The In-betweens

Chapter 1

This is so surreal. I can hardly believe that this is real. Am I really here? With my eyes close it feels like I am dreaming. A dream I never plan to wake up from. But everything around me proves the *dream theory* wrong.

I can feel the warmth of the thousand rough grains beneath my bare feet. I can hear the thunderous but rhythmic crashing of waves against powerful rocks. I can even smell and taste the briny salt water carried by the not too warm breeze. I am really here. I am at the beach. It does sound so funny how I am so excited about being here. Especially on this September weather.

I can still remember the last time I was at the beach. It was tragic, actually, but everything changes after that incident.

∞

I was seven, and as a kid all I wanted to do is swim and enjoy the water. I never thought that the sea could be that deep. I swam until I could not feel the sand and the rocks under my feet. The vast ocean surrounded me and nothing else. Suddenly, I was gasping for breath. I cannot kick any harder and all I can do was cry. I was sinking. I never expected to die that early. Then, there was this light and the last thing I knew is that it was pulling me up.

When I opened my eyes I saw my mother – holding my hand, my father - mixed among the gathering crowd with a confused look on his face, and this silvery haired lifeguard. I knew it was him. He saved me.

"It's him Mama, he saved me," I said while pointing the lifeguard. But she didn't even bother to look.

"Addie, you will be fine. No one can harm you now." My mother replied earnestly while holding me close. I caught her stole a vicious gaze towards my father's direction.

I keep pointing at my hero but nobody seemed to care. My father, whose coming in close, finally noticed where I was pointing and looked. He didn't even say a word and look back at me puzzled. Something was really wrong. I stared at my hero for a while but he just smiled at me and suddenly disappeared into thin air.

At first, I thought I was hallucinating but after myriad times of seeing unusual things, seeing unusual people with faint glows vanishing before my eyes, I began to realize that I am different. I can see things that most can't see. I refuse to call them ghost I prefer to call them *in-betweens*.