Porcelain

Icy wind slashed at her face and the rain danced its evil dance upon her head as she tried to get her bearings on the isolated beach. Her delicate thin fingers ran through her mess of red hair. Nothing felt right anymore, nothing felt the same. Everything in Laila’s life was changing.

The wind howled; the cold nipping at her nose and burning her eyes as she stared out at the vastness of the sea in front of her. Her bare toes sunk deep in the sand, making her feel anchored down. Laila closed her eyes, feeling the wintry clutches around her. Mascara ran down her Bambi eyes. The world seemed to slip out from under her, as if leaving her behind in the freezing cold.
A round full moon shone down on the night, though the light barely broke a path through the fog surrounding her. Laila dropped the bottle of ale and rubbed her forehead. And as if her senses had alerted her of something; Laila turned around in the sand to see a figure was standing at the edge of the beach where the sand met the wet grass.

Shock coursed through every bone in her body.

Stepping back, chilled water surrounded her foot. “Who’s there?” She called out. Laila’s sore throat croaked on every word. She began to rub her arms, the friction barely keeping her warm. There was no answer as Laila stared back at the stranger. Perhaps it was only a shadow, she thought. She took a indulging gulp of ale.

And then it moved. It was coming closer, the moonlight glowing over the strangers head. White hair glistened back like its own light. He kept moving. Laila stepped back again. Both feet were swimming in water. Now she was numb, there was no feeling left in her legs. She grasped the sides of her head, “Go away!” She cried out. No words could stop the unwanted visitor as he grew closer.

She hurried and grasped the glass bottle in her hand. The ale splashing inside. She was ready to fight. Then thunder rolled across the sky. It shook her bones as the frigid water consumed her feet and burnt her delicate skin. Lightening struck somewhere across the boundless sea. Light circled around them. And as the light faded and her eyes adjusted, she saw the stranger was no longer there.

She had imagined the whole thing, she told herself. It was the only explanation. Nothing else made sense. Laila turned back to the tides, as she did her eyes closed and dropped the bottle. Folding her arms behind her head a crackle in the sky overwhelmed her. She felt a rush of air. A heavy sound came from behind her and she listened as it grew near. Suddenly rain was about her. Drenching her from the head down. She couldn't make out what were tears and what was rain.
If only there was a cure to a broken past, she thought.