All my stories seem to start with a vision, or a landscape, or one of the characters. This one started with Anna, naked in the sea. Though that scene didn't make it in here, it is what started it.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
- W
*****
I tapped my fingers absently on the steering wheel as I maneuvered my car through the final sweeping turn, keeping my speed down to what I'd term 'moderately stupid' as opposed to 'suicidal'. Tall trees arched overhead at intervals, casting dappled sunlight over the interior of the Audi and the remains of my junk-food lunch in its crumpled waxpaper wrapping. I could smell the sea, and I desperately hoped it would still warm enough for a swim when I got there.
It had been nearly a season since I had last been to the family holiday house, an entire spring and summer too full of work and crises for me to be where I loved most - up to my neck in the ocean, or surfing down the face of a wave on a surf-ski. I was long overdue some me-time, and I planned to make the most of my long weekend away.
The sun was still some way clear of the horizon when I turned into the private gated lane, flanked by the unkempt hedge and secured by a single link of chain that held the gate closed on a rusting steel nail. The property name was still visible on the aged wooden nameplate; the single word etched out by the less weathered silhouette of long-since flaked paint.
Elysium.
It was a good name for our family's little slice of heaven, far enough away from the world that you might not see another soul except in the highest of high summer.
.:.
I parked the Audi in the deep sandy shade under the Christmas tree that we'd planted when I was seven. Eighteen years of hot, bright summers and a shallow water table had suited the tree, and I didn't doubt it would double in height again before I died. I smiled as I reached up to brush a low-hanging branch; I regarded the tree as mine, and I always said hello to him when I came to visit.
The lock in the front door had seized with salt, so I entered via the aluminium sliding door on the patio, making a mental note in passing to check whether Dad's oil and tools were still under the kitchen sink. I turned on the power at the breaker box, and unpacked the selection of supplies that I'd brought with me into cupboards.
I walked slowly through the house, opening windows to let the building air, and dragged one of the patio chairs outside so that I could enjoy the view down to the sea while enjoying a lukewarm beer.
I lay back, watching the breakers slowly progressing into the bay, stretching the kinks from the drive out of my back. The sound of the ocean rolled uphill and over me, and slowly I felt myself relax.
It had been a long couple of months. A messy breakup, significant project delays at work... it was not shaping up to be a good year for me. I sighed, and set the beer down. The waves beckoned me, and after a few minutes of apathy I stood, stripped to my boardshorts and loped down between the low dunes to the water.
The surf was up, and the coming spring tide meant that the waves were breaking high up on the beach, sometimes even pushing up over into the small lagoon through its shallow sandy channel. I eyed the waves, decided they were too dumpy to chance, and instead stepped out into the lagoon, enjoying the kiss of the cold water on my feet and the sand between my toes.
I remembered how my father and I had built sandcastles here while I was younger - frequently merely so that Anna and I would have somewhere safe to swim and play.
One golden summer's evening we had brought spades down with us and had built a buttress a metre high, with a seat for Anna to sit in. It had still been there three high tides later.
I wondered, idly, where Anna was. It had been a few weeks since I'd last spoken to my sister; she'd been off to some function in the States, and since it hadn't had anything to do with aeronautics or computing I'd been less than completely interested in the details around it.
I walked out into the lagoon until the water rose up to my hips, took a breath, and dived.
.:.
The sun set in a riot of glorious orange and violet, and I saluted the end of the day with another beer as I waited for the coals on the Weber to reach a working temperature. Venus winked and danced just above the horizon - it would be a beautiful night with little to no moon, and I knew from experience that the Milky Way would spread like crushed gems across the sky.
Slowly the stars started to appear, and I watched the various old companions of my youth flickering slowly into view above me.
Light lit the top of the Christmas tree, and I heard the throaty growl of a car's engine. I banked the coals into the centre of the Weber and walked around the side of the house in order to investigate this new arrival. Visitors were rare out here - the closest other house was more than a kilometer further down the coast - and I was curious , though it was likely just someone who had got lost, seen the house lights and come to ask for directions.
A strange car was parked alongside my Audi, and I could see a small, indistinct figure bent over, rummaging inside.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" I asked.
"No. I know precisely where I am," my sister replied, spinning around and laughing at me.
"Anna! Hi! Sorry, I didn't recognise the car."
"It's a recent purchase. I decided I needed a present for being a good, responsible girl. So I bought something ridiculous."
She walked over to me and swung her arms up and around my neck. "Hello, Joey. It's been a while. I missed you."
"Ditto," I said, returning the hug. "I wasn't expecting you out here. But welcome. I've got the fire going, and there's beer in the fridge and port on the counter." I gently let go of her and picked her backpack up off the sand.
"I took a chance coming here," she added. "Mum mentioned you'd picked up the keys, so I thought it was worth the drive. I haven't been out here for a while."
"Me neither," I said. "Door's jammed," I added as she reached for the front door handle. "I haven't got round to fixing it, swimming and drinking were higher on the priority list."
"Your priority list sounds good. Dump that backpack, Joey, and let's drink and watch the stars. I'm in need of some booze and some fresh air."
"You read my mind."
.:.
Anna lounged on one of the deck chairs, imperiously directing my cooking. We're a year apart in age, and she's always felt that being the elder of us that she gets to be the empress and I get to be the serf. I seldom complain about the arrangement - Anna's a born organiser and having her around means I don't have to do the ridiculous admin tasks that accompany daily life. Anna will make sure there's a place to stay and food to eat - and all I have to do is show up and play chef to keep my end of the bargain.
"Do we have any vegetables, or is this a Joey Standard Meal?" she asked, dubiously.
"Joey Standard Meal, ma'am," I drawled. "I brought an emergency potato salad, but I haven't done anything with it yet. It's in the fridge."
"Aha. I'll get on that then. Lamb's good, sausage is good, but it's not a proper beach house debauch without potato salad."
She put her cider aside, and sauntered into the kitchen. I caught glimpses of her as she rummaged.
She looked older, and tired, but more at peace with herself and the world. Far better than she had the last time she'd been here, when her company had been on the rocks and she'd been running on nerves, alcohol and caffeine.
I was glad to see my sister back.
I sipped at my beer, and watched the smoke from the barbecue wafting almost directly upwards in the still night air. Large rollers boomed on the beach, and the occasional bat flitted past the deck lights, hunting the moths that circled them stupidly.
"Whatcha doing?"
I turned to Anna, and smiled. "Breathing. Enjoying the silence. I miss here."
"Uh huh. I miss here too when I'm not here. Still, we're lucky... not many people have a safe haven. Somewhere that they can run away to when it all gets too much."
"I wasn't running," I answered.
"Then where's Julie?" Anna tilted her head, inquisitive.
I winced, and busied myself with the fire. "Not here," I muttered, after a moment.
