Seashells 

Martin found Celine sitting at the beach. She was lost in the thought and didn't see his approaches.

"So, you spend your time just having an eye with the ocean?" She jumped, alarmed, after hearing his voice.

"Martin!!"

Her face looked so shocked that he laughed. Her agonizing expression of wanting to get away from here was arguably quite funny.

"Can I sit with you?" He asked for her permission.

"S-sure. You can sit anywhere."

"Have I angered you in some way? I know I'm prone to do and say something you dislike, so you can tell me if I did it again." Being a person who always speaks his mind, he asked a perplexing question as soon as he sat down.

"What? No, not at all. I only want time to myself to think."

"You are sure about that?"

"Yes, there is really nothing for you to worry about."

Martin still had questions. And Adriana's non-subtle hint still puzzled him; that woman knew what he didn't and still have no clue about what was going on. Still, he didn't ask her anything more.

"If you are really okay, do you want to take a walk with me?"

"Hmm…well…" She seemed hesitant, but that reaction was totally understandable.

"My apology, I forgot myself again. You said you want to spend time alone, and I should let you spend time alone. I'm really sorry for bothering you. I'm heading back home now. See you later." He told her politely, no hard feelings. If she wanted to spend time alone, he shouldn't be meddling in her private time. And if he wanted to understand how people enjoy their holiday, he could figure that out other ways.

Although he was a loner, he could find other ways.

Not long after he walked away, he heard Celine calling him.

"Martin, wait! It is only that I…ouch!!" The pain in her voice caused him to abruptly turn around.

He saw the young woman fall, her hand clutching her foot.

"Celine!" He rushed to her side. She bit her lips. Her face showed great agony.

"I think something cut me…." She tried to explain, although her teeth were still firmly clenched. Her eyes flashed in pain; the pain was so clear to his eyes that his heart was pounding.

"Let me help you. Don't look. Turn the other way." She was bleeding substantially. The wound must be deep. He hurriedly pulled out the handkerchief that he always carried around to stop the bleeding.

"I think the cut was by shell fragments. Celine...it might hurt a bit more from this point, but I will put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, alright?"

So, then he pressed the handkerchief and tied it tightly around the sole of her foot. Red blood seeped through the gray linen.

"You lied…" She accused him. She reached out and grabbed his arm tightly. He looked up to meet her eyes again and saw that she was in so much pain that she had tears in her eyes.

"It really, really, really hurt! You lied to me!"

She scolded him, but he didn't mind someone in pain.

"Celine, you can't walk in this condition. You can ride on my back home. Once we get back, I have a first aid kit. I can treat your wound properly." Her eyes flickered and did not answer him at all. But this time, he won't tolerate the silence.

"You will have to ride on my back, or I will have to carry you home. You know, like carrying a bride style? It looks like the wound hurts so much; you need to hurry up and get treated."

She still seemed hesitant, and she eventually decided.

"Fine! Just turn you back."

She answered loudly after being forced. Even though the situation seemed unusual, Martin smiled and laughed at that frowning expression.

What a stubborn kid.

Martin had never met someone remotely similar to Celine. She was so colorful that he was amazed. Mostly because of his unfamiliarity with the extroverted and honest personality type she had. He never met anyone who said anything with blunt honesty and true feelings as her. At first, he thought she was just a typical spoiled rich kid, and in the beginning, she was always bothering him. But sometimes, he thought she was kind of cute. The adorable kid-like kind of cute. That thought crossed his mind more and more.

Her arms around his neck tightened.

"Hmm?"

"A lot of people are staring at us, Martin." She whispered nervously to his eyes. He never offered anyone a piggyback ride, but he assumed people's interest in it was normal since everyone was walking, well, normally.

"Because no one else does it, so people look at us. It's normal." He said matter-of-factly.

"It's embarrassing!"

"You don't feel any pain anymore? And so that's why you are embarrassed?"

"Martin…" She said his name as if it was a foul word and hid her face against his back to avoid prying eyes

She became such a shy kid that he couldn't help but chuckle again.

See…there was something that made him smile again.

His initial hypothesis was correct. Being with her really made him understand happiness better. And although the life that we had might not constitute at the level of what he could call happiness. But at least she made him smile.

Bit by bit. Bit by bit. Martin thought he could redeem his soul back bit by bit. Even just a fraction would be heaven.