CHAPTER ONE

"The sun is feeling quite nice today Lisa", I say to my sister as we walk along the sand, she hums in response, "and the water looks so fresh, how about a swim?", "You go, I'm going to enjoy the sun for a bit first", I reply as I start setting down the towels.Lisa takes off her tunic to reveal her self produced specialised swimming tunic, it was split down between the leg and sewn to fit the legs comfortably and she saved alot to be able to buy the dye to make it purple, she also made one for me in blue and I removed my tunic before I perched myself on my towel. I grab my book out and begin reading from the page I left off of, I could see Lisa at the corner of my eye testing the water before walking in and submerging herself upto her shoulders.

As I lay belly down, I listen to calming crashing sound of the waves as they reach the empty shoreline, feeling the salty breeze brush against my olive tanned skin, I look around me at the empty beach and begin reading my book. I am deep into the realm of my book when I notice a pair of tanned legs standing in front of me "you come to the beach to read?", questions this deep alluring voice, it sounded amused, I gently placed my book down and sit up ready to give this nosy man a piece of my mind but as I look up, I see the most handsome man I've seen in my whole existence and my breath catches in my throat and my heart begins racing, this man was mouth wateringly beautiful with light sandy brown hair, triangular shaped face, slim but firm build, his arms proving that they had seem a lot of labor and he was tall but not to tall, I become completely entranced by him and I cannot look away from his soft ocean blue coloured eyes, "are you mute", he said smirking softly, waving his calloused hand in front of me, it caused me to blink out of my trance, "ahh, sorry I was just a bit shocked to see you here" I said clearing my throat, "you're the first person I've seen come to the beach since I've been here" I spewed out, trying to make up an excuse "ohh" he hummed in response, an unconvinced look marring his beautiful face. "I see there's a second towel here", he noted, "yeah, I'm here with my sister, she is out in the water", I explained pointing towards the shore line behind him, he takes a glance behind him and hums in response, "I'm john" he said, holding out his hand, "I'm Annah" I responded, reaching my hand out, intending to shake his, "a pleasure to meet you" he says, gently taking hold of my hand, causing a delicious tingling to crawl up my arm, instead of shaking my hand, he bends down kissing it and my cheeks instantly become flaming balls of lava, I pull away and stand quickly in hopes that he doesn't notice but I stumble as I do so, he grab my arms gently to help steady me before I fall and my heart leaps, I have never felt this before, "what is this feeling", think to myself, all I know is I want to feel it more often, "are you ok?", he asks with concern and amusement lacing his voice, "yes, I just got up to fast" I say in a rushed tone, keeping my head down to hide the embarassment, "I going for a swim, nice meeting you John", I finish, making my way towards the shoreline before he says anything more.

It hurts, why does it hurt? The tears won't stop my heart is aching. How long have I been sitting here against this wall, knees pulled to my chest. I feel I will sit here for an eternity until this feeling finally leaves. She was taken from us. How? Why? Oh, it hurts, why her? Anyone but her. "Hey" I heard the gentle alluring voice say, bringing me out of my deep thoughts, sense of calm washes over my aching heart, "it's going to be okay", he comforted me "I know it's hard but you'll get through this, I'll help you get through this" he finished, I lifted my head from my knees to see his beautiful deep blue eyes inches from mine, red from crying and tears still going down my cheeks, we gazed at each other in silence for an eternity, getting lost in each other, no one else existed except us in that moment. He reaches out one of his soft hands to wipe away the tears soaking my face, "thank you", I choked out, blinking a few times, he gives me a reassuring soft smile before grabbing both my hand and pulling me to my feet "let's go for a walk", he offers and I readily obey as if under his spell and he takes my hand, and we walk in calm silence. Before long we find ourselves at the entrance to a huge garden, the entrance decorated with a beautiful golden archway that sparkles in the light of the sun, the design like two swans touching and the central design a mix of swirls and flower like patterns, blue bells and white daffodils hanging loosely around it, its beauty was unique and stunning, giving clues to what's awaits beyond it my worries forgotten for the time being. We walked through the arch and were met the most spectacular yet calm scene, different kinds of flowers making rainbow coloured patterns everywhere, a large dove shaped hedge covered in white flowers to the left and a life size lion shaped hedge covered in dark purple flowers to the right, between them a quaint pond with an assortment of gemstones around the edges and the water adorned with Lillie's and lotus flowers, I was in awe by the beauty of this garden, it didn't feel real, it was simply breath taking.

We sat by the pond for a while watching the colourful fish gliding around in the water as graceful as dancers, my mind still in awe of the astonishingly beautiful scenery around me, the scents taking my breath away. We stayed in a calm and tranquil silence, listening to the sweet sound of hummingbirds and crickets but the whole time I could feel his gaze, I dared not pull my eyes away from the fish, I knew l if I did, I become captivated by him again though unsure I could break the spell a third around.