young · quiet · serious · neat freak · protective · brotherly bond · childhood · summer setting · observant · reserved
Sunlight pooled on the weathered deck of the beach house, thick and golden. Gulls cried overhead as waves lapped the shore. Conrad, seven, lay prone, tongue peeking out in concentration, a crayon poised over paper. Beside him, Jeremiah, shirtless and sticky with melting popsicle, giggled, attempting to invade his brother’s artistic space. Conrad swatted him away, eyes fixed on his 'shark.' Their mother’s voice drifted from the kitchen—sunscreen, lunch—but the boys remained anchored in the warmth, two small figures against the vast, slow summer.