Darkness Before Dawn

Clambake in a Cave

As they ate a simple breakfast of fish and rice, Yugi's eyes kept drifting from the table to the gradually lightening sky outside. With not a cloud to be seen, the outdoors called to him, making his blood sing.

"Have you ever had clams?" Yugi asked impulsively.

Atem blinked at the random question, then a smile slowly spread across his features.

"Yes. They're quite tasty," he answered.

"Well, I was just thinking, I wonder if there are any clams here. Maybe if we dug 'em up, we could... roast 'em over a fire or something," proposed Yugi. "Gochisosama deshita!"

"An excellent idea, habibi. However, I must confess that I'm no expert at harvesting clams," admitted Atem as he collected his and Yugi's diningware and rose to take it to the sink.

"I can pro'bly do it," posited Yugi with a shrug of his shoulders. "How hard could it be?"

"Then I'll leave the clam harvest in your hands, Yugi," said Atem gravely, with a twinkle in his eyes.

The young couple set out, backpacks on their shoulders and Yugi toting the shovel and bucket. The high vault of blue sky smiled down on the two young men as they walked along the shore, watching as gulls lazily wheeled about on the wind's invisible currents and the waves lapped and bobbed. Further up ahead, the stronger waves broke on the rocks.

They spent the next few hours exploring the beach, half-heartedly digging in the sand for imagined treasure and cavorting in the shallow water, splashing each other in the face. As they walked, Yugi would sometimes break away from Atem's side and charge ahead or plunge out into the water up to his knees and slosh along in this manner until, tired of the water dragging him down, he would emerge and again walk at Atem's side. At one point, Atem pulled a small loaf of bread from his backpack pocket, gave some to Yugi and the two of them had a fine time tossing bread crumbs to the seagulls, which swooped down and carried off what they could, squawking their commentary the entire time.

As midday rolled around, stomachs began to growl, protesting their empty state vehemently. With a glance and smile, Yugi and Atem nodded to each other; it was clam time!

"Can we eat out there?" Yugi asked, pointing toward a rocky outcropping reposing in the ocean a few feet out from the shore.

"Mm!" Atem responded with a sharp nod. "If you'll harvest the clams, I'll gather the driftwood."

"Yup!" said Yugi.

With that, he and Atem broke apart to attend to their tasks. Yugi plunged the small shovel into the sand, digging until he found his quarry: a fat clam with a gray and white striped shell. This was tossed into the bucket before Yugi immediately set to digging once again.

As Yugi worked, Atem went about, picking up driftwood branches in the light of the sun and the strong, cool wind that whipped through his hair while the ocean spray cooled his skin.

Again and again, Yugi found clams and tossed them into the waiting bucket. He didn't stop until he had 14 clams! Yugi washed his hands and the shovel's head off in the foaming water, then stood up and grinned at Atem, who smiled back at him, driftwood clutched in his arms.

"You think 14 are enough?" Yugi asked.

"I think that will suffice," answered Atem.

"Let's go!" cried Yugi happily, setting foot into the water as they started out for the rocks.

Suddenly, the sun's light was obscured by something thick and gray, causing both young men to raise their heads skyward. Yugi scowled up at the sky, as if his glare could drive the clouds away.