Running in the dark to find you

The First Summer

Ever since Zhao Yunlan was thirteen, strange things had been occurring at his temporary home at the beach during the summer.

Coincidence or not, these strange occurrences only happened whenever Zhao Yunlan was at that place. Every time he stayed at that place every summer with his parents, he felt as if someone was out there in the shadows…

~

The first time it had happened was when Zhao Yunlan was thirteen years old. His parents had recently bought a beach house for them to stay every summer. According to his parents, the place wasn’t well-known. There were hardly any guests and it seemed to be secluded, but secured. Not to mention, it was the perfect place to relax and take a break from society.

At first, Zhao Yunlan wasn’t very much intrigued about their summer house. On the contrary, he was upset, upset that he couldn’t join his friends at camp. He already made plans with them, but this didn't stop his parents from ruining it.

During the first few days, Zhao Yunlan was hardly outside at all. He spent his time indoors, playing video games or chatting with his friends online.

That was until the third day, did his father have enough of his behavior and locked him outside.

Zhao Yunlan only had a blanket with him and sunblock. He knew bargaining with his father was pointless. His mother wouldn’t even let him into the house either, since she already began to worry that he wasn't getting enough fresh air.

Zhao Yunlan made his way to the beach. Well, the beach did happen to be right outside the summer house. He looked at the view and admitted to himself that the place was indeed beautiful. He heard the waves rolling and crashing onto the shore. He inhaled the salty air and felt the warmth of the sun on his skin.

Yea, it’s nice. Zhao Yunlan thought as he admired his environment with a small smile.

It took a while for Zhao Yunlan to relax and lie down. First, he had to find the perfect spot, once he did, he unfolded the blanket and laid it down onto the sand. The spot he found was under a tree which had the perfect shade.

Before he sat down, Zhao Yunlan decided to take off his shirt and his slippers and felt the warm sand beneath his feet. He took the sunblock and applied it to his skin.

Zhao Yunlan stared out into the sea and found that there was nothing for him to do. He found himself a victim to boredom.

He took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a stick and played with it for a while. He drew scribbles onto the sand and even pretended the stick to be a wizarding wand. But it was useless, he was still bored.

With nothing else to do, he decided to take a nap and immediately drifted off to sleep.

Zhao Yunlan seemed to have heard a hauntingly beautiful voice, a sweet melody that rang in his ears and felt something cold touch his cheek in his sleep.

When that cold feeling touched his skin, Zhao Yunlan began to stir awake. He faintly heard the voice in the distance, growing further away until there was only silence. He opened his eyes and sat up lazily, rubbing his eyes.

“That was strange.” Zhao Yunlan muttered to himself. He subconsciously held his cheek to where the cold met his skin.

He thought about that dream and how real it felt.

That voice, Zhao Yunlan had never heard such an enchanting voice before. He couldn’t make something like that up, his imagination wasn’t too extraordinary. And that cold touch, it reminded Zhao Yunlan of an icicle he once held with his ungloved hand during winter. He shivered at the thought of it. But it could also be the wind. He noticed how it was slowly getting dark, he saw the sun at the horizon.