Night Life {Watty Awards Finalist 2012}

Chapter 9

The night was slightly chilly, but it was cloudless, just the way I liked it. It was a perfect night to do photography.

I walked to the beach, my camera around my neck, my hands clasping it for further support. It was almost 3 in the morning and the sky was a dark midnight blue. I could clearly see the stars in the sky, twinkling far above my head like little diamonds in the sky. The ocean looked expansive. The waters rippled against the soft wind that was blowing. They were dark as well, mirroring the sky above them, capturing the twinkle of the stars in their depths.

I went to the far side of the beach, where I had never been before, walking in the direction of the rocky cliffs. The cliffs were tall and ragged, a burnt amber color in the daylight. Right now, though, they looked black like most other things around me.

Directly below the cliffs were large boulders protruding from the sand. There were rocks of all sizes: some that were so big they were taller than me and some that were so small they could be stepped on. In the day, I would always see people jumping around on the rocks, climbing them and sitting on them. No one dared cliff dive on this side. On the farther side of the cliffs, though, was just water. That was where I wanted to climb to.

Securing my camera around my neck, I grabbed a hold of a protruding rock and hoisted myself up. I planted my foot in a crook and then reached up to grab another rock. I continued this climb carefully and slowly until I reached the top of the cliff. Breathing deeply, I straightened up. And then I jumped, almost letting out a scream.

There was someone else on the cliff, too.

It was clearly a male; no female would have the build that the person did. He was tall and looked muscular from the back. He had a hood drawn up over his head and a black leather jacket that looked vaguely familiar...

"C-Caleb?" I blurted out. I clasped my hand over my mouth as the figure turned around. It was him.

"Nicole?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.

"What are you doing here?" we asked at the same time.

"Ummm...you first," I said, brushing my bangs over my forehead to cover my eyes slightly.

"I was just...sitting..." he replied slowly.

"Oh," was what I said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Umm...I was...going to...uhh...take some pictures," I said.

"At this hour?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's for a project. For my photography class," I lied.

"Your project is to take pictures in dark hours of the morning?" he asked.

"Yes," I said bluntly. He looked at me disbelievingly.

"Where's your brother?" I asked after a few awkward moments.

"Home. Asleep," he answered.

"That makes sense," I said lamely.

"Yeah..." he trailed off.

"Why are you out here so late?" I asked him.

"I couldn't sleep," he said with a shrug.

"So you came out here?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

We stood looking at each other silently again. We were both standing stiffly and awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. Part of me was telling me to just leave, but a different part kept me rooted to where I was standing.