Lost and Found
The warm, radiant sun finally faded away from this beach like it usually did every day in this human heaven. Like a "romantic" sunset afternoon I sat in a bench on the top of a grassy hill next to a friend I'd just made. I'm not sure when I got here or how, but alI I know is I’ve always been here, and I belonged in this place.She wasn’t exactly a new friend either, but everyday it felt like I had stumbled upon a new face. It seemed like I had known her for so long, but every time Iwas with her I found myself asking the same old question…
“What’s your name?” I would ask with a wide, confident smile I was born with.
“Susan.” she would reply, and every time I heard it I made sure to remember it well, so next time I wouldn’t have to ask again.
“Mark, lets go back home. We need to get Chris from the beach soon or else it’ll be dark once we get back.” She told me while starring at the gloomy sun.
“Can you get him this time? I need to go do something else.”
“Alright, see you back at the house.” Silly, you might think, how I lived with her and I didn’t remember her name. Even though I in fact spent my summer days with her and her family, I always saw a different person through her eyes once. The light afternoon breeze winnowed through her hair while she walked down the hill towards the beach. Sometimes it hit me, how beautiful she was, but she was just a friend to me at this moment.
“Alright, see you back at the house.” Silly, you might think, how I lived with her and I didn’t remember her name. Even though I in fact spent my summer days with her and her family, I always saw a different person through her eyes once. The light afternoon breeze winnowed through her hair while she walked down the hill towards the beach. Sometimes it hit me, how beautiful she was, but she was just a friend to me at this moment.
The truth is I just wanted to go for a walk by myself. It was strange how some other houses were empty, but always had their lights on, like they were waiting for their owners to come home, lonely they seemed. I was making my way up a small mountain that divided the beach and its small community with whatever was on the other side. ‘I’ve been here for so long, yet I’ve never been this far.’ I thought to myself. When I made it to the top I realized there was a flat piece of land and a road running through it quietly. Next to the road there was a bench and a lonesome bus stop. ‘Strange.’ A girl was sitting, grabbing hold of her knees and a purplebag with a blue line across it as if she was afraid of losing her self. She had a sad look on her face, and my first instinct was to cheer her up. I loosely walked up to her with my hands in my pockets and warmly asked what was wrong.
“I lost a friend… I’ve been looking for him for so long that I just don’t know where to look anymore. I was going to check in this beach, but I got here too late…” She wasn’t looking at my face while she talked.
“Why a beach?” I replied curiously.
“He loved Beaches… He said they were like a heaven to him…”
“You can come tomorrow if you’d like. I could help you look for him.”
“Sometimes I think I’m not going to find him. He said that the beach was a perfect place to end up in with someone he loved. But he never realized he already had what he wanted.” She relaxed after she shared this with me. At that moment she stood up while the bus was nearing us; she left without another word. ‘Poor girl’ I thought while sitting down in the rusty, metal bench. In the corner of my eyes I caught sight of a small bag, the same one the girl was carrying. She had left it here. ‘I’ll keep it just incase she comes back.’ I said to myself. The bag was green with a blue line down it, and inside there was an old stuffed animal; a dog, if I remember well. I decided to go back home to see Susan and Chris. In a few minutes I was home, and just in time for dinner.
“My mom is coming back next week.” said Susan while cutting a piece of meat in half.
“That’s good. I don’t think she can cook as well as you though.” I said with a sly grin. She replied with a smile.
“Chris helps out a lot too, isn’t that right Chris?” He smiled back to her with a missing tooth. Chris was Susan’s little brother, he was always in a pleasent mood like her, and he could understand more than a regular kid his age would. There was a long pause, but I decided to break that silence with something that no one wanted to hear.
“Susan, I’ve thought of going to other places sometimes and not come back here for a while.” I said when I stopped chewing my food.
“Why? You love this beach Mark. It would be lonely without you.” said Susan alarmingly.
“I know, but I would come back. I don’t intend to leave permanently.” Susan could only sigh back at me, knowing she couldn’t change my stubborn mind. I could see in her sparkling hazel eyes that she was sad as I talked about this. The rest of the night went by fast and silently, and we each went to sleep in our own rooms.
The next morning I woke up yawning. I went to the bathroom and washed my face, while calling out for Susan. It turned out that she had left with Chris down to the beach, and a note saying that if I wanted to go, I could. It was nice knowing she wasn’t mad at me for last night. I swallowed my breakfast down quickly, put some sandals on, grabbed a towel and walked out the door. On my way down to the beach I saw a girl with a straw hat, a colorless sleeveless shirt, and some rugged jeans on. She just stood there looking at the floor. I realized it was the same girl from yesterday.
“Hello. So you actually came back! You left your bag here, and I decided to keep it for you. It’s back at my house; I can give it to you later if you want.” I said to her.
“Are you going to the beach now?” she said shyly, ignoring my question.
“Yeah, someone's waiting for me there. Do you want to come?”
“I can’t.”
“Oh I see. You have to look for your friend right? Sorry, I said I would help you out.” I said apologeticly.
“It’s ok. Enjoy your time at the beach.” She left again quickly, leaving me just to say good-bye and shrug at her oddness. I realized she didn’t look at my face this time either, or even looked up. I started walking down again towards the beach and I could see Susan sitting down on her towel beneath the parasol, watching Chris sprint back and forth trying to escape from the waves.
“Good morning Mark. How’d you sleep?”
“Same as always, maybe a little bit more relaxed.” Since I dreamed of you, I thought.
“I see; that’s good. Can I ask you something?” she said while looking at the sea.
“Go ahead” I asked, knowing what to expect.
“Why are you leaving?” you could tell there was tension in her words.
“I want to get toknow more places.”
“Don’t you already have what you want here?” I couldn’t answer that. And after a long pause I decided to tell her about my plans.
“I think today’s the day.” I turned my head to face her; she was looking at me with red, suffering eyes. She unexpectedly started crying tears down her spotless cheeks. I took her in my arms and tried to calm her down by telling her I would be back soon, but when she finally slowed down to a quiet sob she stood up and walked away. I was left alone with Chris.
“Come on Chris, get your things, its time to go back.” I said
Chris' reply surprised me, “I think Susan likes you Mark.”
I grabbed my backpack and opened the garage door. Susan was standing with Chris by her side waiting for the good-bye. I hugged Chris, and then hugged Susan. I looked into her eyes, but she quickly moved away.
“I left you a present in your room; it’s in a purple bag.” She wasn’t looking at me, but I could tell she was sad. Finally, I moved her chin up and kissed her lightly in her soft, scarlet lips and went inside my car. I whispered to the engine and moved the vehicle to the road. Before parting I looked back through the mirror and saw Susan touch her lips with the tips of her fingers. I smiled and drove away.
I got to the bus stop where I met that strange girl, and to my surprise she was sitting there, exactly like when I first saw her. I stopped the car next to her and rolled down a window.
“Want a ride?” I said.
“To where?” she replied.
“I don’t know. Wherever this thing can take me.”
She wasn’t facing me this time, or looking at me, but it was ok. She got in the car and sat in the passanger sit anyways.
“So what was that in your bag?” I asked her while driving.
“It was a present my friend gave me.” After that I didn’t want to tell her I didn’t have her bag anymore. It made me feel so guilty.
I tried to switch the topic. It didnt go very well. “So did you have any luck finding your friend?”
“He never returned like he promised. Now I’m not sure I want to go back there…”
Her voice reminded me of a long lost friend, but I wasn’t sure who.
“You never told me the name of your friend.” I stopped the car at a red light, and I turned to face her. She was looking at me this time.
‘It can’t be’ I thought. The girl, it was Susan.
“His name is Mark.”
The end
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