Vitamin Sea

Mandy's white convertible slid down a winding asphalt road toward one of the most popular beaches among students, Merville Beach. Merville Beach is a bay with white sand and clear blue water, about thirty minutes from downtown. There are two beach bars that are always full on weekends: Delmara and Shattuck. Shattuck is on the other side of the beach, which has a nicer view, but people have to become a member and pay a hefty monthly fee to get there. Meanwhile, Delmara is a beach bar belonging to the Sunbrillo alumni association, and the place is open to the public, and that's where Runa and Mandy are headed.

Mandy opened the roof of the car and let the wind blow her hair and Runa's hair.

Even if Runa refused Mandy's invitation earlier, after she felt the wind and the smell of the sea that slowly greeted her, her mind was distracted for a moment, and her mood changed for the better. Like Mandy said, Runa really needs to loosen up a bit.

Mandy turned the car into the parking lot and from here, Runa could see the beach bar packed with young people. Girls in bikinis and topless boys showing off their abs and tanned skin. Mandy lifted her sunglasses over her head and whistled at the crowd.

"You should have put on sexier clothes, Runa. So many good-looking guys here," she said. Her eyes shifted from the thatched-roof beach bar with a semi-open concept to Runa, who was sitting next to her.

Runa was straightening her long, light brown hair when Mandy pulled down one of the shoulder straps of Runa's black tank top.

"Hey!" Runa shouted. She hit the back of Mandy's hand while glaring.

Mandy pursed her lips. "I thought you were wearing a bikini under a tank top and shorts."

"I don't plan to swim," said Runa. She looked back at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

"And what's with those mountain sandals?" Mandy chuckled while her eyes narrowed when she saw a pair of black mountain sandals that wrapped around Runa's feet.

"You should thank me because I still wanted to come along and didn't order my house guard to kick you out as soon as you showed up there."

Mandy was silent for a moment before saying, "Fair enough."

After a slight argument over the outfit, they got out of the car and started walking towards Delmara's commotion. Most of Delmara's visitors are Sunbrillo students, so Runa knows almost everyone there. They greeted Runa and Mandy, who walked across the rows of benches to join their friends.

Most of Runa's friends already have boyfriends. They sat in pairs and occasionally enjoyed the time together as if no one else was around. Only she and Mandy were single, but Mandy liked to tease and attract men's attention, while Runa didn't.

They greeted their friends and asked trivial things such as how each other was until the conversation got into the realm of Sunbrillo.

"Sometimes I can't understand why Sunbrillo puts the monthly exam rankings on the campus notice board. They treat us like high school kids," said the short-haired man sitting next to Bella, one of Runa's friends.

"Yeah… I always feel stressed whenever The List will come out. My mom always told me to take a photo of that stupid table and send it to her. Then she would nag about my rank, which was never in the top ten," said another of Runa's friends.

The buzz of protests and complaints became the main topic at the table, until one of them called for Runa, who had been listening quietly while enjoying her drink, a coconut with ice and syrup.

"It must be nice to be you," Bella said. "You never worry about your rank and future."

Runa couldn't help but smile at that statement. She could never explain the truth to anyone about what she had to bet on all those ranks. And yes, sometimes she has the same thoughts as other students. That it was just a troublesome stupid rank. But Runa's life and death depended on those stupid things.

"But to be honest, I was surprised," said Bella's boyfriend. He paused for a moment to observe Runa until Runa felt uncomfortable. "Aren't usually smart kids love to nerd out and don't like to socialize? They wear thick glasses, put on their father's shirt and their mother's jeans."

Mandy sighed loudly and snatched up the words. "You must be new at Sunbrillo," she blurted. "If you attended Sunbrillo from kindergarten, you would know Runa Crown and wouldn't be surprised to see her." Mandy then glanced at Runa and winked. "She's the perfect girl and friend."

"Yeah, I'm sure if you were a boy you'd fall in love with her, Mandy," said the boy. Mandy proudly agrees with that statement and invites laughter from everyone around them.

As time went on, Runa became more and more uncomfortable with this kind of self-centered conversation. And the thoughts of the exams and the angel of death she saw last night plagued her mind again. Anxiety crept up on her and she left the table to go to the restroom.

After making sure no one was watching, Runa turned in front of the hallway that led to the restroom and exited the bar through the side door. Breaking through the crowd of people who were chatting while enjoying the beach atmosphere, Runa continued to walk along the stretch of white sandy beach to the end of the bay and turned to the hidden side of the beach. It's much quieter here. There were only a few couples sitting next to each other, hugging and staring out at the open sea.

In the past, when her mother was still alive, she would often take Runa here and let her do whatever she wanted, like climbing a tree, something her father would not allow. Even though her father told Runa to practice horse riding, gymnastics, archery, and other sports possible, he thinks climbing trees is a wild, useless activity.

Runa continued to walk to the border of the beach and forest. There was a large tree with many sturdy branches that rose high, not far from here.

Runa stopped when she found the tree, which still stood firm, as if untouched by time. Its location, which is not so far from the beach, makes Runa still able to see the dancing waves sweeping the shoreline, as well as several people who were there. Runa looked up to see the tree that seemed endless. The broad leaves block the sunlight from entering.

After making sure her mountain sandals were properly attached, Runa started climbing. This is not a simple activity, especially since Runa hasn't done it for a long time. But this thing is challenging and fun. She couldn't help the smirk on her lips as her hands and feet touched the curves of the branches and the roughness of the tree bark. She climbed the tree branches one by one, and it felt like Runa had climbed quite high when she heard a voice below her.

Runa stopped and looked down. There were two people down there, a boy and a girl.

What are they doing here? Are they going to do something lovers usually do?

Runa covered her mouth and breathed carefully. Their voices sounded quite clear, and Runa seemed to recognize the boy's voice.

---

"What do you want to talk about?" Anna raised her eyebrows and looked at Arden with sparkling eyes.

"Why do we have to go this far?" Arden asked back. He looked around. They were now in the seaside forest, and there was no one else near them.

"Didn't you say you wanted to talk alone in a quiet place?"

"Yeah… but not like this," said Arden, who then wiped his face with one hand. He didn't hide his annoyance, and was even more annoyed when he saw Anna's hopeful expression. What was she thinking now? Arden thought.

"Did you see anything last night?" asked Arden, trying to ignore the discomfort he felt from this misunderstanding.

"What do you mean?"

"Last night, in the restroom. Did you see anything?"

Anna tilted her head. Her round, sparkling eyes were now looking at Arden questioningly. "I saw you," she said. Her voice was so soft that Arden had to lean over to hear it. "You saved me from the darkness."

And suddenly Anna raised her hand and cupped Arden's face, then kissed his cheek.

Arden was stunned and immediately removed Anna's hand from him, then he wiped the kiss mark on his cheek with the back of his hand.

"What are you doing?" Arden hissed.

Anna's pink lips trembled lightly. "Isn't this the reason we are here now? I—I like you, Arden. I was so happy when you called me earlier and asked me to talk alone. There is no other possibility other than this, right?"

Arden fixed his eyes on Anna. "I just wanted to know if you saw anything last night, and not some other stupid thing going through your head."

Tears started to well up in Anna's eyes. "I don't understand what you're talking about! And why do you have to say such hurtful words to me?!"

"So you don't misunderstand me," Arden replied nonchalantly. "Whatever is on your mind, get rid of it right now. Because that's not going to happen."

Anna burst into tears, and she ran away from there.

Arden took a deep breath. So indeed, the girl saw nothing. This was a stupid mistake, asking Anna about the obvious and causing her to misunderstand.

And all this happened thanks to that mysterious girl, who was staring at him as if catching him naked.

Arden was about to walk back to the bar when he heard the rustle of leaves from the branches above him. The next second, Arden jumped back and was startled when someone fell and stopped in midair in an upside-down position.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" Arden said. A small grin tugged at the corners of his lips when he realized who was in front of him now.