7
In which Tohru builds something
Tohru sat in the sand, legs crossed. A castle was crumbling in front of her, and across from it she could see the boy, smiling gently as he packed sand to rebuild the western tower. The sand kept slipping through his fingers, however, and Tohru could see it was slow going.
"Can I help?" She asked, and the boy nodded solemnly.
They spent what felt like hours sitting there, building up the castle from wet and dry gobs of beach sand. The castle wasn't perfect—its towers tended to be lopsided and the bridge kept collapsing, but they had a nice moat carved out, and a strong foundation. The whole thing was beginning to take shape when Tohru noticed the tide.
"Look, tide's coming in," she said, sucking in her breath. The boy didn't pay attention. Tohru felt the goosebumps rise all over her skin, and she shook the boy's shoulder. "Listen to me, we have to leave here!"
"Plumberry, we haven't finished the castle yet. Ignore it."
But the waves were rising and getting closer each time, and Tohru couldn't ignore it. Even as she opened her mouth to speak, water surged past the sitting boy and swamped their sand castle. He merely sighed in disappointment. He seemed oblivious to Tohru's panicking, and that made it all the worse.
Oh god, oh god, she thought. Here it comes again. She backed away from the water, a hand covering her mouth to keep herself from screaming. A wave rose, and for one horrific moment seemed to hang suspended above the young man. Then it crashed, bouncing white foam everywhere and swallowing every trace of her companion and their creation.
Tohru flopped down on her knees on the beach and stared at the receding water. She couldn't cry; she'd witnessed this so many times she was almost numb to the site. But still her small frame shook, and she felt cold shock creeping through her body.
"It's always the same," she whimpered, digging one hand into the sand beside her. "Why does it always take him? Why can't it leave us alone?"
The tide was pulling back now, content with what it'd come for. A monster sated after a meal. She watched it recede, and trembled to her feet. She took a step forward, and opened her mouth to yell.
"Why do you always take him?" She gasped out. "Why can't you let him be happy!"
She took two more steps forward, then a third. With each step the waves seem to pull back a little more, roll a little less fully. Tohru gathered up all her courage and ran.