A Day at the Beach

**n.b. this story is probably going to come after the first novel, which I've just finished writing. there's no plans to publish it just yet, but we'll make this as read alone as possible (besides it'll fit in with the flow of the blog anyway). Thank you for your patience**

Recent events not withstanding I was in desperate need of a holiday. Space and time to think about space and time to think about space and time... I was caught in a feedback loop, trapped in cycles of thought and I knew it was throwing my perceptions out of whack. Sleep was troublesome once again, taking it's time to fall and being unfulfilling when it did come.

I left the office and headed for the train station, trying to get across town, near the water and just spend a little time by myself. I picked up the paper on the way, for just a few moments the papers were reporting a new era of hope, the doom and gloom of recent months pushed to the margins for a day, a celebration of something big but something that wasn't fully clear to anyone yet. I could feel the hope flowing into me as well. I was excited by the prospects of a bright new world.

But underneath that I felt a sickening dread. A tension headache rose and I could feel nausea sitting underneath it. I didn't have any pills to knock it out of me so I was going to have to sit tight until I got off the train. I kept reading in the hope that the good news would settle me down, praying that some of the positivism would have a run on effect, that I would be excited about something again. The train pulled into a station, another nameless destination but not mine. A girl in a black dress got on and sat beside me; I gave her a sideways glance, trying not to get caught staring but trying to admire her all the same. She came and went, the train carried on down the line. Finally my stop... not a nameless destination, the beach; but first I made a b-line to the shops for some tablets and caffeine.

Medicated and feeling a little better I walked up and down the sand for a while, enjoying the view as the weather started to turn to summer. Girls out and about, seeking out a golden tan on bodies that had turned white through a winter that robbed them of exposure to the sun. I sat down on the sand and pulled out a camel, inhaling the warm, dry smoke before blowing it out in a long steady stream. I felt better, the warm sun beating down on me made me drowsy and I could feel my eyes closing.

I didn't want to leave, because I knew that going back would mean I would have to face all of the heartache and misery that I was trying to leave behind... maybe Madame Rollins was correct, maybe I should skip town for a while, give things a chance to blow over and then return to normality, my life of mystery and intrigue... ok, not so normal, but normal for me. I walked back to the train station and headed for the central station, credit card at the ready to buy a ticket for a surprise destination. I didn't even stop to pack my bags...