Golden rays of light poured through the lavender clouds of Twilight Town. The everlasting and ever still sun brought both peace and sadness to the hearts of the residents of the town. The morning twilight was always the most beautiful. Allan had been staring at it since he had awakened in his bedroom; something about it captivated him. It felt like part of his heart; an unnoticed power sleeping within him.
"Allan!" He jumped at the voice that broke his daydream. "Let's go, Allan! We're going to the beach today, remember?" Allan yawned with his mouth as wide as it would go,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I'm coming Aleks." He climbed out of his bedroom on the second floor. He turned and grabbed the ledge, hung for a second, and dropped. Ouch!" he cringed when his feet hit the ground.
"Why do you do that?" Aleks asked critically.
"You know, just trying to make life a little more adventurous…!" Allan chuckled awkwardly.
"Allan… you're such a dork."
"Shut up!" Allan slugged him in the arm.
Allan and Aleks had been friends since they were kids. They were both young adults now, and were still found together. They planned to go to the beach with some friends. The beach was locally known for its salty pretzels and sweet, juicy watermelon. They walked down the street on to Main Street.
"The others are going to meet us at the beach. They're already on their way," Aleks notified Allan. He replied with a quiet,
"Yeah…" and scratched his upper lip." You got the munny?" Allan inquired.
"Of course. What? Did you think we could get in for free?" Allan defended himself from Aleks' sarcasm,
"Well I was just checking!"
They arrived at the train station; "Uh, two tickets please." Allan said to the unseen teller behind a black window. A silent exchange of munny and tickets was made. There was always a train available in Twilight Town. Allan and Aleks walked in the first one out to the beach and a sliding hydraulic door closed behind them. The wait was unbearable. Allan turned his view to the window's view of twilight as he returned to his daydream; a girl kept visiting his thoughts. "Today... I promised myself… today..."
The train finally came to a screeching stop that brought a slight jerk of recoil to alert the passengers that their destination was reached. Allan stretched his arms out above his head as he yawned in response to his hour-long ride. They waited their turn to leave the train. It was crowded. Just what they expected, but not what they wanted. Then again, it was the last day of summer vacation after all.
"Finally, we're at the beach!" Allan exclaimed as he and Aleks stepped off of the train, peering over the heads of the crowd to get a small view of the ocean. They set out on a "quest" to find their friends lost in the crowd. Yet as they took their first step they heard a voice from behind them.
"Hey! What took you guys so long?" Allan and Aleks turned around to see a familiar face,
"Hey Jordon, sorry we're late. The train was slow!" Aleks commented on the dreadfully long ride over. Jordon was another friend of Allan's. He wore a gray t-shirt and held a blindingly brilliant blue surfboard.
"Hey, Jordon, where's Lily?" Allan asked wondering what Jordon was doing alone. "You said you'd be here with her."
"She's down at the shore. At least, I think she's down at the shore."
"But where is she exactly?"
"I don't know; somewhere? Wait… are you…?" Jordon looked at Allan's face and saw it turn red. "Yeah, I thought so." Jordon said with a big grin. Allan's face turned redder as he hid it in his hands briefly.
"Shut up!" he said laughing in embarrassment. Allan chuckled, cleared his throat, and let out a deep sigh. "I seriously have to ask her before I get any worse." he said to himself. Jordon shook his head as he watched Allan slump over in humiliation.
"Look, we both know you've had a crush on her for a year already. It's alright."
"Yeah, she's been gone almost all summer. When you see her are you going to ask her out? Or are you going to wimp out again?" Aleks asked in anticipation. Allan gave them an awkward smile,
"Uh...I don't know..." He cringed at his answer.
"Don't worry man. We'll back you up," Jordon said as the three walked to the beach.
"Really?"
"Sure Allan. We'll see what we can do to get you guys alone together."
Allan smiled. "Thanks guys!" Aleks and Jordon both nodded their heads toward Allan, smiling back. After about fifteen minutes of walking and discussing the best set-up for Allan, they finally arrived at the shore.
"Woo! Surf's up!" Jordon hollered as he saw the huge waves crashing on the sand. Allan glanced around the beach. The rocky cliffs towering over his edge of the beach seemed a bit ominous, but that's why he liked this spot. He saw many people surfing, making sandcastles, sun bathing, and the like; ordinary beach activities. But he couldn't find Lily.
"Hey, Aleks, I'm going to check the snackbar for Lily." Aleks replied with a
"'Okay. Jordon and I will stay here."
Allan began his trek across the sand and through oceans of beach goers. The twilight made his eyes squint as he stared at it again. Allan felt a bit awkward looking in every direction to find her. Once he had reached the snackbar his heart started to race and his muscles tightened in hopes of locating her. He checked every seat and every angle of the building, but alas, he did not find her. His body loosened. He gave a long, deep, quiet sigh and looked toward the ground. As soon as he was about to turn around for the shore again, he heard a voice,
"Allan?" His heart jumped in his throat. He filled his lungs with fresh air and looked up. He saw a girl in a red summer dress staring at him with a slightly puzzled look on her face. One of her arms was holding a small purse while the other shaded her eyes from what sunlight there was. Her long brown hair flowed in the wind in rhythm with her dress.
"Lily?" She smiled and lightly ran toward him.
"It is you, Allan! I missed you!"
"I, uh... missed you t-too, Lily," Allan stuttered, trying to think straight. Lily put her hand to her mouth and giggled.
Allan and Lily grew up together. They are rarely seen apart. Recently though, Allan had become attracted to Lily. Now everything he did or said around her was in efforts to impress her. Yet nothing seemed to come out as such.
"So, how've you been?" Lily asked.
"Not too bad. Would've been better if you were here though..." Allan said briefly glancing at his feet, "How have you been?"
"Oh, it was alright at my grandmother's. It would have been a lot better if you were there though!" Lily smiled at Allan. He grinned but had to turn away to hide his embarrassment.
"So you found her!" Jordon came running up to the snackbar.
"Yeah, I did," Allan was both relieved of being unstuck from his awkward situation and also a bit disappointed of losing time alone with Lily. "Hey, Jordon, how've you been?"
"Just great my lady!" he said jokingly, "But some of us have been just dying for you to come back!" Jordon shifted his head in Allan's direction. Allan just stood there and took it, trying to stop the blood from rushing to his face. He walked toward a stool at the snackbar and sat down as Jordon and Lily quickly caught up. His eyes began to wander until they met with a small poster on the wall:
The 7th Annual "End of Summer" Struggle Tournament
Try your luck in a fierce tournament of swordplay! No lethality cap!
Orichalcum Cup (1st Place) gets 100,000 munny!
Mythril Cup (2nd Place) gets 50,000 munny!
Crystal Cup (3rd Place) gets 25,000 munny!
SIGN UP TODAY!
(Must be 18 or older to apply)
(Sign-up forms are located behind the Twilight Beach Snackbar)
"Convenient..." Allan thought. He glanced behind him. Lily and Jordon were still talking, Aleks had shown up too. He got up and quickly went around the building to see a small setup where two others were signing up. Allan waited his turn, constantly peeking over his shoulder to make sure no one saw him; especially Lily. When he got to the front of the line he wrote his name down as fast as he could and took off. He lightly ran in an obvious sneaking manner. As he arrived at the corner, Lily came whirling around it, almost running into him.
"Lily!" Allan froze.
"Allan, what are you doing back there? We were looking for you."
"I was, uh, doing... something, uh..." Lily popped her head over his shoulder. She caught sight of the sign.
"Struggle Tournament...? Allan... did you...?" He was caught,
"Yes..." Allan sighed. "Lily, I signed up for the Struggle Tournament. I didn't want you to worry..."
"I would have worried later anyway! I always watch Aleks compete every year! Don't you think I would have noticed if you were competing?" Lily was flustered.
"Lily, I'm sorry. I've always wanted to compete and..." Lily put her arms around him.
"I know you have, but... Will you be okay? People have been seriously injured competing. I'm just worried that something might happen to you."
Allan was trembling. Lily was hugging him and not letting go. He slowly placed his hands on her shoulders and she looked up into his eyes,
"Nothing's going to happen, I promise," He put his arms around her.
"Hey, Lily, did you find...?" Jordon came around the corner and paused as he saw Allan and Lily together, they let go of each other instantly. "I guess you did find him!" Jordon tried to act unsurprised, but couldn't help smiling. "Anyway Lily, I'm going to go look for Aleks."
"'Kay," Lily replied as she looked back at Allan, smiled, laughed through her nose and started to walk back. Allan was on an emotional high,
"Lily, wait,"
"Hm?" She looked back at him.
"Follow me," Allan grabbed her hand, and briskly started walking toward the cliff side that towered over the beach.
"Allan, what's this about?" She questioned.
"I want to show you something. Come on!"
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see!" He tightened his grip on Lily's hand and started running up the beach side leading to the top of a small cliff.
The sand was untouched; still smooth and flat. It elevated to an oblique slant that reached a conclusion quickly with the eyes, slowly with the feet. Allan and Lily raced up the half mountain, grabbing the ground for balance on occasion until they reached the top, laughing all the way. The top was as flat as the ground below and just as bare. Facing toward the ocean the view of the twilight was amazing, but the real beauty was held in the direction from which they came. They could see the eternal birth of night as the stars quietly revealed themselves over the backside of town. The wind seemed to rush from them. With their backs to the sun, Allan and Lily sat staring at the sparkling sky, both supporting their weight on their hands, legs out front.
"This place is beautiful... Allan... when'd you find this place?" Allan smiled when the wind hit his face as he closed his eyes,
"Just this summer, I came here when I was lonely..." He breathed in the breeze, "I thought of you most of the time I was here. I only thought it right that I should bring you here when you came back." Lily looked at Allan. Allan looked back and sighed. "You mean a lot to me Lily... I'm glad that your back home."
"Allan, why are you so serious all of a sudden?
"Because, Lily, I've been wanted to tell you something…"
"What is it Allan?"
"Lily… I… I…"
Lily looked into his eyes, "Yes?
"I…"
Then something caught his eye: a small blue light in the sky, right above town. It distracted him for a minute, but he shook it off.
"You were saying, Allan?" Allan focused on Lily again. He grabbed up both of Lily's hand in his own,
"Lily, I-"
A loud roaring sound interrupted both of them this time. They both looked up at the sky to find a large black object hurling down toward the surface.
"What is that?" Allan wondered. Lily became concerned.
"Allan, it looks like it's coming towards us." Allan stood up and helped Lily up. He wore a more serious expression on his face,
"I don't think so. But it will hit something..." It grew larger and larger, closing in on the two.
"Maybe, we should get down from here," Lily's voice was getting more agitated.
"No, I think we should," It came closer. "Yeah, I think we should get out of here!"
As they began to run, the rate of the object's enlargement increased. Allan could identify what it was now. A giant vessel of some sort. It was about to hit the backside of the cliff. "Wait, Lily, stop," Allan put the back of his arm across her chest to prevent her from going any farther. He surveyed the situation for a spit second and yelled "It's going to land at the base! Run back!" He grabbed and yanked Lily's arm and pulled her back up the mountain. It was too late. The ship firmly slammed into the back of the cliff. The impact caused Allan and Lily to be launched into the air and off the cliff. Lily clutched for Allan but they were separated in midair.
"Allan!" Lily screamed. Allan held out his hand for her in vein,
"Lily!" He had flipped upside down. He looked up toward the ocean and realized he would hit it. He shut his eyes, gritted his teeth, and braced himself. As he crashed into the water, he lost consciousness.
