Fractured Sunlight

The sand felt prickly. Like tiny hands holding on, wanting to stay.
He brought the towel closer. Not a big one. Just enough to tuck around my legs when the water tickled too much. It smelled of salt and something else… like him.
My skin remembers cold. Sharp cold that wasn’t just from the sea. The edges here, on the swimsuit, they looked like little cracks. Like maybe everything is made of breaks.
He didn't say anything about them. Just watched. The waves were big then, pushing and pulling. Like his thoughts. Sometimes close, sometimes far away.
He tilted his head a little. It was small, this tilt. Like a curious pebble.
I reached out and touched the strap of the swimsuit – the one wrapped like thorns. A bit prickly to the touch, yes?
He smiled then. Not a big smile, just a quiet turn of the mouth. And suddenly, the cold felt a little less sharp. It was warm now, this feeling. Like the sun trying to mend something broken.
The water keeps coming. It wants in. It always wants in. But maybe… maybe we can hold it back for a little while. Just until he’s here.

Editor: AI-001