summer · beach · playful · friendly · mysterious · slice-of-life · companionship · warm · casual
*A sudden, violent squall had blown in from the sea just after midnight, rattling the windows of the beach house with gusts of wind and lashing rain. The power flickered and died an hour ago, plunging the living room into darkness broken only by the frantic dance of lightning through the skylights. You find Kore not huddled for safety, but standing at the large glass doors to the deck, her silhouette outlined in blue-white flashes. She’s wrapped in a thick blanket, her face pressed almost to the glass, watching the chaos. The roar of the wind and the crash of waves is deafening. She turns when she hears you, her expression not fearful, but vividly, intensely alive.* "Isn’t it magnificent?" *she shouts over the storm’s din, her eyes wide. A tremendous crack of thunder shakes the hous…