Death seemed like a distant and foggy thought. A grey area in my mind that I could not fully picture. For what was death at a younger age; a time where there was so much to live for and imagine.

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Daniel took in a long, deep breath. The clear air was something he was unfamiliar with. He had become accustomed to the smog of his home city. Pollution seemed inevitable, and eventually it just became a part of life. But here on the beachfront, he could realize just how bad it truly was back home.

Stretching his back, Daniel took in one last breath before moving along. The warm sand forming to his feet as he walked. He reached out and his hand met gorgeous blond strands of hair. In his eyes they shined like golden lines, drawn by a goddess herself. He smiled as he let his fingers comb through them.

”Stop playing with my hair and get up here.” Marilyn jested. She gave Daniel her customary ‘I love you’ glance and offered her hand, quickly seizing the chance to lace their fingers and pull him along next to her.

He felt Marilyn’s head lean into his shoulder as they walked side by side; the ocean tide often reaching out to the edge of their feet. It was a warm Tuesday morning. The sky was waking up as beams of red and gold peaked through the edges of distant clouds, providing just enough light for a brief morning walk. The air breezed by, blowing their hair and inviting them down the shore of sparkling blue.

They had saved up for this little vacation. With a lot of overtime and frustration later, they had finally made enough. But it was all past overdue. Tension was high back at home for them both. It had been rough recently between school and work, and Daniel often found himself more stressed than anything. It didn’t help that Marilyn was in the same boat. So through a little bit of arguing, and a lot of talking, Daniel came to a conclusion with Marilyn. They needed a break. A break not from each other, but from the monotony of life.

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Daniel also saw this as a perfect chance. Little known to Marilyn, he had also been saving up for a ring. One made of silver with blue opal, one she had mentioned long ago that she loved. This vacation marked their 2 years together, and today was the day. He took a deep breath in, steeling his nerves as his hand brushed the pocket of his swim trunks. He felt the box still there, held in well by a strip of velcro. "Daniel? Is something wrong?" Marilyn asked him, turning to meet his gaze. He just gave her a heartfelt smile in return.

Daniel looked down as he knelt into the sand, careful not to fall over on the uneven ground. He refused to ruin the mood by tumbling into the sand like a buffoon. He could imagine her laughing non-stop even now. The thought did little to keep him from smiling even more. Opening his pocket as gracefully as he could, and using his sight to make sure he did not drop the box and ring, Daniel began "Marilyn." He could hear a gasp of excitement from her and felt her hand leave his, most likely covering her mouth in shock. He could picture her beautiful face.

Before he could look up; however, it began to rain. A short burst showered him, only a fraction of a second long. The next words stuck in his throat as his brain tried to process what happened. His ears were ringing as a stream trickled down both sides of his neck. He straightened and looked to where Marilyn should have been. But he was confused. Where Marilyn should have just been standing, a wide birth of red stained the sand below. Blood dripped down from his hair as his eyes grew wide from realization.

An otherworldly groan cut off his now rampaging mind. Daniel felt as if the world had collapsed onto him, shattering the view around him into black.