Faded Memories

Chapter 41

My eyes fluttered open, the burning sensation of the water forcing them shut again. How did people actively swim with their eyes open? Surely it can't be good for them.

I laughed at my attempt to copy my brother, who could easily swim with his eyes open. He always made fun of me for wearing swimming goggles, but I just couldn't hack it. It must be a talent to be able to keep your eyes open. A talent I had yet to perfect.

The sun was glistening on the water as my head emerged, the warm breeze reminding me why I decided to get in the pool in the first place. The height of summer was not for me, I could barely last a few minutes out sunbathing before I had to take a dip in the pool.

But... where was everybody?

The poolside was empty as I lifted myself out of the water, studying my surroundings. The sky was so bright that I couldn't see anything further than a few empty sun beds. Where was I? It looked so similar to our pool back at the house, and yet it looked so different at the same time.

I stood on the edge of the pool for a few moments, droplets falling off of my body and splashing down on the tiled floor. Where were my clothes - or my towel? How had I gone swimming and not brought anything to dry off with? Nothing about this made sense.

I wandered into the distance, my feet leading the way as my head was more confused than ever about where I was. I felt cold as I appeared to be passing through the white light that was surrounding the pool, almost what I imagine passing through a cloud would feel like.

"Honey, you shouldn't be here yet!" My father scolded, his arm going around my shoulders as he appeared at my side suddenly.

My brow furrowed as I blinked once, twice. I was now inside the beach house, being led from the pool into the kitchen by my dad. I began to apologise about dripping water into the house, when I realised I had changed clothes.

When did I do that?

I was now wearing a floral print dress, one that I was obsessed with when I was younger. When did I get it in a larger size? Maybe mum got it for me, I wonder where she was.

"Oh, she's not here, sweetie. It's just me." Dad announced, as if reading my mind. "Let's go on a walk. Okay?"

The walk to the beach seemed to be over in a matter of seconds, almost as if my brain had entirely skipped whatever memories I had formed on the way there. Looking at the large body of water in front of me filled me with instant dread though, a feeling I had never got before when coming to the beach.

I brushed the bad thought off, focusing on my dad beside me who was currently staring at the horizon. It was beautiful. The most perfect sunset - as if it was out of a fairytale.

It was strange though, normally a sunset like this drew a large crowd to the beach. Yet, there was nobody here. In fact, I hadn't seen a single person apart from my dad since I got out of the pool. Maybe I had hit my head in the pool and was hallucinating, because this entire thing was so strange.

"Honey,"

"Dad," I mimicked his tone, laughing slightly as he looked at me with worry. What had gotten into him?

"You need to go home." He stated simply, taking a seat on the sand as the water lapped at our feet.

"You asked me to come to the beach?" I laughed, sitting next to him. He really can't have been feeling well, he was acting so strangely.

"No, honey, I don't mean it like that... You do know where you are, don't you?"

"Yes, we're at the beach. Dad, are you okay? You aren't about to tell me something bad, are you? You're acting really strange."