It's the Start of the End of Us

The sound of the ocean waves rolling gave me a sense of peace, as I sketched. There was nothing better than the sand between my toes, the salty cool smell of the ocean filled my lungs. The breeze slightly tousled my long ginger locks.

I was taking a break from painting, and just enjoying the sun. It was warm out, but the breeze made it just right. And being right next to the water never hurt either. It was usually pretty quiet here, not too many people really came to this beach.

I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I grew up right next to the ocean in an old train car that my parents converted into a little house. They built on to it to make it big enough for the three of us. Just a stone’s throw from the water, but not too far away from town. Just the perfect spot for an artist, or at least for me.

When I turned twenty my parents decided to move out and left me the house. I just had to pay them two-hundred dollars a month for rent. It was a pretty sweet set up as far as I was concerned. Just me and Loki, my little black cat.

I had been roughly sketching Loki playing in the sand, chasing butterflies, and stalking a crab. Nothing too exciting, but cute none the less.

I closed my sketchbook and set it beside me in the warm sand. I took my glasses off and set them on top of the book. I took a deep breath as I laid back in the soothing sand. I could feel the sun gently bake my skin. I closed my eyes and soaked everything in.

It wasn’t long before I was pounced on, then covered in kitty kisses. I couldn’t help but giggle at Loki when I opened my eyes. He was nose to nose with me, head slightly cocked to the side. I'd raised him from a kitten, Loki was my baby. And the closest thing I ever really wanted to have to a baby. I found the little goof ball eating out of our compost pile. I brought him in, and we've been together ever sense.

"What do you want?" I scratched behind his little ears.

Loki closed his eyes and purred, I guess that’s what he wanted. He laid down and made himself comfortable on my chest, “what am I going to do with you?”

A few minutes passed and the faint sound of an instrument filled our ears. Loki’s head popped up, green eyes wide, ears twitching and alert. I simply sat up and gazed down the beach.

There was a young man walking barefoot with a ukulele. He was shirtless, exposing his very thin and very tattooed torso, not that it was a bad thing. He was wearing tight blue jeans, and I could see his white shirt tucked into the back of his belt. His light brown shaggy hair just fell in front of his eyes. He was very visually interesting to say the least.

He continued to strum his ukulele and sing, which I could now hear that he was close enough. Another thing to add to my list of observations was; he has a wonderful voice. Something about this man just made me want to draw.

I grabbed my sketchbook, flipped to an untouched page, and started to sketch the stranger. He luckily stopped to light a cigarette, giving me the opportunity to get a better look at his face.

As he stuck his lighter back in his pocket he looked up at me, making eye contact for a brief second. I felt my stomach flip, I had been spotted. This was potentially an awkward situation that I wanted no part in. I was naturally socially awkward. I kept my eyes on my sketch book, hoping he would over look me and continue on his way.

I could hear the sand sift under his feet as he began to walk once again. Loki twitched his tail beside me, where I had set him when I sat up. I looked up, just over the top of my book. There were the mans feet, on one I now saw a small peace sign was tattooed.

I looked up at his face, “hello?”

He smiled, two metal rings on the right side of his lip moving as he did, “hi… mind if I join you?”

Did I mind? I supposed not, so long as I could manage to keep my drawing away from him, at least until it was done. I shrugged and patted the sand beside me, “go for it.”

He did so, then extended his tattooed hand to me, “I’m Chris by the way.”

“Kat,” I took his hand and briefly shook it, then reached down and pet my baby, “and this handsome devil is Loki.”

Chris’ already bright smile got wider. He took Loki’s little paw with a finger and shook it, “nice to meet you sir.”

I smiled and started to draw again, carefully tilting my book slightly so my drawing was shielded from his view. He began picking at his ukulele once again, humming softly, only stopping to blow out smoke. Occasionally making smoke rings.

“This is a nice spot you found here,” he smiled over at me.

I chuckled, “well, after living here my whole life, I’ve kinda got all the good spots scoped out.”

“So you live close to here?”

I turned and pointed over to my house, “right over there.”

“Oh ho ho,” he looked impressed, “what a spot.”

“Thanks,” I was proud of my home, there was no doubt about that. I’d worked very hard to make it my own after my parents moved out, “how about you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around.”

He sent me a sly smile, “here, there, everywhere… depends on how I’m feeling.”

I couldn’t help but smile. What a strange man, but so interesting at the same time. He had this air about him that I was just drawing inspiration from. It just felt light around him. Like I could trust him with everything about me, even though I had just met him. And it didn’t hurt that he was fairly good looking.

He once again started to strum and hum, as I finished up my drawing. It wasn’t half bad.

“So…” I began, drawing Chris’s attention. He looked over at me, eyebrows raised, head tilted slightly to the side, “want to see what I’ve been working on?”

He grinned and nodded, “I’d love to.”

I silently handed him the sketchbook, and picked up Loki, who had fallen asleep beside me. I nervously pet him, gauging Chris’ reaction.

The look on his face was priceless, pure shock. His breath visibly caught in his throat. I couldn’t help but smile, which had to be a good reaction. He looked up at me, then down at the page again. He let out a breath.

“This is… this is wonderful!” he smiled genuinely.

“I’m glad you like it. I was worried that you might find it a little weird that I drew you,” I looked shyly down at Loki.

He chuckled, “weird is wonderful. I’m sure I’m not the most conventional person you’ve ever seen on your beach, am I?”

I thought for a moment, “I suppose not.”

“There you go,” he closed the book, then opened it at the beginning, “do you mind if I look through?”

I shook my head, no. For some reason I really wanted him to look through it, I wanted to know what he thought of everything. I valued his opinion because he seemed honest; his face told me most of what he thought.

He was certainly one of the most interesting people I had met on my beach. And I hoped I’d get the chance to know him better.