Maxim approached, his usual lively energy barely dimmed by the late hour.
"Celix, what are you doing sitting here all alone?" Maxim asked, smiling. "Come join us. It'll be fun to hang out with everyone."
Celix gave a small, noncommittal nod. "Hmm…"
Without waiting for more resistance, Maxim threw a friendly arm over Celix's shoulder and guided him toward a nearby drink stall. The lights were warm, and laughter echoed all around them. Music floated in the air, mixing with the scent of saltwater and barbecue.
"Excuse me," Ren said to the vendor, stepping ahead. "One pineapple juice, please."
Once his drink was in hand, Ren turned back to his friends. "You guys want anything?"
"Two beers," Maxim replied quickly, without looking at Celix, already knowing he wouldn't say no.
Ren handed over the drinks, and the three of them found a spot near the open dance area where others were dancing with carefree energy. The night had come alive with movement music thumped, people laughed, and bonfire flames flickered in the distance.
Celix, however, sat facing the opposite direction. His beer was nearly untouched, the cold bottle resting limply in his hand. His gaze was fixed on the sea again, as if it held the answer to everything troubling him.
"Should I just stay here until the party ends?" he thought. "Maybe she'll come back… Maybe I'll see her one more time."
His mind drifted back to the fleeting moment the flash of her eyes, the way she turned and vanished. It wasn't just the mystery that haunted him it was the deep, strange sense of familiarity. Like he had known her from somewhere. Like she wasn't a stranger at all.
Ren, meanwhile, had spotted a group of girls and was already on the dance floor, moving to the beat, drink in hand. Maxim leaned against a post and laughed, cheering Ren on like always.
But none of it touched Celix. The music, the people, the lights they were all just noise.
The minutes turned to hours. Slowly, the crowd began to thin. One by one, groups drifted away, leaving behind laughter, footprints, and the occasional dropped flip-flop in the sand. The sky darkened further, stars twinkling like tiny watchful eyes above them.
It was 1:00 AM when Celix finally glanced at his phone. The screen glowed back at him, but he didn't care about the time. He was still watching. Still waiting.
Ren and Maxim, however, were well into their drinks. Ren, having lost track of how many glasses he'd downed, was stumbling through a drunken melody of some old pop song. Maxim, though more composed, had definitely had his fill. His eyes were heavy, and he swayed a bit as he stood.
"Celix," Maxim called, rubbing his eyes. "Come on. It's really late now."
Celix turned to them briefly, then back at the sea. His heart pulled in two directions. He knew she probably wasn't coming back. But something inside him hoped otherwise. Still, seeing Ren in that state brought him back to reality.
"You guys come over to my place tonight," he said at last. "Stay with me. Ren's not in a good condition to go home alone."
Maxim nodded. "Alright. I'll help him."
Ren, still singing and occasionally laughing at nothing, threw an arm around Maxim as they started walking. Celix followed behind, quiet as ever, but just before he left the beach entirely, he turned around one last time.
The waves rolled in and out, calm and steady. There was no sign of her. Just the sea and the moonlight and that lingering feeling he couldn't shake.
Back at Celix's house, he helped settle Ren onto the couch while Maxim dropped into a beanbag, exhausted but amused.
"Ren's gonna have a serious hangover tomorrow," Maxim muttered, pulling a throw pillow under his head.
Celix didn't respond. He poured himself a glass of water, then stood by the window, the sound of the ocean still echoing in his ears. The city felt distant from the coast, but the sea had a way of following him even when he wasn't near it.
"Why do I feel like I know her?" he asked himself silently. "And if she really is who I think she is… then what does that mean for me?"
There was no answer only the soft breathing of his sleeping friends, and the question that had carved itself deep into his chest.
Celix couldn't sleep that night.
He sat by the window long after both Ren and Maxim were snoring. The stars moved slowly across the sky, and every now and then, he glanced at the ocean's direction, as if expecting a shimmer, a voice, or even just a sign.
But there was nothing.
Still, he waited.
Because something told him… their story wasn't over yet.
Celix's POV :
A faint light shimmered at the edge of his vision as Celix spotted a familiar figure. "Mom?" he whispered, his voice trembling with hope. Without hesitation, he began running toward her, his footsteps quickening as his heart pounded in his chest.
"Mom! Wait!" he shouted, reaching out. But his mother only turned her face slightly, her expression calm yet distant. Her voice was gentle, yet filled with finality.
"I have to go now, Celix. It's time for me to leave."
"No! You can't go!" he cried, the desperation in his voice rising as he ran faster. "Please don't leave me!"
But the distance between them remained, no matter how much he pushed forward. His surroundings began to blur, and an eerie darkness slowly crept in, swallowing the edges of the dream. His feet grew heavier, his breath short. The air grew thick, damp. Then water. Cold, endless water began rising from the ground, covering his shoes, then his legs.
Panic shot through him. He tried to move, to keep running, but his body wouldn't listen. The darkness turned complete. His feet lost contact with the ground, and suddenly he was submerged sinking. Sinking deeper and deeper into an inky abyss.