It was a clear sunny day and the waves lapped onto the shore of the crowded summer beach as children chased after it, only to flee from the crystal clear liquid as it turned in the opposite direction. A mile north of this tourist-filled scene were a family of four playing a similar game, only on a completely private strip of sand that didn't stretch for more than the length of a truck. Laughter echoed between the two cliff sides that enclosed such a minuscule part of the coast, which only made the place more homey. They had been there for nearly six hours, but the delights that the beach offered them never seemed to tire.
The father chuckled, his laugh distinctive as its deep tone was exaggerated in the female company, at his daughters and wife who had pinned him down and were now burying him in the sand, making him look like a mermaid. He looked tired, but in a very good way, almost as if he was having too much fun to notice. The mother on the other hand had a broad smile and appeared to be having the time of her life. Though, looking closer you could catch the darkened skin under her eyes that makeup had failed to cover, the worry lines over her face, the prominence of her rib cage. However, her two daughters seemed oblivious to the fact and her husband was either in denial or was as just as clueless as the girls.
Soon the antics of the family quietened and they lay, stretched out, on a very large blanket."Ella, take a look at this." He indicated to the middle of the blanket, where his two daughters lay curled up and breathing deeply, sound asleep.
"Aww, Sam they look adorable!" There the parents watched over their snoozing children as the sun began to edge below the far off horizon, decorating the sky with pinks, oranges, reds and purples, before finally settling to a midnight blue.
"It's always beautiful here. That's why I love Fort Ryan more than all of the places in the world. This beach never gets affected by the tides, so we could lie here for the rest of our lives and never have to move."
The pair locked gazes for a moment in agreement before they looked at the small people between them.
"Shall we wake them?" Ella nodded in response and began to softly whisper to them.
"Lois. Lucy. It's time to go now, it's dark. You need to wake up angels." She placed a hand on her eldest daughter's shoulder, who stirred before opening her eyes.
"Hey Mom." her voice came small, young and tired. "Hey Dad." She sat sleepily, then her mother took her hand and helped her into a standing position. Sam took Lucy and carried her back to the fort, his wife and eldest daughter close behind him. The family was a perfect picture: happy, loving and whole. However, this was the happiness before the string of events that tore this family to pieces, which started early the next morning when Lois awoke...