It was a hot summer day. The sky was covered with a thousand colors and the sea was clearer than ever. Despite this beautiful view, the huge beach was empty. Although it was quiet and still, it was also frightening.
The only person on the beach was a man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He sat on the sand, not even minding the dirtiness of his clothes. An outsider might think that he was enjoying the peace of this beautiful weather, but for him, the frightening atmosphere of the beach was much more dominant.
As his eyes moved between the sky and the sea, he turned his head when he felt something cold on his cheek. She was a girl who looked much younger than him - probably in her early 20s. Although her dark blonde hair was covered with sand and water, what caught people's attention more was the sincere smile on her face.
She left the water in her hand in the man's hands and sat next to him. They were both watching the sea without looking at each other. The person who broke this peaceful silence was the girl.
"Sir, what are you doing sitting here? It's getting colder and you've been here for a long time. Have you ever been hungry and thirsty?"
The girl's soft voice sounded sweet like a melody. Her voice was so in tune with her appearance that most people would say she was the embodiment of perfection.
The man looked at her with his eyes shining like fire for a while after the girl spoke, but said nothing. He didn't have anything to say anyway. After a while, he turned his head forward again and answered the girl in a slightly louder voice than a whisper.
"Thank you for the water, but why don't you go find someone else to bother? I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone right now."
Silence for a while longer. All that could be heard was the sand flying with the wind. Sometimes the sound of water.
"Sir," the girl spoke again. "Are you okay? If you have any problems, you can share it with me. I won't tell anyone."
While saying this, she put his hands to her lips and then winked at the man.
"Sir, what is your name?"
"Cepheus."
"Like the constellation? Is that really your real name?"
The man did not answer for a while. He seemed uncomfortable continuing to talk to the girl. There was nothing he could do but wish the girl would leave.
"Sir, if you won't tell me your real name, then I won't either. You can call me Sirius."
"I don't care about your name. I don't care."
"Okay. I guess you won't care why I chose this name, sir." Then she laughed briefly. "But I want to explain. Isn't Sirius the brightest star? I want to shine like that too. Who wouldn't want it after all? But I guess you don't want it, sir. Your gaze says so."
She stays quiet for a while, then she continues.
"Sir, don't die, okay?"
Cepheus was a little shocked by what Sirius said. The wind was getting stronger and the weather was quite cold.
"Why did you say that? Do you think I'll die quickly? Do I seem weak to you?"
He suddenly started to take his anger out on the girl. He needed this too. While dealing with the office, family and many other things, the nonsense talk of a girl he had just met made him even more angry.
"Answer me!" Cepheus said, speaking in a screaming voice.
Sirius remained silent for a while. Although the smile on his face still remained, it was not as sincere as before. Her eyes were as calm as the sea, not filled with joy as before.
"I wasn't implying anything, sir. My point wasn't to call you weak, but death will take even the strongest, right?"
Even though her voice trembled a little while saying this, there was a very strange atmosphere in his speech. What she said was not a lie, these were the facts of the world, but Cepheus did not want to accept this.
As he stood next to the girl, he felt more and more awkward, so he quickly stood up. A voice inside him told him to get out of here quickly. "It's quite late. I must go now. You should go too, ma'am. Thank you again for the water."
He started to run forward. He was still angry and nervous, but he felt more normal than before. When he turned his head back out of curiosity, he saw the girl waving at him with a smile on her face. Cepheus didn't care much. He ignored her as if he had never met the girl and went his own way.
***
The bus was packed. Even though it was early in the morning. There were all kinds of people, from students to employees, from the elderly to women with babies.
Cepheus, sitting by the window, was going to work, that is to the office. The weather was rainy and quite gloomy. This bad weather was like a harbinger of bad things to come in the future.
To distract himself, he put on his headphones and started watching the morning news. There wasn't much in the news. There were the usual things. Just as he were about to feel bored with the news, the new news shocked him.
"22-year-old Han Jihye had been missing for approximately three weeks. The young girl's body was found washed ashore on the XXX beach. The identity of the unrecognizable body was revealed as a result of DNA testing."
Cepheus wanted to vomit. This was the girl he saw just yesterday. But Sirius, no, no, Han Jihye, how did Cepheus talk to her if she was already dead?
He felt goosebumps. He felt like he wanted to get off the bus quickly and go home. Something was wrong. The road he always came from looked very different to him. Just as he was about to get up, a light coming from the opposite direction blocked everyone's view.
Brake sounds, screams, crying sounds. While they were all tangled up, they suddenly disappeared. Cepheus could barely see and hear. He realized that he was at the end of his time. This was the end of everything.
"I told you not to die, sir. You disappointed me."