made her feel so special, he made her feel loved, knowing that all of it was just a lie, something he never meant, hurt so bad. She sat at the bus stop and started crying silently. She was glad there was no one around to see her in this humiliating state. She felt embarrassed. It hadn't been a minute when the bus stopped in front of her. Rachel goes on and finds an empty seat at the back of the bus. There were few people, some sleeping, others busy on their phone, they paid no heed to her. Good. She didn't want any attention right now. She sat and the bus started to move. The bus passed the beach, where the breeze was strong and colder. Rachel opened the window to feel the wind and watched as a black-haired girl sat on the rock which was almost submerged in the ocean.