It had been two years; nothing had changed. That was the problem, sameness was boring. It was always harder to walk in sand than any other substance in the world. It was hot and there was the distant sound of waves crashing. Clad in his summer uniform, Ienzo was ready to watch for whatever dangers lie ahead at sea.

Today in particular Ienzo just happened to be watching. A lifeguard's job wasn't as glamorous as he thought it would be, but it was summer and his mother refused to give him any money. Resorting to this was the only thing he could do. Ienzo never really had to save someone, no matter how great the situation he was never needed.

Ienzo looked down; the gulls were raiding someone's picnic. It was a shame what humans were doing to their natural environment. Wait what was he thinking? A horde of them had attacked him two years prior. It made him shiver thinking about it. Even now it still gave him nightmares.

The waves were calm, deep blue in color, in fact so blue that they almost looked black. This was save for the white foam that that rose and fell with the tide. Depending on how you looked at it, the foam could be either your last defense or your savior. It was then that Ienzo felt like doing the unthinkable, closing his eyes for a second.

When at last he opened his eyes, the scenery had changed. A nasty wind was blowing and the sky was a cloudy gray. He could hear nearby the other lifeguards, yelling and their whistles blowing. Obviously he was not needed or else they would have called for –

There was a shrill scream and Ienzo looked out to see where it was coming from. Out in the water there was a tiny spot waving around. No one saw her but him and naturally he jumped in to the rescue. "It's too dangerous!" He could hear his co-workers called to him. Were they serious, this would be fun.

The cool darkness touched his feet and soon the light was nowhere to be found. He swam, keeping his eye on the target. He had reached her and held on to her tight. She calmed down on impulse but then tensed up again. A huge wave was coming for them. He and the girl tried to move as close to the shore as possible but the wave had taken them.

It was dark and instead of drowning there was no water here but yet it felt like he could not breathe. He had no name and he was forgetting everything. Then out of seemingly out of nowhere there was a voice:

Such a brave heart.

A strong heart yet filled with darkness. He will be quite useful to us.

The voice laughed and then another voice spoke up:

He's smart, extremely smart. It would be a shame to waste such talent.

There was a long moment of silence and then another voice spoke up:

But not now. His heart is so unsettled. There will be time. Oh so much time.

Ienzo had not noticed this time that his eyes were closed but when he opened them he was on the beach; familiar face standing over him.

"That was crazy, you alright?" one of the faces said.

Ienzo sat up. "The girl where's the" – he started but was interrupted by another of the faces.

"She's gone; we couldn't save her."

At this point Ienzo could do nothing but scream. This was way too much for a boy of his age to handle. For the first time in a while he cried. He wanted to be perfect, to make everything right even if it meant his death ultimately in the end.

It was cold. But still there was no fresh powder. There was just the snow from the last snowstorm. Even, for once was having company. There was the sprawling land and hills he had on his property that all the other children longed to play on. He had told his parents that he would go out only after he had finished his chores or as he called it, "cleaning up the mess his three year old sister made." Almost the whole school was coming, not to mention an array of girlfriends he had dumped over the past few years. Oh this was going to be fun.

Even could hear the distant giggling of the children coming, prepared for the hilly terrain. There were make-shift sleds, tubes, and all sorts of items, most he knew not what they were. Even liked hiding and he wanted to make his friends work to find him. He could hear in the distance his mother calling "Even, your friends have arrived." After that of course came the squeal of children came all yelling his name at the same time.

Even was actually lying flat on his stomach in the middle of the family's frozen lake. The thick ice felt good beneath him and it was supportive. He heard footsteps coming toward him and then a hand from nowhere reached out.

"I've found you! Now come join us. It will be fun." The voice said. Even then looked up at the purple-haired girl reaching out. Even got up, grabbed her hand and followed her to the highest hill where she and a few boys were sledding.

The hilly landscape looked different from how it did last winter. In fact the hill seemed to have gotten bigger. Even though this was Even's property, he rarely played on it for he had not the same desires as other children his age. But today he was trying something new. These games were nothing short of boring but they were inventive. It was amazing what young minds could come up with in such a short time.

He watched as a group of boys mounted the sled and slid down the hill screaming. It must have been exhilarating. Even was still reluctant to try and waited three more times before they were finally able to get him to mount the sled. It felt funny. So uncomfortably funny that it was kind of annoying, and then in an instant he was off. At first it wasn't so bad and then it sped up. It was quite a thrilling moment until Even remembered he didn't know how to steer. Instead of landing safely at the end, the terrain changed and Even ended up flying off … literally. It was fine while he was flying but once he hit the bottom; everything went dark.

This was a different type of darkness. It was not like clicking off a light switch it was a darkness that filled every part of you, robbing you of your memory. It slowly filled the gaps, taking over who and what you are. There was no use fighting it for it had totally engulfed you. Even stayed in this state of darkness for what seemed like hours. Then there was a brightness, something far away that he longed to touch. But something else was pulling him away from his goal; pulling him slowly back to life.

He felt wet and cold all over. He had no clue who these hands and faces were around him. The only thing he knew was that he had to have a piece of that light. Whatever it was.