She had always been good at remembering things. Dealing with details was a part of the way her mind works.

Most people forgot details as time passed. They lost focus of the events of their life, and only remembered that important things, the events, and conflicts.

She was different.

She could rewind her mind and go back to a time when things were simpler. Sometimes she got lost in her daydreams, her eerie memories. She would escape to the past and wouldn't be found again until something pulled her out of it.

Maybe it was this constant callback to times long gone that led to her melancholy disposition.

She didn't know if the flashbacks were a good or a bad thing.

Usually they were bad. She would get stuck in a place she didn't even want to be, a memory she didn't want to relive, finishing high school, or her grandmother's funeral, or some other dastardly emotional journey she doesn't want to revisit.

Trapped in her room, she finds herself revisiting new years eve. Not the party. She couldn't handle the party yet. But the rest of her day.

It started the way that so many of her days start. Late. She didn't set an alarm. She never did.

She woke up at quarter past ten, wrapped in her soft sheets, on the far side of her queen sized waterbed.

She rolled over so she could see the sunlight streaming through the tall window by her bed.

A bird flew past and she yawned. The sunlight was warm on her skin, a comforting glow. She watched the outside for a while. Her apartment was by a train station, and from her penthouse room, she could see a train moving across the tracks, inching ever closer to the city skyscrapers on the horizon. A boat was on the river by her house, taking a leisurely cruise. She watched it all unfolding, in the light of a bright blue day. It would be a hot day. She could feel it. Perhaps she would get in her swimming costume and get the driver to take her out to the beach. The southern one, where the cliffs rose above the water, and she could stand atop them and look down from a distance at jagged rocks and overenthusiastic surfers.

She would have to get out of bed if she were to do that, and she didn't want to leave the comfort of the soft sheets.

Yet, reluctantly, she rose, dragging herself from the bed like a bear leaving hibernation.

She went to the kitchen first. Rummaged through the pantry, searching for something she wanted to eat. There was nothing. She knew she was hungry, but she didn't feel like eating anything. So she just pulled a protein bar from the cupboard and sat at the breakfast bar. She found herself staring at the artwork on the wall of her kitchen, an abstract glass plate of yellows and blues. She'd always thought of it as just that, blue and yellow colours, but that day, she could see something. A figure of a distorted eye. She stared at it, intrigued at this sudden new finding.

Then, once she'd taken the last bite of her breakfast, she stood and walked out to the living room, and the balcony. The moment she stepped outside, she could feel it. She knew she'd been right, and that it would be a hot day. She didn't wait in the heat, but rather shut the balcony door and grabbed her phone, which was on charge by the TV.

Hot day, she texted her driver, could you take me to the beach?

The response was almost instantaneous. He had probably been up for hours. Of course, he wrote, I am ready whenever you are.

Her driver lived an apartment at the bottom of the building, on his own. He was a kind, old man named Pete, who had been driving for a the Kellers since K was a little girl. He always drove with a picture of his deceased wife in the glovebox, and was never without a string bracelet on his wrist His own daughter had given it to him many many years ago, back when she was a little girl.

Some days, when K was feeling spaced out and faraway, she would stare at the faded string as he drove. Not for any particular reason, just because it was there, and she needed something to stare at.

K texted Pete to say that she would be down in ten minutes, and then put her phone down and went to go get dressed.

She felt good in that moment. Motivated, and content. She had a plan for the day, and didn't want to sit in the apartment all day doing nothing.

In her wardrobe, she pulled on a flowery bikini, gathered her hair up in a wooden clip, and slipped a summery white dress over the top. She felt cute. She felt happy.

After sliding on some white sandals, she grabbed her phone, a towel, and a bottle of sunscreen, then headed to the ground floor.

Pete was waiting for her at the road by the courtyard, wearing his usual white shirt and kaki shorts.

"How are you feeling today, Buttercup?" He asked her as she walked up.

She smiled at him. "Very well, thank you, Pete. Gee it's hot though, isn't it?"

It seemed to have risen by five degrees in the ten minutes between K going out onto the balcony and going down there. Pete nodded as he opened the passenger door for her. "It's gonna be crowded at the beach, I bet."

She mumbled her agreements as she climbed into the car. "Yeah, probably. But I don't mind. There'll be a heap of cute surfer boys to flirt with."

She laughed as Pete closed the door. He came around to the other side of the car and pulled out his keys. As he sat down in the drivers seat, he asked her, "So does that mean that the Luke thing is over and done with?"

K shrugged at this. "I honestly don't know. So, no I guess. He won't respond to my messages, he's somewhere in Europe, touring at the moment, so I don't know if he is even getting my messages. The rumours aren't going away, though. The other day he posted a picture on his Instagram of him with one of the backup dancers, and she looked about ready to bite his face off. I don't know what to think."

Pete nodded. "It'll be okay. I'm sure it will all work out in the end, just you wait."

K just nodded. She didn't feel like talking about him anymore, so as the car began to move, it fell into silence. She didn't mind. The sun was shining through her passenger window brightly, and something about its rays made her feel warm, and happy.

She never sat in the back. Her parents always preferred to sit away from the driver, they were disconnected to their staff. K was different though. She wanted to be friends with Pete. He was just a human being, after all, and she didn't see why she had to treat him just as a public service, especially when she spends so much time with him.

She watched the outside world as they drove to the beach, staring at kids out playing, and people working in their driveways or sitting in the front yard.

The trip was smooth, there was no traffic. No one wanted to be out on the road in such heat. Pete had the air con on full blast, and it was still warm in the car.

They crossed the bridge to the south, and the river was covered in boats out on the water, enjoying the sun.

"You know, I used to live down here." Pete said, as they left the bridge. "Sonja and I lived here for a while before we had Eliza. It was quieter back then. And cheaper. It was nice, for a while. We would go down to the water and go for picnics on Sundays, after church."

"I didn't know you were religious." K said, surprised.

Pete shrugged. "I'm not. But Sonja was, and she got me into it. I still believe in all that stuff, life after death, and jesus loving us and whatnot. I just don't go to church. Don't really need to, I s'pose."

K nodded. "I think that's sweet."

There was a moment of silence, then the old man asked her, "What about you? What do you think about death and everything?"

K shrugged. "Thats a hard question to answer, and it's one I don't really see the need to."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. You're only young. You don't have to think about death and life yet. Just enjoy it while it lasts."

The car fell into silence again, and stayed that way until they reached the beach. Pete didn't park the car, but rather told K to text him when she was ready to go anywhere else, or he would pick her up at lunchtime to take her home.

"You've got your parents function tonight, remember, and they are sending that stylist, Sonja, to get you fitted for a suitable dress this afternoon." He said, as she climbed out of the car. She nodded, and grabbed her phone and towel.

"Okay, I'll see you later then. Take care, Pete."

With that, she shut the door, and Pete pulled out and drove away. She'd been dropped off about midway down the beach, and when her feet hit the sand, she paused to look across the beach. It's a fairly long stretch of beach, reaching way out to the point on one end, and up to rock pools on the other. She was standing halfway between, so she had to decide which way to go. She looked out to the point. That way there were cars dotted along the sand, it was an all wheel spot, where cars could drive along the beach. She then looked the other way, where the beaches' high rise hotels and apartments were. There were more people down that end, and if she walked that way, she could go to the cliffs.

So, reaching a decision, she headed towards the rock pools, taking off her sandals and walking through the sand barefoot, the soft sea wind blowing through her hair and the sun shining down on her.

She felt elated. As she walked, she passed sunbathers, relaxed mums, and little kids building sandcastles. There was surf on the back break, and for a little while, she watched the surfers twist and spin on the waves.

Reaching the middle of the spot between the surfers and the swimming red and yellow flags, K set her stuff down, wrapping her phone in her towel. She then pulled her dress off and began to rub some sunscreen onto her tan skin.

She wouldn't necessarily burn if she didn't apply any. She would likely tan. But she had never liked the advertisements for skin cancer awareness, and had been instilled from a young age to be sun safe.

Once she was done applying sunscreen, she turned to the water, and looked out at the waves. She noticed a cute surfer coming out of the surf, holding a board, and wearing a killer smile. He was smiling at her. She couldn't help but blush. The surfer boy waved slightly and she waved back. Then, trying to stop the blushing in her cheeks, she headed to the waves to cool off.

Once she was about waist deep, she stopped, and let herself get carried over each wave like a buoy bobbing up and down. It was almost peaceful in the waves, despite the loud shouting and babble coming from the kids swimming around as well.

The rise and fall was comforting, like the rocking of a cradle.

She shut her eyes briefly, and let herself just feel the waves coming and going. After a few moments she opened them again, took a deep breath, and dove under.

That was where she found the true peace, a calm that encapsulated her, blue all around, the rise and fall of the waves the only thing she had anchoring to the fact that she even existed.

It was peaceful.

Until it wasn't.

Suddenly, she had the urge to breathe, and a fear swooped upon her chest in an instant, fear that she is alone in this vast expanse of blue and she could drown and no one would know.

She surfaced from the water gasping. The moment she was back in the sun, the feeling dissipated, but it didn't disappear completely. It sat, like a pebble, in the bottom of her chest.

She just tried to ignore it.

After a few minutes, she went back into shore. The waves had lost their charm.

On the beach again, she spread her towel out and laid down to tan. Resting on the beach towel, she felt relaxed again. Back to content, and she felt relieved at that.

In the warm sun, the bright heat, she closed her eyes, and let herself listen to the sounds around her. Seagulls calling. Children laughing and squealing. The ever present crashing of waves.

Then, a different sound. A boy's voice.

"Hey."

K opened her eyes again, wearily, and found herself looking up at a shaggy brown haired boy with a soft smile. It was the surfer from before, that she had smiled at her when she first put her things down.

"Hey." She replied, squinting up at him slightly, and smiling back.

"I saw you in the waves before, and I just wanted to tell you how chill you looked. You seemed so in your element. I couldn't help but notice." Perhaps it was just a trick of the sun, but he almost seemed to be blushing.

She smiled at him "Yeah, I really love the waves. I used to come down here with my parents all the time when I was little."

He nodded. "I could tell you liked it. Do you surf at all?"

She shook her head, sitting up. "Unfortunately not, I never got to learn."

He looked ecstatic over this. "Really? You should totally get lessons. I bet you'd love it. How far away do you live?"

She smiled, and gestured with her hand in the vague direction of the point. "I'm over in the inner west, so not too far. You from around here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm further in, though. I catch the train here, pretty often, to surf. Hey listen, if you're ever around, I could give you a lesson or two. Nothing official, I'm no coach, but I could at least help you get up on a board."

K grinned at him. "That sounds awesome, can I get your number?"

"Oh, right, yeah. Do you have a phone?" He said, almost nervously.

"Yeah, just here." She picked up her phone, squinted at it in the harsh light and navigated to the call app. "Here." She said, and handed it to him.

He also squinted and struggled to navigate in the bright sun, but a couple of seconds later he'd finished, and handed the phone back to K.

"Quincey Jackson, huh? Cute name. Guess it matches the face" She said, grinning back up at him. He blushed. "I'm K."

"K as in...?" He asked, but she shrugged.

"Brooke. But I prefer K." She told him, not wiping the smile from her face.

"Well, then it's nice to meet you, K. I'll let you get back to your napping, now." Quincey said, with a lighthearted smirk. "Text me when you want to hook that lesson up."

She could hear the underlying meaning in those words, and she grinned at him. "Will do."

As the cute boy walked away, K smiled and shut her eyes again, feeling light, and fluffy.

She could feel the soft sand underneath her beach towel.

Yet, all of a sudden, it wasn't sand anymore. It was a bed, and sheets. And rather than the crashing of the waves, a faint beep was all she could hear.

She opened her eyes and it all came crashing back.