A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

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the beach, an old man and woman were fishing. A lifeguard sat on tower number ten some distance away. She had waved to him from time to time when she passed by.

Finding a quiet place on a patch of sand,Tracy sat down, her arms resting on her bent knees. There was something mesmerizing about staring at the ocean, watching the endless cycle of the waves as they washed in to kiss the shore, then rolled back out to sea.

She lost track of time as she sat there, lost in the infinite rhythm of the waves, the quiet beauty of the ocean that stretched away as far as the eye could see. This was reality. Not the bizarre dreams that troubled her sleep. Not memories of past lives that she didn't believe were possible in the first place.

Certainly not vampires with glowing red eyes and fangs dripping with blood, or mysterious raven-haired dancing girls.

"Are you all right?"

"What?" She looked up to find a tall, blond man wearing a pair of red trunks staring at her through the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"You've been sitting here for a long time. I… I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He looked suddenly embarrassed. "I know you're not drowning, but…"

It tookTracy a moment to realize he was the lifeguard. "I'm fine," she said, smiling. "Just lost in thought, I guess."

He nodded. "You might want to get out of the sun for a while," he said. "You're getting a heck ofa sunburn ."

Tracyglanced at her arms and legs, which were indeed very, very pink. "I think you're right." When she started to rise, he offered her his hand. She took it without a second thought and let him pull her to her feet. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, Miss… ?" "Warner.Tracy ."

"Bryan Longstreet ." "Nice to meet you, Bryan."
"Likewise."

She walked over to a shady place beneath a tree and sat on a rock, somewhat surprised whenBryan followed her.

"Have you lived in this area long?" he asked.
"No. Actually, I just recently bought a house here. Why?" "I'm new here myself. Kind of a strange town, don't you think?"