The Way We Were Before

p r o l o g u e - once upon a time

FIVE YEARS EARLIER

Once, there was an ocean. This ocean brought joy to a family every summer. And on the shore, past the sand that the children played in, past the shrubs and past the lighthouse, stood a house.

A house that was glowing. Glowing a vibrant red, flashing with orange. Usually, the colours seemed beautiful, something that could light up the night sky. But red was also associated with danger, and danger was in their midst.

On the shore stood a mother, watching her son splashing in the water. They weren't aware of the danger lurking nearby. They weren't aware that their lives were going to change forever.

Further down the beach, stood an older girl. The older girl watched the midnight waves as they lapped at her feet. She didn't know danger was imminent and that her younger sister would soon be under her protection.

The mother smelt the smoke first. It travelled with the wind, swiping under her nose, and she frowned. She did not think anything of it at first, so she did not rush home to check the house.

The older girl crept over to the mother and smiled. They turned to the youngest children, watching them splash each other as the waves crashed against the shore.

The older girl watched her sister and the boy with utter joy. She always wished for a relationship like that. She wished she could be so close to someone that they knew every single detail of her life.

"We should be heading back soon," the mother said, turning toward the older girl.

The older girl nodded, calling out to her sister first. "Luna! Easton! We need to get going!"

The children turned towards the shore to watch the mother and the older girl, but then ignored them, splashing each other instead. They never wanted this summer to end. They did not know that this would be their last summer spent here. Their last summer spent together at all.

"They're ignoring us," the older girl beamed. "As per usual, I suppose."

"Yes," the mother said, breathing in a heavy waft of smoke. She coughed when it caught in her lungs and she spun around, but could only see the faint distant twirl of something rising into the night sky. She was too far away to notice the embers and ash.

"Someone's having a party," the older girl laughed, covering her mouth as she coughed. "Don't people realise the dangers of lighting fires in summer?"

"I suppose they do, but everyone thinks they are invincible."

The ocean wiped away the scent of smoke with its sea breeze. The older girl called out to the children again but they dove under a wave, ignoring the sheer stinging pain of the cold as it washed their skin.

The older girl heard an odd sound. A sound that was out of place. It was too distant to know exactly what it could be, but it sounded like a siren, or maybe an alarm.

Past the lighthouse, stood a house. Or, more accurately, the burning embers and the swirling smoke. The distant sound of a smoke alarm blared, the siren of a fire engine could be heard too. But the waves on the beach were louder. The waves were able to hide the horrors.

"Can you hear that, Lillian?" the older girl asked, turning to face her. "Is that a siren? Out here? In the middle of nowhere?"

Lillian sat up again, pushing her palms into the sand to support her weight. "I suppose it is," she said with a frown, trying to strain her aging ears to hear the pitch perfectly. "But it could be coming from anywhere. A lot more people have started to build their homes around here. It's starting to become quite the tourist destination."