Fourteen Years Later...

"Topaz!" Her name is called from somewhere behind her. Judging by the echo, the person calling her name was still a pretty decent distance from her, but, she knew that they could easily catch up with her. Stuffing some books (mainly Harry Potter) into her bag, she scrambles to her feet and starts running. Her green converse shoes kicks up sand as she sinks her feet into the dirt, scrambling to keep a foot-hold and not slip.

"Topaz!" The voice calls again. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she sees a man racing towards her, a grin stretched across his face, and he was right on her heels. Squealing, Topaz wills her legs to push farther, faster, anything to get away. Her bag kicks against her legs, making it hard to keep up the speed, but she manages. She hears a wisp of air as the man behind her attempts to grab at the bag, but misses.

"No!" She screams, trying to reach her house. She takes a sharp left and the man goes racing past before he realizes she's gone. He backtracks and when he sees her, he breaks into a run, again, and continues to chase the fourteen year old girl. Even though Topaz had a head start, the man is back on her heels in seconds. Topaz curses under her breath and makes another right onto her driveway.

Her converse slap against the concrete, and she makes her way up the stairs that lead to the front door. Throwing herself against the door, she grasps the door knob and turns. It doesn't budge. "Crap!" She screams. Hearing the sounds of pursuing feet, she abandons her attempts to get in through the front door and jumps over the side of the porch, landing lightly and agilely on her feet even with the bag she's carrying.

Leaves and twigs snap under her weight, and a few rocks find their way into her shoes, but Topaz ignores it. Running around towards the back of the house, she races towards the back entrance, but, to her horror, it too is locked. "No, no, no, no, not today!" She whispers, looking for a way out. The man chasing her is quickly gaining on her. She has little time.

Then she sees it. A tall tree is leaning against the side of the house. Her eyes scan up the tree, seeing where it leads to. She practically squeals with delight when she sees that it leads to her window, which, thankfully, is open. Throwing her bag up onto a high branch, she positions herself and jumps up. She gets a firm hold and starts climbing. By the time her pursuer caught up with her, she was already ducking into her window, dragging her bag in with her.

The man on the ground frowns and looks around. "Topaz!" He yells once again. Stifling laughter, Topaz leans up against the window and watches the amusing scene below her. "Where are you, Topaz?" The man says again, his frown deepening. Topaz tilts her head to the side and watches for a few more minutes before saying loudly, "Guess I won again, didn't I?" The man's head snaps up. "Aw, really Topaz? That's the what? Tenth time?"

Topaz shakes her head and wavy blonde hair falls into her face. "Nice try. But it's the thirtieth." The man groans. "Maybe next time, dad." Topaz says with a smile. Her dad shakes his head. "Oh I doubt it. You're way too good. Say, how'd you get up there anyways?" Laughing, Topaz pretends to zip her lips shut and throw away the key. "Ha ha, very funny. Now, come on. How about we take a small walk down to the beach."

"Really? You serious?" Topaz asks in disbelief. It's been months since she's been down to the beach. She's always been living in her dad's overprotective shadow. Him taking her to the beach was an once-in-a-lifetime situation, and she was going to take it. "I'll be right there. Lemme put my books up!" She calls down, slamming her window shut. Throwing her bag full of books onto her bed, she throws on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Then she kicks off her converse, and socks, and slips on a pair of flops.

She races out of her room and back onto the front porch where her dad's waiting for her. "Ready?" He asks. Topaz just nods. The walk down to the beach was quiet, but Topaz liked it that way. She had the whole three minutes to just think to herself. When they finally reached the beach, the sun was just starting to set, making the sky turn indigo, pink, and orange. Finding a spot back onto the sand, Topaz throws herself down and stares at the waves crashing against each other.

"Dad," she asks after a little while. "Yes, sweetie?" Her dad asks, unaware of the question that Topaz was about to drop on him. "Why did mom leave me?" Her dad gives a small gasp and stares blankly at the sea for a while before answering. "Topaz, your mother was a special woman. She left you to protect you. It wasn't safe with her, unfortunately." "Safe?" Topaz repeats, dazed. "Yes, it wasn't safe. I don't know any more, so no more questions okay?"
It took Topaz a moment to be able to answer coherently. "M'kay."

"Good." Her dad mumbles. The rest of the time at the beach was awkwardly silent. All Topaz could think about was her mother and why she abandoned her... She knew she couldn't weasel anything else out of her father, he would just shut down. But she had so many questions for him about her. It wasn't fair. Fourteen years and all she knows about her is that she was a 'special woman' as her dad put it.

She was staring off into space when all of a sudden she heard a splash. She's immediately snapped out of her stupor and her attention is drawn to the Atlantic. There wasn't anything there. Her dad noticed her expression and mused. "It's probably a fish, Topaz. Don't worry." But the look on his face gave away something. He knew something and he was keeping it from her. Deciding to not press it until later, she leans back, enjoying the last few rays of the setting sun when she hears it again. But this time, she not only heard it. She saw someone standing waist deep in the water, staring at her with something close to admiration.

She wasn't the only one who saw it. Her dad's face paled and so fast Topaz only saw a blur, he was on his feet, grabbing her hand. "Come on, Topaz. It's getting late. Let's go." He drags her up and away from the beach. Topaz looks back once more, hoping to see the mysterious woman again, but she was gone.

Notes