"...Auggie..." She shook him lightly. "...Auggie..." And again. "...Auggie!"
"Hmnh!" He twitched and sat up straight, inhaling deeply. "I'm up. What is it? What's wrong?" Annie giggled and smoothed his hair.
"We're here."
The salt air assaulted his senses, and he could hear the rustling of winds through tall grass over the slightly more distant thunder of waves breaking upon land.
"You brought me to the beach?" He asked, as she led him away from the car. She squeezed his hand and waited nervously, trying to judge his reaction, but his face betrayed nothing.
"I, uh, I wanted to do something with you that you could enjoy just as much as I could, if not more, and I've always found that the beach was more of a place to feel and listen than to see. Let me have your shoes." He obediently toed off his loafers, and a smile broke out across his face as his feet sank slightly into the loose sand.
"I can't tell you how long it's been since I've gotten to do this," he said as he wiggled his toes around, letting the tiny rocks roll over and around his feet. "Thank you, Annie."
"I figured I owed you one. Probably more than one, as many times as you've covered for me at the office." The relief was evident in her voice, and her words took on a teasing lilt as she relaxed.
"You owe me nothing." He rolled up his pants, slipped his hand into hers, and together they set off for the water's edge.
They took their time exploring the beach in the fresh morning air. Auggie reveled in the feeling of the water washing around his ankles, the sand between his toes, and the sun on his face, and Annie searched for a few interesting seashells to take back to her nieces. It was just past lunchtime when he heard a noise that caught his attention, thundering from somewhere beyond the seagulls and ocean tides.
"Annie... are those... horses?" She turned to look, and saw five of the island's famous wild horses cantering down the shore towards them.
"Yes! Oh, Auggie, they're beautiful," she sighed.
"Describe them to me." She hesitated for a second, not wanting to ruin the perfect day by rubbing in the fact that he couldn't see the same sight she could, but he looked honestly curious.
"Four of them are chestnut—three of which have white blazes on their faces, and the fifth... uh... the fifth is coming this way, actually. Auggie, don't move." Annie watched as the fifth horse, an almost purely white mare, broke away from its small herd, and trotted straight towards Auggie. She stopped only a few feet away, and seemed to size him up.
"...Annie."
"Shh. She's just looking at you."
A few moments later, the mare snorted, and Auggie slowly extended his hand out toward the sound. The mare gingerly approached him, stretching out her nose so that only the soft tip grazed his fingers. Once she seemed satisfied that he wasn't a threat, she stepped forward once more, and Annie stood, bewildered, as the horse allowed the blind man to run his hands down her, feeling the height of her back, the length of her mane, and the shape of her ears, all without flinching.
Then, the mare seemed to have had enough. She nudged Auggie's head with her nose, letting out a breath that slightly mussed his hair, and took a step back before galloping off to rejoin the other four horses.
The pair stood, unmoving, as Auggie patted his hair flat again.
"Like I said, the ladies love a blind man," he said softly, breaking the magical silence. Annie laughed and swatted him on the shoulder.
"Alright, Casanova, come on. Let's go lay claim to a campsite."
The sun had set in a dazzling array of reds, pinks, and purples, and the crickets and cicadas had begun their nightly chirping. Annie, feeling sun-soaked and relaxed, stretched out on a beach towel and stared up at the endless expanse of stars above them, sinking into the peace of the night.
A green light swept across her, and was soon followed by her best friend. Auggie sat down, put his cane in his pocket, and gently nudged her.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"Keep your penny, you probably already know what I'm thinking. You almost always do." Only quiet followed, and she eventually fell for the interrogation tactic, compelled to fill the silence. "I'm just wondering what I would have done, living a normal life like everyone else I've seen on the beach today. Families out for a getaway with their kids, people birdwatching, people playing in the water; they don't have to lie to everyone around them, pretending to be someone they're not, day after day. I mean," she said quickly, "don't get me wrong, I don't regret joining the agency, but I just... wonder... what my life could have been. You know?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I know." He moved to lie beside her on the blanket, unseeing eyes turned toward the night sky. "I wonder all the time what would have happened if I'd left that damned dog alone. I..."
Suddenly, she gasped, and sat up straight.
"Annie? What's wrong?" Auggie said, sitting up and feeling for her hand.
"A shooting star," she whispered. "I've never seen one before." He heard her turn to face him, and he mirrored her movement, bringing them face-to-face. "Make a wish."
"You saw it, not me. It's your wish."
"I want you to have it. Now, do it. I don't know if there is a time limit on these things, and it would be a shame to waste it."
He took a deep breath, and reached one hand out, finding her shoulder. Slowly, he moved his hand up to cup her face, and then up to feel her hairline, and then down to tangle in her hair at the nape of her neck.
His thumb traced her ear as he said, quietly, "I wish I could see you. For just one day, Annie, I wish I could see you."
His heartbeat pounded in his ears as he pulled her closer, touching his forehead to hers, and listening to her shallow breathing. Butterflies raged in his stomach when he felt her small hands at the sides of his face, and he couldn't control himself any longer when he heard her softly breathe his name—he closed the small distance between them, and caught her lips in a searing kiss.
He had always heard people describe moments like this as time-stopping, gravity-altering, and occasionally life-changing, but he had never truly understood what they meant until the moment he kissed Annie Walker. Every one of his working senses was in overdrive, and he could have sworn he felt the earth shift under them.
Encouraged by the way she was returning his kisses (and holding onto him like her life depended on it), he slipped a hand around her back and gently laid her down on the towel, pressing his body into hers.
The minutes flew by, the couple oblivious to everything around them, until finally Auggie pulled away, laid back beside Annie, and pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin and allowing her to wrap her arms around him. There was so much he wanted to say to her, but he didn't dare speak, lest he break the spell that had enveloped them. He waited, and when she didn't make a move to say anything either, he let out the breath he'd been holding, closed his eyes, and together they drifted off to sleep under the stars.
Auggie woke to warm breath on his face and the gentle pressure of something soft against his cheek.
"Annie…" he whispered, but when he opened his eyes, his heart stopped.
He was looking directly into the face of a large, white horse. His eyes hurt, and everything seemed excessively bright, but once he began to adjust to the glare, he knew that this was the same horse he had touched the previous afternoon.
The mare bobbed her head, grunted softly, turned, and cantered away.
And Auggie watched her go.
He watched her hooves kick up sand with every step, watched her mane blow in the wind, watched her muscles ripple under her skin.
And he would never admit it if anyone asked him later, but at that moment, Auggie Anderson quietly began to cry.