Something tore the serenity of the peaceful beach apart. The sound of gagging and choking ripped through the air of warm, summer night.
It was a man. Tall and muscular, yet he seemed frail. He kneeled, knee deep in the water. He tried to stand up, but only managed to take three brittle steps, and fell back into the water. His solid body seemed to be able to carry the entire weight of the world, yet he cannot hold himself up.
He tried to get up once more, but he cannot suppress the wave of fatigue that soon flooded inside him, and a small, gentle tide knocked him off his feet.
He fell back into the water once again. All he could feel is the sinking of his heavy body into the moist, tender sand. He embraced the feeling. At last, he stops struggling.
The night is silent, once again.
* * *
¡§Latest news report¡K¡¨
Hearing the screaming whistle, Ryuichi hurried to the stove and turned off the gas.
¡§¡Kthe thirty-eight year old female, Fujita Ayako, who was found yesterday evening, unconscious and bearing third degree burns in the back alley of the T.K. Convenience store, has passed away this morning¡K¡¨
Juggling the steaming kettle in his hands, Ryuichi scurried back to his desk. He quickly poured some boiling water into his instant noodle cup, and sealed the cup in a fluid motion. He has had one too many instant noodles lately. He turned his attention back to the TV:
¡§¡Kthis is the third case of the ¡§fire assault¡¨ this month. The two previous victims, Takase Makoto and Shibada Haruko, both suffering from third degree burns, are currently in coma¡K¡¨
Ryuichi unpacked the chopstick that came with his instant noodles, uncovered the cup and started eating. After a few bites, he puts down the noodle and sighed. He is really tired of eating this crap. He has no choice, though. Rookies take the night shifts, it¡¦s the unsaid rule. There aren¡¦t many restaurants open this late anyway, and he couldn¡¦t leave his post. There had been many complaints filed by the nearby civilians, protesting that there had been too many young people partying down at the beach at night, disturbing their rest. Some of us actually have to work the next morning, you know, a local truck driver complained.
The locals never had much respect for the police officers. Ryuichi sighed again; this is no where near his dream. His dream, his ambition and his eagerness had all been worn down by the harsh reality. He¡¦s no elite of the police force; he doesn¡¦t drive a car, he simply patrols around town in a run-down bike that even a ten-year old despises and spits at.
¡§¡Ksince the victims have all been stripped of their valuables, the police force suspect armed robbery¡K¡¨
The police force. That obviously doesn¡¦t include him. Ryuichi sighed one last time and stretched. He isn¡¦t in the mood for food anymore.
The door opened. A chubby, middle-aged man walked in.
¡§Hey, Ryuichi, you¡¦re off,¡¨ the man put on his cap as he walked in. He paused, and sniffed the air, ¡§Hmm, something smells nice. What¡¦re you eating?¡¨
Ryuichi gestured towards his unfinished noodles and shrugged, ¡§Feel free to have the rest.¡¨
He grabbed his bag and jacket and headed out the door as the man buried his face in Ryuichi¡¦s leftovers.
* * *
Ryuichi steered his bike slowly along the road, close to the beach. He enjoyed the warm, summer night breeze brushing against his face. The gentle draft seemed to carry away all the stress and pressure that built up in Ryuichi from his whole day in that small, stuffy office.
Suddenly, a high pitch shriek cut through the night air.
Ryuichi slammed onto his breaks, bringing his bicycle to an abrupt stop. The scream seemed to come from the beach. He dropped his bicycle and dashed towards the direction of the scream.
Two standing figures came into view. The source of the scream was a young woman, half undressed, in tears, quivering with fear and shock. A topless, skinny young man was standing a few feet away from her. He was walking towards the woman.
The situation seemed clear enough to Ryuichi, as he immediately whipped a punch across the young man¡¦s face. The young man grunted and fell into the sand, blood trickling from his mouth.
¡§What the hell are you doing?!¡¨ the young man shouted, as he got back up on his feet and prepared to return the punch.
Ryuichi pulled his gun out of the holster, ¡§Freeze! Freeze now!¡¨ he yelled, his sweaty, shaking hands barely holding the pistol still.
The young man froze in his tracks. ¡§¡K A cop?¡¨ he looked confused.
The situation came to a dead standstill.
Sweat dribbled on Ryuichi face, and slowly into his eyes. He could barely see the man now, let along aiming at him. For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
¡§¡K Officer¡K officer... please,¡¨ the young woman broken the silence. Ryuichi turned towards her. She was apparently in shock, but Ryuichi realized that it was not from the young man. She pointed towards the sea. She was pointing at something.
Ryuichi lowered his gun. The young man, catching the moment, ran to the girl. The girl threw herself into him, and the two embraced each other tightly.
Ryuichi walked towards the sea, into the direction the girl was pointing. He could see him now. It was a man, half submerged, face up in the water. His black hair, immersed in the waves, shifted about like a million tiny snakes. He seemed lifeless.
Dark, deep, wounds of smolder ran across his bare chest. Under the starlight, the water droplets on his crimson, right-handed glove looked ominously like blood.
It was a man. Tall and muscular, yet he seemed frail. He kneeled, knee deep in the water. He tried to stand up, but only managed to take three brittle steps, and fell back into the water. His solid body seemed to be able to carry the entire weight of the world, yet he cannot hold himself up.
He tried to get up once more, but he cannot suppress the wave of fatigue that soon flooded inside him, and a small, gentle tide knocked him off his feet.
He fell back into the water once again. All he could feel is the sinking of his heavy body into the moist, tender sand. He embraced the feeling. At last, he stops struggling.
The night is silent, once again.
* * *
¡§Latest news report¡K¡¨
Hearing the screaming whistle, Ryuichi hurried to the stove and turned off the gas.
¡§¡Kthe thirty-eight year old female, Fujita Ayako, who was found yesterday evening, unconscious and bearing third degree burns in the back alley of the T.K. Convenience store, has passed away this morning¡K¡¨
Juggling the steaming kettle in his hands, Ryuichi scurried back to his desk. He quickly poured some boiling water into his instant noodle cup, and sealed the cup in a fluid motion. He has had one too many instant noodles lately. He turned his attention back to the TV:
¡§¡Kthis is the third case of the ¡§fire assault¡¨ this month. The two previous victims, Takase Makoto and Shibada Haruko, both suffering from third degree burns, are currently in coma¡K¡¨
Ryuichi unpacked the chopstick that came with his instant noodles, uncovered the cup and started eating. After a few bites, he puts down the noodle and sighed. He is really tired of eating this crap. He has no choice, though. Rookies take the night shifts, it¡¦s the unsaid rule. There aren¡¦t many restaurants open this late anyway, and he couldn¡¦t leave his post. There had been many complaints filed by the nearby civilians, protesting that there had been too many young people partying down at the beach at night, disturbing their rest. Some of us actually have to work the next morning, you know, a local truck driver complained.
The locals never had much respect for the police officers. Ryuichi sighed again; this is no where near his dream. His dream, his ambition and his eagerness had all been worn down by the harsh reality. He¡¦s no elite of the police force; he doesn¡¦t drive a car, he simply patrols around town in a run-down bike that even a ten-year old despises and spits at.
¡§¡Ksince the victims have all been stripped of their valuables, the police force suspect armed robbery¡K¡¨
The police force. That obviously doesn¡¦t include him. Ryuichi sighed one last time and stretched. He isn¡¦t in the mood for food anymore.
The door opened. A chubby, middle-aged man walked in.
¡§Hey, Ryuichi, you¡¦re off,¡¨ the man put on his cap as he walked in. He paused, and sniffed the air, ¡§Hmm, something smells nice. What¡¦re you eating?¡¨
Ryuichi gestured towards his unfinished noodles and shrugged, ¡§Feel free to have the rest.¡¨
He grabbed his bag and jacket and headed out the door as the man buried his face in Ryuichi¡¦s leftovers.
* * *
Ryuichi steered his bike slowly along the road, close to the beach. He enjoyed the warm, summer night breeze brushing against his face. The gentle draft seemed to carry away all the stress and pressure that built up in Ryuichi from his whole day in that small, stuffy office.
Suddenly, a high pitch shriek cut through the night air.
Ryuichi slammed onto his breaks, bringing his bicycle to an abrupt stop. The scream seemed to come from the beach. He dropped his bicycle and dashed towards the direction of the scream.
Two standing figures came into view. The source of the scream was a young woman, half undressed, in tears, quivering with fear and shock. A topless, skinny young man was standing a few feet away from her. He was walking towards the woman.
The situation seemed clear enough to Ryuichi, as he immediately whipped a punch across the young man¡¦s face. The young man grunted and fell into the sand, blood trickling from his mouth.
¡§What the hell are you doing?!¡¨ the young man shouted, as he got back up on his feet and prepared to return the punch.
Ryuichi pulled his gun out of the holster, ¡§Freeze! Freeze now!¡¨ he yelled, his sweaty, shaking hands barely holding the pistol still.
The young man froze in his tracks. ¡§¡K A cop?¡¨ he looked confused.
The situation came to a dead standstill.
Sweat dribbled on Ryuichi face, and slowly into his eyes. He could barely see the man now, let along aiming at him. For a few seconds, nobody said anything.
¡§¡K Officer¡K officer... please,¡¨ the young woman broken the silence. Ryuichi turned towards her. She was apparently in shock, but Ryuichi realized that it was not from the young man. She pointed towards the sea. She was pointing at something.
Ryuichi lowered his gun. The young man, catching the moment, ran to the girl. The girl threw herself into him, and the two embraced each other tightly.
Ryuichi walked towards the sea, into the direction the girl was pointing. He could see him now. It was a man, half submerged, face up in the water. His black hair, immersed in the waves, shifted about like a million tiny snakes. He seemed lifeless.
Dark, deep, wounds of smolder ran across his bare chest. Under the starlight, the water droplets on his crimson, right-handed glove looked ominously like blood.