1 But I was at the beach!

"It feels so good to finally be here!" Anna took a deep breath as the cool breeze gushed through her hair making her hair dance in all the directions. The humid air and the smell of seaweeds filled her nose awakening all her senses. The golden sand and the sparkling light caused by the reflection of sunlight from water waves made it appear like a thousand tiny diamonds. The screeching of the seagulls and the sound of the waves splashing on the stones had a captivating effect on her. Anna held her arms wide open as if trying to take all the sand and the seawater in her embrace.

"Tie them in a ponytail, Anna. You have been here for long enough to make your scalp go all dried up", said Alira Campbell, Anna's support system-her best friend, while handing a hairband to Anna.

"Yeah, I'll do that in five minutes."

"Ahh- Don't be so childish Anna, C'mon. Take it."

"But I don't want them to-"

"Don't you even dare to give me your puppy face. I won't melt this time." Alira raised her eyebrows, emphasizing on her point.

"Please Alira, just look at the shimmering water. It's so relaxing."

"It's salt water, Ann..."

"And… Salt water is beneficial for the skin. It detoxes, treats wounds and also reduces swelling"

"On the other hand, staying here for too long can also cause osmosis, leaving dehydrated skin as a gift for you" Alira stated.

"Pfft! You are such a nerd!" Anna grumbled.

"You are such a child" Alira replied.

“This is no fun. I won't ask you to join me ever again. You are so-“before Anna could complete her sentence, a big-monstrous wave came in from the sea and splashed onto her, leaving her drenched from head to toe.

"Yeah... this is what I missed a lot." a smile formed on Anna's face while Alira couldn't stop laughing. "Just look at your face," Alira spoke while stifling her squeal. "Stop laughing and pass me my bag.". Alira looked for the bag and passed it on to Anna.

"Where is it?" Anna said while looking for something in her bag. "Have you seen my towel? I can't seem to find it.", she enquired.

"It must be in your bag only. Search properly" Alira replied while typing something on her phone.

"Got it." Anna took out the handkerchief and started wiping her face. "I don't know what is wrong with Alira. Why doesn't she like beaches?. I don't think she is having fun here." she closed her eyes and patted the towel on her eyes as well. "Hey, what's the time now?"

"....."

"Ali... what time is it now?" she asked again while the towel was still on her face.

"....."

"Alira what's wrong?"

"....."

Anna freezed on her spot. "Why isn't Alira giving any response?", she was constantly asking this question. Every second was making her heart hammer in her chest. With a great difficulty, she fought the rising panic and removed the towel to see what was the matter with her friend.

"What The fudge!" Anna's eyes widened and the blood swiftly started getting drained away from her face, leaving it look like ashes.

Utter darkness was all around her. The eyes dilated and her eyelids retracted but she couldn't see a thing. The smell of seaweeds, which earlier filled her nose awakening her senses, was now the odor of rotten eggs and decaying vegetation. The sound of seagulls screeching and the waves splashing on the stones could no longer be heard-there was dead silence. The cool breeze which made her hair dance in all the directions was no longer there.

"What place is this?"

"I was at the beach"

"How did I end up here?"

With shaking hands, Anna tried to reach for her phone in her pocket. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat when she couldn't find her phone. "Where is it? What is wrong with everything?" A tear formed into the corner of her eye. "I want to go home" she wailed. She curled down on her knees and covered her face with her arms, hoping that everything goes normal again when she will remove her arms.

"God please, Help me!" She prayed. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she slowly removed her fingers from her eyes to see.

Nothing changed. The more she looked at the darkness, the more scarier it appeared to her.

"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice called out to her.