Chapter 1The Unexpected Current
The ocean smelled of salt and memory, and Adrian hated it.
He stood at the edge of the family’s beach resort, shoes sinking into the damp sand, wondering how he had ended up here. The city was where he belonged—glass towers, endless traffic, schedules that left no room for silence. But his father had insisted.
“You need responsibility,” his father had said. “The resort is yours now.”
Adrian didn’t care for responsibility, and he cared even less for the sea. The waves rolled like whispers he didn’t want to hear. He turned to leave when a sharp voice broke the rhythm of the tide.
“Watch where you’re going!”
Adrian looked down, just in time to avoid stepping on someone crouched in the sand. A boy sat with a notebook balanced on his knees, dark hair tousled by the breeze, fingers smudged with graphite. Seashells and quick sketches scattered across the open page.
“Do you usually stomp through people’s classrooms?” the boy asked, grinning without looking up.
“This isn’t a classroom,” Adrian muttered.
The boy finally glanced up, his eyes bright and alive, full of mischief. “Depends on how you see it. The ocean teaches, if you listen.”
Adrian frowned. He had no time for strange beach philosophers. “Don’t block the path.”
The boy shrugged and went back to his sketching. Adrian walked away quickly, eager to return to the safety of his office. But as he left, he realized the boy’s grin lingered in his mind longer than it should have.
