Will I Wake Tomorrow? [Graham/Kazu]

Graham whistled under his breath as he walked along the shoreline, thumbs tucked in the belt loop of his jeans. He was barefoot, letting the sand, warmed by the spring sun, creep between his toes. Upon reaching a small patch of stones and shells forming a makeshift path, he bent down and picked a flat stone up in his hand. He examined it, brushed some of the sand off and turned it over in his cupped fists several times, before facing the ocean and sending it skimming across the water. Patterns of ripples danced on the surface, and disappeared as the waves pulled at them. The stone sunk after five jumps.

He smiled so quickly that, if you weren't watching for it, you would have missed it. And as quickly as the moment had happened, it was over, and he was back on his way down the beach. It was still too early to swim, so he simply walked.

Kazumi sat humming and dipping her toes into the early morning ocean water. It had to probably be a little after sunrise--so most people were probably still sleeping. However, Kazumi wanted to see the sunrise, because even if she did wake up in the morning, it was always hidden behind the trees.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kazu saw someone walking her way, though didn’t notice who it was. Without thinking, she opened her mouth and asked, "Sure is lovely, huh? And they great thing about this sunset, is that there will never be another one like it."

Graham recognized the voice as soon as he heard it. His feet stopped moving, wedging in the sand, but he didn't turn around. "It's nice," he said passively, tilting his head at the sky. "And you mean sunrise, not sunset. But it's not true. The sun rises every single day. The only thing that changes is the pattern of the sky that paints the backdrop."

A rebel wave lashed up the shoreline, licking at his feet. "Tide's coming in."

"Oopes. I knew that." Kazu said; her face flushed with embarrassment. "It's been a while though, Graham. I'm glad to see you alive and well." Kazu hopped of the rock and placed some loose strands of hair back in their place. After a moment, she added in a softer tone. 'Would you like to go for a walk? It's just for a little while."

Graham chuckled, and ducked his head. "Alive, maybe," he affirmed. "Well? ...That remains to be seen." He had been in a really strange mood lately. Nothing seemed to be going right. It was almost like an invisible roadblock that he kept running face-first into, and no matter what detours he took, he couldn't get around it. There was something pressing at him, and he hadn't a clue what it could be.

"It's nice to see you too," he amended quietly. "And I was already in the middle of a walk, actually. You can join if you want." And he started off again, trudging through the sand, not bothering to check if she was following behind. He knew she would be.

Kazu smiled happily. "OK." she said catching up to him. A wave reached up and hugged Kazumi's ankles. Graham had been right--the tide was rising. "You seem to be in a better mood, I don't think I've ever heard you laugh before." Kazu quickly bent down and scooped up a seashell, holding it up above her so she could examine it better. Other than the beautiful color of the shell, there was nothing incredibly special about it. "So, how's farm life going?"

Graham was silent. A better mood...? Eh. Not really. But he wouldn't argue with her.

She bent down and scooped up shells in her hands behind him; this he could tell without turning around. His gaze was focused on the end of the beach, way off in the distance. "If you want to find shells, you might want to hurry. The tide sweeps them all away." He spotted something in the foamy white caps of the waves just then, and took a step into the water to pick it up. Retreating back to the sand, he brushed some grit off of the item, and held it up to the sun. "Sea glass," he explained, watching it glitter. "Someone drops a bottle, or some kind of broken glass into the ocean, and it wears away the rough edges." The glass had a strange, thick texture and virtually zero sharp edges. "It's kind of neat. Something really sharp and dangerous can be transformed into something harmless and beautiful." He pocketed the smoothed piece of glass. "I collect it."

"It is beautiful." Kazumi commented. "Wow, you collect it? That's amazing, I'd like to see sometime." Kazu put her seashell in her pocket. "But you know what? As lovely as the process seems, it really isn't all that incredible. Anything that's rough and dangerous can turn into something beautiful, but I guess it's not that easy, huh?" Kazu sighed. Then, she slowly stepped into the water, bent down, and searched using her hands until she found something else. "Ah ha, see?" Kazumi said showing off the shell she found. Then, a curious little crab poked its head and legs out of the shell. Kazu screamed, and fell backwards releasing the crab. "Hahahaha, that scared me!" she laughed. "Man, early morning thriller! Alright, where did it go?" Kazu began searching the water again. "I'm going to find the litter bugger and-" Kazumi lifted it up. "Ah ha!" she said placing it in her hand.

"It's not much," Graham said in regards to his sea glass connection. It was actually his mother who did most of the collecting; she was the one to get him hooked. He had a small jar of the stuff at home, up high on a shelf where it wouldn't break. He was proud of it, but he wanted to be selfish, and keep it his own little secret. He didn't want to share that part of him. It was the part of his mother that he still had to himself.

He kind of zoned out for a moment, but refocused when Kazu found a small crab. "Ah, a hermit crab," he said, bending down. He ruined the burrow in the sand with a quick jab of his finger and, as the tunnel collapsed, another crab scurried out. He grabbed it quickly and held it in his hand. "Ugly little buggers," he muttered.

Kazu giggled. "Really? I always thought they were kind of neat, other than the pinchers, that is." Kazu wrinkled her nose in disgust. "My father took me down here one time and I got pinched by one, but it was mostly my fault for bothering it in the first place. Still, it hurt like crazy." Kazu placed her hair behind her ears. More water slipped up and splashed Kazumi's ankles. She laughed. "Ahaha, it's freezing!" she excalimed. Kazu stood and brushed her jeans off.

"They're a dime a dozen," Graham said. He bent down and let the crab go. It scurried away, getting caught in one of the waves, but reemerging and burying itself under the sand. "Just another tiny life." He looked over his shoulder to see a wave attacking Kazumi, and a smile twitched on his lips. "Might want to walk higher up on the shore. Like I said. Tide's coming in." He himself continued on, letting the water rush over the tops of his feet. Sure, it was cold. Sure, the legs of his pants were getting soaked. Did he particularly care? Not really.

"OK!" Kazumi said standing up. She did her best to ring out the bottoms of her jeans, but to would still take a while for them to dry. The sun was slowly rising higher in the sky; just another reminder of how fast time was passing. Kazu started towards the higher shore, waiting for Graham to catch up. "Hey Graham," Kazumi started. "I'm having lots of fun, thank you for allowing me to walk with you. Even if it is just for a little while."

Graham looked out at the water. Boats dotted against the horizon in the distance; he turned his head away from them. "No big deal," he muttered under his breath, and kicked at the damp sand. It flew up in the air in clumps, and landed scattered in small clusters on top of the water, sinking quickly.

Anxiety suddenly flooded in him. He wrenched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. Outwardly, he was perfectly fine - he had spent years teaching himself to look calm on the exterior. But if Kazumi hadn't been there, and he didn't think she would follow him, he would've bolted.

He tried to distract himself by talking to her. "Nice day."

"Yes." Kazumi said, admiring the sky. "It's going to be pretty today. So let's both enjoy it, OK?" Kazumi let out a sigh. "I have to go.' she said. "I had something I need to take care of here, and there are things I need to get done at home, too." Kazumi Gave waved goodbye to Graham. "I'll see you around, OK? And if it's not too much to ask, I'd like to see your smile someday." Kazumi turned around and started to head towards town.