It was one of those rare times where I was actually excited to do something completely new. New things were usually scary, but I knew this time would be different.

Today would be different because we were all going to the beach.

I'd never actually been to one before. I'd passed by a few in the past, but they never counted. A beach lay deep within my soul, but it didn't count either. Today would be my first real visit.

The only thing I was worried about was crowds, but the beach was practically empty. The sand burned my feet at first when I took off my sandals, but I slowly got used to it. It went from hot to toasty warm the longer I kept my feet in it.

It was the same way with the ocean, which went from freezing cold to nice and cool the longer I stayed in it.

The sun towered high above the beach when I decided to get out of the water. It was almost time to eat and I wanted to be dry and ready. I left the others behind, daydreaming about what kind of sandwiches were waiting inside the picnic basket.

I went to where our huge blanket lay, and there I dried off and sat with my knees drawn up and waited.

Not far off, Kid, Liz, and Patty were building an impressive-looking sandcastle. It had a moat around it, though I was sure the tide would never reach all the way here. Then I noticed the buckets of water around them and how they were starting to use them to fill up the moat. As I watched them, I heard someone call my name. "Hey, Chrona."

I turned my head to see Maka walking toward me, squeezing saltwater out of one of her pigtails. She stopped at the edge of the blanket and squeezed the other pigtail. Water dripped onto the sand.

She wore a powder-blue bikini that made me want to stare at the ground every time I saw it, but instead I wrapped my arms a little tighter around my knees and stared hard at her face.

She found a towel, picked it up, and began rubbing it over her arms. She looked at me, smiling. "I said, 'Hey, Chrona.'"

I flushed and felt a strong urge to cover my face with both hands. But I resisted and instead said to her, "Hi… Maka."

A little laugh slipped from her mouth as she swept the towel around one of her legs. "I wanted to show you something. Can you come with me for a minute?"

My arms loosened. I nodded, but then caught myself and stopped abruptly. I opened my mouth and said, "Yeah, sure."

The towel bent and wound around her other leg. Then she set it down and grabbed her sandals. I found my own, put them on, and headed off with her, curious to know what she was planning.

We walked side by side, away from the ocean, getting closer to the heart of the beach. There was nothing but sand all around us. The sound of the waves lapping at the shore grew faint.

"This place looks familiar, doesn't it?" Maka asked, her voice gentle and nostalgic.

"Yes," I said, a little sadly. I was thinking about the day she asked me to be her friend. Before she did, I had a beach of my own, only it was all dried up. There was only sand as far as the eye could see. It was an empty, lonely place until she came along.

Thinking about that day made me want to hold her hand. I glanced down and reached out to take it, but as soon as I tried, she suddenly stopped walking.

I wrapped my hand around my elbow instead.

This part of the beach didn't seem to have anything special, since all I could see was sand, some rocks, some driftwood, and out in the distance a seagull was preparing itself for takeoff. I wondered what she wanted to show me here.

Turning so that we were face to face, she clasped her hands together in front of her and said, "Okay, now… Close your eyes."

I rubbed my arm, feeling a bit nervous. I waited for a few seconds, my eyes finding reassurance in hers. Then I closed them.

I heard Maka move away from me, and my eyelids shook because I almost thought she was ditching me here. I concentrated hard, listening to her footsteps as they became more distant, but never faded completely. Then they were joined by a soft scratching sound.

I tried to ignore the heat as I waited, focusing instead on relaxing the stiffness in each shoulder and working my way down. I listened to the long, continuous scratching sound and wondered if Maka was doing what I thought she was doing. That sound was a little too familiar, and considering where we were, it was a lot like déjà vu. By the time the sound stopped, it still felt like the sun would make me melt, but at least I wasn't feeling so rigid anymore.

Maka approached, her footsteps drawing closer and stopping in front of me. "Okay, you can open them now."

I had to do it slowly, because if I took in the sight of that blue bikini too fast, I'd get tense all over again.

She stood with her arms crossed, looking proud of herself.

I looked out around us, at the sand, confirming my suspicions about what she'd done.

"You drew a circle," I said, turning my head, trying to see it all at once. We were standing right in the center of it, and I saw that it had to have been at least five times as big as the one I'd made myself so long ago.

Maka nodded, and her face clouded over. "You remember, don't you? Last time I erased the circle for you. But now I want you to do it yourself."

I looked at it again, wondering why she'd made it so big. It was a little unfair, so I decided to ask her about it out loud.

"So it'll give you more work, of course." Her face cracked into a grin.

All right then, I thought, shrugging a little. I'll play along.

But when I approached the circle's edge, I hesitated. Suddenly I really felt like I was back inside my own beach, in my own circle. I stared down, half-expecting to see my shadow staring back at me.

No shadow. Only sand. And the line. I lifted my foot and watched it hang in midair. It stayed just inches above the line, dangling. I couldn't bring myself to drop it. I moved it back instead, letting it rest beside the other foot again.

I knew Maka's eyes were watching me closely. She stood right behind me. I told myself I could do it but even with her there, it didn't help.

I turned hopelessly toward her. "This is hard," I confessed.

Her eyes softened. "Do you want some help?" she asked, unfolding her arms and offering her hand.

I was shocked at how quickly my own hand shot out to meet hers, as if thirsty for her touch, as if it had a mind of its own. It latched onto her hand like a leech and I was too stunned to even panic.

Maka blinked in surprise, but when she saw the look on my face, she must've figured that I hadn't meant to move so fast. She gave me a friendly smile and used her other hand to touch my shoulder. Instead of flinching, I felt my hold on her loosen. My breath didn't quicken at all, but remained calm and steady like normal.

Her fingers lingered on my shoulder for several moments before she withdrew them. She moved to stand beside me as I tried again. My foot floated above the line then, slowly, I set it down.

Although it was touching the ground now, I couldn't bring myself to move it. Hoping it'd do the job on its own didn't do much good, either. Maka gripped my hand a little tighter and looked at me. As I looked back at her, I remembered how easily she'd done it before, like there was nothing to it. If the suddenness of her messing with my circle without permission hadn't startled me back then, then the speed she used to erase all of it did. One minute it was there, the next it was gone, leaving me stranded.

At least, that's how it used to feel, but I wasn't stranded anymore. I was free to do what I liked, with no lines holding me back.

In that instant, I noticed my foot sliding back and forth across the sand. My mouth stretched into a smile because it wasn't too often I got to experience being in Maka's shoes—or sandals—if only for a while.

I looked down at the small hole I'd made in the circle. I took a step forward, sweeping my foot along. Maka followed next to me, staying right by my side and keeping her hand in mine.

The more we walked, the easier it got—and it was even kind of fun. It didn't feel like I was erasing my lifeline as I might've thought a long time ago, but instead I understood that I was getting rid of something I didn't need.

I began to kick at the line the way Maka had done so long ago, but sand got in between my toes so I stopped. I settled for wiping it away in smooth strokes, some short, some long.

We watched as the line disappeared bit by bit. Every now and then, Maka would look at me and ask if I remembered certain things that happened in the past, like my first day of class at the academy, or when I visited her place for the first time.

Talking about all those small, yet special events made me think of the line at my feet as a timeline. I imagined that I was erasing all the bad times, all the things that often turned my stomach or kept me up at night. The "bad times that happened before Maka" wouldn't bother me anymore once I finished erasing.

At last, we neared the last bit of circle left. I stopped and stared at it. Maka waited while I wondered about something.

Soon I made up my mind and turned to her. "I think I can handle the rest."

"Alright," she said, "if you're sure." She then loosened her fingers, disjoining them from mine.

There was a strange churning in my stomach that had nothing to do with hunger. When she let go, it was like learning to swim all by myself, without any help.

Just do what you've been doing, I told myself. I lifted my foot, knowing that she was right there with me.

And, unsurprisingly, it was easy. The final piece disappeared with one last swish and it only took a second.

I sighed, relieved to have that weight taken off my shoulders, even if the circle was just for pretend. I wanted to smile at Maka, but she wasn't at my side anymore.

Before I could wonder where she went, I felt her arms sliding around me. They wrapped around my middle, and the side of her head pressed against my back, resting there.

I stood frozen on the sand. She'd never hugged me from behind before, and it felt different from a normal, frontward one. Her warm cheek lay between my shoulders and her hair tickled the back of my neck. I moved my head, but I could only see part of her, which was disappointing.

Despite that, it was still nice to have her so close. I liked feeling the slow rhythm of her breath, the soft pressure of her hold, and I especially liked how snugly we seemed to fit. I looked down in front of me, finding where her hands were, and touched them.

"All gone," we whispered.