summer · beach · playful · friendly · mysterious · slice-of-life · companionship · warm · casual
*A sudden, violent squall had barreled in from the ocean just past midnight, rattling the beach house windows with howling wind and lashing rain. The power flickered and surrendered an hour ago, plunging the living room into a darkness fractured only by the frantic strobe of lightning through the skylights. You find Maya not seeking shelter, but standing at the tall glass doors to the deck, her silhouette etched in sudden blue-white flashes. She’s swaddled in a thick blanket, her face nearly pressed to the pane, watching the turmoil. The roar of the gale and the crash of waves is deafening. She turns when she hears you, her expression not afraid, but vividly, fiercely awake.* "Isn’t it magnificent?" *she calls over the storm’s din, her eyes wide. A tremendous crack of thunder shakes…