Funny thing about when a storm ends. The results of what comes after is always different. Sometimes it can just be a soggy, wet day where you would get mud on your shoes if you went outside. Other times the atmosphere would be so terribly foggy that it would be a frizzy nightmare for anyone with lots of hair. Or there would be times where the sun would come shining right out from the dark clouds, drying up everything wet, and maybe even creating a rainbow. The next atmosphere of the next day was very much like the third description I had given you. The wet ground was slowly drying up, there was very little humidity, and the sun was just shining as bright as ever.

In fact it was such a lovely day that Alastor decided to plan a little something special for Beth. To reward her for being so well behaved and not getting into any trouble this whole time they were on this vacation. Well at least as far as he knew, she had been behaving herself and not causing trouble. Anyway his reward for Beth was the three of them going down to the beach for a picnic and a day of doing beach themed activities. It took Beth completely by surprise because she knew how much Alastor feared the ocean but his gesture touched her greatly for the beach was one of her favorite places in the world and she always adored the idea of spending a day there with her brother.

For the trip they packed a picnic basket of food, several towels, three bottles of sunblock, Beth's goggles and snorkel, her digital camera, and a rainbow colored kite that Alastor had purchased from a local beach store. In matters of attire, Beth was the only one who wore a bathing suit, where as Alastor simply wore a white shirt and tan pants, and Charlie wore the peach sundress Niffty had given her.

"You're not going swimming today?" Alastor asked her puzzled.

"Ever since I've been here I've only spent my time at the beach in the water." She answered. "I want to see what fun can be had on the sand."

And that wasn't just a cover for Charlie to hide her tail. She really did want to see what the dry side of the beach was like and if it was as enjoyable as the sea which flowed so close to it.

As soon as they arrived, the very first thing Charlie did was take off her sandals and place her feet in the warm sand. She felt the sea breeze brush against her dress and hair, she listened to the steady rhythm of the waves as they gently rolled ashore, and breathed in the salty scent of the sea foam. The sensations helped her release all tension within her body and she became at peace. Many times she had watched humans walk or stand at the shore, seemingly doing nothing at first glance but now she knew exactly what they were doing and why. They were connecting with the atmosphere around them. Letting the beauty of it all sink in. It was an incredible experience for her. What she wouldn't give to share it with her family and for them to understand such pleasure.

Alastor quickly laid out a few towels and the three of them began to dine on their picnic lunch. It was venison club sandwiches and homemade chips, curtesy of Rosie, with lemonade and bottled water to drink. When lunch was finished they decided to burn off the calories by taking a walk along the shore and they happened upon a seashell that was in good shape, Beth would collect it. After that it had become very hot so Beth went to cool off in the water while Charlie and Alastor just sat under a shady area.

"I don't think I've ever seen any human being love the sea as much as her." Charlie commented as she watched Beth run in and out of the waves.

"I have." Alastor said. "Our mother was just the same. She loved the sea. She had many passions but her favorites were music and the sea. I guess you could say in matters of genetics and inheritance, it was split among me and my sister. Beth inherited her love of the sea and I inherited her love of music."

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You say your mother loved the sea and it's obvious your sister adores it but you're afraid of it. Why?"

Alastor looked away from Charlie and gazed upon the tides with an anxious expression.

"I wasn't always afraid of it. When I was very little, my parents and I used to love to play in the shallows and go sailing together. Funny thing, the sea played a big role in both of my parents's lives. My grandfather owned a very popular club by the coast where my mother served as his best singer while my father served in the navy. He was on leave and vacationing with his navy buddies when he heard my mother singing in the club one night. He was lured in like a sailor to a siren and my mother swore that when their eyes met there was this instant connection."

"Love at first sight?"

"Not exactly. My father believed it was love at first sight but my mother decided to be reserved until she knew for certain. You know what they say about navy men, faithful to their country but not so much to their lady friends. But as it turns out my father had eyes for no other woman except for my mother. She was the only woman he had ever shown in any interest in. As a matter of fact before she came along, all his navy buddies were sure that he was gay."

Charlie giggled.

"The sea may have brought them together but it was music that made their bond unbreakable. But my grandfather never approved of my father and when my mother still agreed to marry him with or without my grandfather's blessing, he disowned her. It broke her heart but my father's love healed that wound. He worshiped her. Treated her as a queen. Brought her here, to her own kingdom and built her, her own palace."

He pointed over to the Summer house.

"How romantic. What do you suppose made her so different from any other woman he had known before?" She asked.

"From what I remember him saying, he loved her because she wore her heart on her sleeve. That unlike him, she never hid her emotions and every song she sang, every dance step she took, she put all her feeling into it."

"I bet she was beautiful too."

"That goes without saying. I think between the two of us, Beth took the most after her. Beth gets her red hair, her Summer-like skin, and her dimples and nose all from her."

"But you must have some traits from her."

"People would say that I had her eyes and her smile."

"And your father?"

"Mother said that the older I grew, the more and more I looked just like him. His dark brown hair, his amber skin, some days it brought her to tears when I would remind her so much of him."

"How did he die?"

"As I said, my father was in the navy and I was five when he had to return to serve his country. He promised to be back at the end of the year but three months later a terrorist managed to sneak onboard and he set off a bomb on the ship my father was on. He and every man on board drowned that day. There were no survivors."

Charlie gave him sympathetic look.

"I can still remember the day we found out. I was in my room playing with the model boat he had made for me when I heard my mother scream like she had been stabbed in the heart. I went to see what was wrong, she was on the floor crying hysterically and at the front door there stood two men in uniform. One of them was my father's only remaining navy buddy, he took me out to get some lunch while the other officer stayed behind to comfort my mother and help her recompose herself. When we came back she was calm but still teary eyed, she then wrapped me up in a blanket and held me as she told me the news."

"I am so sorry. No child should have to lose a parent when they are so young like that."

"After that day I never wanted to go anywhere near the ocean again. I was terrified that I'd somehow drown like my father and then my mother would be left alone."

"Did she ever try to push you to get over that fear?"

"No. She was sure that someday I'd face it when I was ready but my stepfather on the other hand." He almost scowled. "He always called me a wimp and would always bring up my phobia and how I should just get over it. He told my mother it was to make me a man but I think he just wanted to torture me. One of the worst things he did was..."

"Was what?"

"Remember that accident Beth mentioned the other night? Well here's what happened. I was about eight years old and my stepfather had forced us on to a boat tour, and to make matters worse he threw me into the ocean."

"That's terrible! Why would he do that?"

"The man was evil incarnate that's why. Pretty sure he was trying to kill me."

"And you were under there for ten minutes right?"

"Yeah but when I was under water I could have sworn I saw a...Nevermind."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Come on tell me."

"No. You're gonna think I'm crazy. Everyone I ever told this to thought I was crazy."

"I won't. Trust me."

He smiled, believing her.

"I thought I saw a little girl with me."

"A little girl?"

"Yes she was..." He thought back as hard as he could. "She was my age I think and she was just smiling at me the whole time. I reached out to her, we held hands, and suddenly I wasn't afraid anymore. I felt safe."

A stunned look appeared on Charlie's face as she put the pieces together. Sixteen years ago she had taken her first glance at the surface world despite her father's rules and she had seen a small boy nervously looking over the strange floating thing that humans called a boat. He was the most adorable creature she had ever seen and she wanted so desperately to speak to him. Next thing she knew he had come falling into her world. At first she was delighted to have him come join her but then she had remembered that no human could visit her father's kingdom unless he was dead.

"No. He must not die." She had thought. "I don't care what Daddy says, he's too innocent."

So she moved closer to him and that allowed him to breathe underwater like she could. The way he smiled at her pleased her so that day and when he reached for her, she couldn't resist. She held him and gazed into those brown eyes. Brown eyes that she now realized belonged to Alastor.

"That was you." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." Alastor said having not heard her clearly.

"I mean maybe that was true. Maybe there was a little girl there. A little girl who saved you."

"No." He dismissed. "No I only imagined her. You can see all sorts of weird things when you're deprived of oxygen for too long. But she seemed so real."

"More real than you think." Charlie thought to herself.

She suddenly longed to tell him that he had not been hallucinating that day. That she was the one who had saved his life. But then she wondered, why did she care if he knew that she had saved him or not? Shouldn't she be relieved that he only thought of her presence as a mere trick of the mind? She should be relieved. But she wasn't.