[Summer 2014] The End of Summer

Amidst the blazing sun, across the burning sand, and in front of the vast, roaring ocean stands the back of a figure I knew all too well. Her long, black hair dance with the cool breeze and the strings of her solid black bikini sway in tandem. She turns around to face my direction and waves in an attempt rush me.

'That's a pretty bold swimsuit for Alice,' I think to myself as I wave back to tell her to go on. I begin to wonder how the strings of the bikini could ever hold their form against the currents of water and the constant movement and grinding against skin, but I cast away the thought quickly. I didn't need blood rushing around so soon.

After several minutes, I arrive at a place with a couple umbrellas and several beach chairs laid out. Nick, Chris, and Reyna, friends I'd known for far too long, were already there. It seems they'd just gotten here as they were unloading their bags. My arrival is met with a wave of friendly greetings and banter as we unload our bags. As usual, my undressing is met with laughter and teasing, but I know they mean no harm; besides, I do admit that I'm the scrawniest person I know.

Immediately after we finish putting on sunblock, Nick and Reyna dash towards the ocean. I swear that those two are far too compatible; it's a surprise that they haven’t gotten together yet.

Chris grabs a beer and nonchalantly lounges on one of the beach chairs. Unsurprised at his alcoholic tendencies, I decide to take one as well. He raises his eyebrow questioning me wordlessly and we lock in a gaze. It didn't last more than a second, but that was all it took for the two of us to communicate. He gives me smirk filled with not only the playful arrogance that made up his character, but also with a sympathy and understanding of a friend that's been there since the very beginning. Then, he turns back to gaze at the beach landscape that was slowly filling up and takes a sip of his beer. His doesn't say a word, and I take the seat next to him and take a gulp of my own.

Alice stands motionless looking out at the beach. She'd been silent since Nick and Reyna left. I call out to her and I ask if she wants a beer, but she doesn't respond. I call out a second time a bit louder, and she reacts this time. I repeat the question, and for a moment she stands there silently. She stares at me, or maybe she is staring at nothing. She seems hollow and fragile, and her silence is not the same silence that came from Chris. Her silence is sad, and she is struggling to break through it. So, I help her; I open a can and give her a smile as I reach out to hand it to her. She smiles back, and all her radiance seems to have flowed back into her as she takes the seat next to mine.

The three of us sit back and look out towards the ocean. We clearly spot Nick and Reyna who have somehow obtained a beach ball and a floating ring and were blissfully playing in the water. The water had to be freezing though as it was still pretty early in the morning, but they knew just like the three of us knew. Nothing lasts forever.

We'd all been together since childhood, dating all the way back into primary school. Reyna and Nick were neighbors, but the rest of us met one another at school. We don't know what really brought us together, but we did know that we were always together ever since then. We were a typhoon of ridiculous ambitions. When we wanted something done, we did it together and we always came up on top. We formed sports clubs and and made a chess club. We entered writing contests and science fairs. We skipped classes to set off fireworks during class for someone's birthday, which we almost got expelled for. Then, the year after, we filled the student council positions in landslide votes.

Once high school ended, we knew we had to part ways though. Reyna was set on a career as a biochemical technician, Nick - a professor in biology, Chris - an economist, Alice - a robotics engineer, and I was going to be a cardiologist. We had the drive, the passion, and the grades to back it up. And thus, we separated as we entered into university. Our bonds grew thin as did our distance with one another. We barely kept in contact as we got busier. We didn't even bother to call each other on birthdays; it simply didn't have any meaning the way we were. However, we made a promise. We promised that ten years after we leave for university that we would come back at the end of summer to share our stories. We promised to share our success and sadness, to announce the achievement of our ambitions, to remind us that we would never be separated.

I'm sure that Nick and Reyna were catching up with each other as they were playing. Everyone in a 500 mile radius knew that they were going to get together; it was just going to take some time. Chris, Alice, and I sat in silence for a long time, but Alice eventually breaks it herself and we begin catching up. Chris had gotten a girlfriend and was working under someone in Wall Street. Alice already had her own laboratory and was researching and developing artificial intelligence. I was in medical school, and would be done within the year. None of us were ones to drink back in the days, but it seems at least the three of us had been through enough to reach for a beer or two.

Nick and Reyna join us after exhausting themselves and we all catch up with one another over lunch that Alice made. We all chat as if we were still in high school, as if the distance and time that separated us never existed. I was happy and I'm sure everyone else was as well; it had been years since I laughed and played so hard. At the same time though, I'm sure everyone was feeling the same hollow feeling I was.

The day goes by as we cycle between us eating, drinking, and playing, and eventually it starts to get dark. The sun crawls its way down towards the horizon painting the sky a vivid array of orange, yellow, blue and purple. The border between night and day becomes more apparent as the stars begin to appear opposite from the sun that was touching the ocean.

We all stare at the sunset. It was as beautiful as it was blinding. It hurt to look at and it made me squint. It felt like the sun was burning my eyes and in response my eyes begin to water from the pain. Soon enough, it leaks down the side of my face, but I don't bother to wipe it. I have to maintain composure because admitting that a sunset was painful to watch would be laughable, or so I thought. I hear someone sniff, and I look to see everyone awkwardly having their heads turned every which way.

I smile a cracked, solemn, forced smile and announce to everyone, "Summer is over."

One by one, each at their own pace, they turn to me. Their sadness is repressed even through their tears, and their silence shouts at me. They look to me for comfort; they look to me for an answer. They look for a way to turn back time; they look for a way to make up all the years we missed with one another. I don't have any of their answers, so I repeat once, but this time I shout with all the might, and sadness, and desire, and loneliness, and love that I'd been holding in for ten years,

"I said summer is over!"

I'm sure I must've ripped a bit of my vocal cord as I felt my voice crack at the very end. I probably caught the attention of plenty that were still at the beach, but I didn't care. I could feel the floodgates being pounded in my eyes, but I hold back for just another moment and I speak to everyone once more,

"But we'll be back. We'll never be separated. Five years, ten years, twenty years, it doesn't matter. This summer might be over, but we will never end."

I open my mouth to say more, but unbeknownst to me, the floodgates that barred my tears were long gone. I stutter and I look for something to say. Something more conclusive, something to bring it all together, but I can't. I kneel down on the sand in dejection as watch my tears melt into the sand. I wish I could do something, anything. Everyone looked to me for an answer and I had nothing for them.

Then, I feel the soft, warm touch of skin in an embrace followed by the cracked, but soothing voice of Alice, "You've done enough… And you're right; we'll be back for sure."

I feel the thump and thud of everyone slamming into each other to form one massive pile on top of me and I feel more at ease than I've ever felt in my life. After a moment, I shake the center of the group hug and everyone breaks apart. As I open my eyes, the first thing I see is the very last bit of the sun disappearing into the horizon. The yellow of the sky rapidly disappears, and the night sky takes over encompassing the world in a dark blanket illuminated only with stars and the moon.

With resolve and a clear voice, I say for a third and final time,

"Summer is over."

---

After a dozen of drafts, many edits, and a great number of transformations I have produced something that was not nearly what I had in mind when I started, but I'm content with the final form that it's taken for the most part. Feel free to point out errors and give commentary. I often miss a lot of my own mistakes.

It seems I may have been a BIT late, but hopefully it gets accepted.

Length: 1679 words including title.

Very well written, xnine. I don't know if this is a reflection on your own life or experiences, but it is pretty convincing if it isn't. I love the descriptions leading our senses through the picturesque image that played this beach scene. You were always good at that kind of description and this submission shows that much. I don't know what the other revisions looked like, but I can see why you're proud of this one. Splendidly done.

Here are the fixes I found. Not too many, only in the beginning:

No attempt to read my take on high's Halloween entry?

On topic, I understood it much better than Lost Warmth. Some young man lamenting that the summer is over from the looks of it. After all, I can picture a summer holiday better than a battle ravaged hellhole. Will go into detail later. Wish it could be a longer entry or a proper story since there is no word limit then again, it is unfair for me to demand one seeing that I don't write stories.

I looked at it, but xnine's was easier to read for the moment and didn't require re-reading a Halloween event entry to properly understand a Summer event entry, but I could say the same for you, I'm afraid.

I can somehow understand this, a kind of reunion with old friends. still i find it hard to believe that the groups of people this bright actually exist. maybe i find myself not to be all that bright and haven't really associated myself with people all that bright in order to make myself relate thus far.

well done though, it brought about a feeling of nostalgia for me. it reminds me that I haven't been on contact with my old friends for a really long time. i also wondered what will become of them.

as for me, i guess i have changed a lot since the past years. maybe me and my old friends probably have nothing in common anymore, and never been close enough to keep contact, but if I could somehow met them along the way, I'd probably just listen to their ventures in life while just talking the least bit possible since I've mostly been staying put--nothing much to tell. I'd like to listen to their experiences, somewhat.

oh well :D

Everyone could probably relate a bit to slowly losing a friend to time and distance. I'm no exception. The actual scene is far from anything I've experienced, but the themes of loss and friendship are all too familiar, as I'm sure many are familiar with. With a chain of rather solemn instrumentals playing in the background, combined with some reminiscing, this story was born.

Many thanks for the edits. I shall leave the original intact for a while longer before editing it in.



Good to hear it's easier to read than my previous work. As for wishing it was longer... well in some versions it was, but it always felt like the increased length diluted the story. Then again, that could be attributed to my inability as a writer. Perhaps I will revise this story in the distant future!

Edit:


Thanks High! I'm glad it could bring about some nostalgia. One of the driving forces to writing this was that I was sure people could relate in one way or another. It's always rather interesting to think of what old friends would be up to.

It's nice. Very somber.

I have to ask about the part where they're crying. It's a pretty sad moment, but all five them? I would have made their reactions a little bit different from each other. That's not to say I don't think they should all be sad. I just think they should all react to that sadness in their own way. If they aren't all crying, that's the impression I got from the way it's worded.

Errors and other stuff. Most of them are tense related. You switch back and forth a lot between present and past when you should probably stick to just one. I've taken the opportunity to mark the verbs in past tense that should be changed.

You're right. As I imagine it, not all of them experience and display their sadness in the same way (as they generally shouldn't). I'm... not quite sure why I didn't do a better job here, so I appreciate the criticism. It's quite helpful. Seriously, I'll probably be thinking about how to utilize it from now on.



I would blame my many revisions, but I've been rather bad with tenses for some time and it's a work in progress as I struggle to master it. Many thanks d!

The difficulty seems to me to stem from our desire to write a story from a particular character's point-of-view but often forgetting our places as author and narrator of the story. Often, this results in passive tense switching. You should commit to one tense, but it's alright on occasion when speaking in retrospect from a character's views. Sometimes tenses change or words are added to reflect the character's thoughts more than formal writing dictates. I could tell this from a few choice words you decided to use, such as "We clearly spot Nick and Reyna who have somehow obtained a beach ball and a floating ring and were blissfully playing in the water." As d pointed out with the first, these words are unnecessary filler, but they also give the sentences a flavor of the focal character's unique attitude. The only issue with this is that you openly build a wall separating his thoughts from the sentences themselves when you had him think in apostrophe/quotation marks with 'That's a pretty bold swimsuit for Alice.' It's not really an issue, per se, but it reinforces the separation between the sentences describing the scene passively from his point of view and his actual thoughts. That can be a good thing if you want to commit to formal writing and speak passively from the position of a narrator, but the story is in first person, so there's some sense that they go hand-in-hand.

In short, there's a lot of things to consider when writing in this perspective and tense, and that is why d highlighted them to bring them to your attention instead of red-marking them. It might not be wrong or bad, but it's good to think about and use with purpose. Much luck to you.