They met on the beach. It was late, well after midnight, and she'd quietly left the dark hotel room where her family was sound asleep. He'd snuck away from the craziness of the party his friends were throwing and had been taking a peaceful walk along the deserted beach when he saw her. She was sitting in the sand, her knees bent in front of her and her arms crossed over them as she leaned forward, gazing out at the water. Despite the darkness, he got a strange, intense feeling that she had a deep beauty about her. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, though, sitting so still and staring out at the water as if she was looking for something, so he approached her, slowly and quietly so not to startle her, until he was standing next to her, just a few feet away. She didn't notice him until he coughed, and she looked over to see him staring at her, his hands shoved into his pockets and a shy smile spread across his face. "Hi." She lowered her head and turned back to the waves as they crashed into the shore before answering. "Hi." He wasn't sure what to say, he'd never been good with words, but she saved the moment. "Beautiful night out." A loud screech from a group of people nearby brought him back from the trance he was in from studying her, and he nodded. "Yeah, beautiful." Her long hair went nearly halfway down her back, and the way it was moved by the wind made him want to run his fingers through it. There was something wrong with her, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. He got the feeling that she was angry about something. Or tired. The wind picked up, and the small sleeveless shirt she had on revealed her bare shoulders, which were so frail he could see her bones sticking through the fabric, and he watched her shiver slightly. "Are you cold?" he asked, quickly taking his jacket off. "Here, put this on." Once again she turned to look at him, only this time her resolve seemed to disappear a bit. "It's okay," she assured him. "I'm fine." "Please?" he asked, holding the jacket out to her one more time. "It'll help, I promise." She seemed to contemplate it for a few seconds before accepting. He let a relieved smile spread over his face and took a seat in the sand next to her as she pulled it over her head. "Thank you," she told him. "No problem," he answered, shyly. He still had the feeling that this girl had more beauty to her than any other girl he'd ever met, and it sent butterflies fluttering like mad in his stomach. The two remained on the beach together, talking about nothing in particular. He got a few laughs out of her by sharing stories from his past, mostly about the stupid things he and his friends had gotten into, and she finally began to open up as he got her talking about her family, who she was here with. It had taken them many years of saving their wages together to be able to afford this vacation, and all six of them were here. Her parents, both of them over 60 years old, who should have been long since retired. Her oldest brother, who was freshly divorced and in desperate need to get away from the courtrooms. Her sister, who had just recently become a widow at the young age of 29 after her police officer husband was killed in the line of duty. And finally her other brother, just two years older than her and in his final semester of graduate school, taking his last vacation before he graduated and entered the working world. They sat together, and he listened to the amazing stories she told him about her family. She told him about everything, from the weddings to the divorces, from the funerals to the graduations, and finally to the present moment. "We really needed this vacation," she admitted. "Sounds like it," he replied. She gave him a weak smile before returning her gaze to the dark water in front of them. "So what about you?" he finally asked. "What about me?" He laughed a little. "Tell me about you," he urged. "Tell me your story. I know the rest of your family's, but I don't know yours." She sighed. "There's not much to it." "Somehow I doubt that." He had a playful smile on his face, but it disappeared when she turned her head and looked at him. Again, like earlier when he’d first approached her, her face was clouded over with such an intense emotion that he felt his stomach drop in anticipation. “Have you ever seen anyone who’s dying?” she asked. The question caught him off guard. “Have you ever known anyone that was robbed of their life? Who was a good person, had so much going for her, but then had everything taken away from her like that – “ she snapped her fingers loudly “and none of it made sense but that’s not how the world works, is it? The world just takes and never gives.” There were a million questions running through his head, but he was speechless, wondering whether he should say something to comfort her or if she just needed to get all of this off of her chest. She turned and looked at him, her eyes holding a very deliberate look in them, and he saw that she was so angry she was on the verge of tears. "I just turned 20," she told him, her voice slow and deliberate, "and it's the last birthday I'll live to see." Nothing would have prepared him for that statement, and his dropped jaw and bulging eyes proved it. She saw his reaction and scoffed, shaking her head as she looked down at the sand and picked up a rock. She quickly regretted taking her anger out on this poor stranger who had been nice enough to approach her, but for some reason she felt it was okay. Normally she would quickly apologize for putting him in such an obviously uncomfortable situation. There was a peacefulness about this new friend, though, that she couldn't explain. "How--what--when?--" he stammered over himself, trying to find the right thing to say. "Cancer.” "Cancer?" he repeated. She nodded. "Leukemia." He didn't answer, not sure what to say to that, until he finally opened his mouth and said the only thing that continued to run through his head. "Wow." "Yeah," she agreed. There was another short, uncomfortable pause, and once again she began to worry that she should have kept her mouth shut. "No offense," he finally said, "but you don't really look sick." "How can you tell?" she asked, looking over at him. "It's pitch black out here." That was a good point. "But your hair," he said, nodding towards her head. Without hesitation, she reached up and pulled the hair off of her head. "It's fake." This time his mouth didn't gape and his eyes didn't bulge, but his stomach dropped, and his heart felt like it was being torn into two. He suddenly wished that he'd known this girl before now. He wished he'd seen her when she'd gone on her first date, or gotten her driver's license, or at least known her when she and her family had gone through so many hard times, so that he could have been there with her like he was right now. He wished he'd known her before she had cancer. But most of all he wanted to take all of the pain she was holding inside of her away and make it disappear. "That's not fair," he said without thinking. She turned to look at him again with a face that was hard to read. "What's meant to be, will be, though, right?” "I believe that." She was surprised. "Do you?" He nodded. "My mom taught me that when I was little." She stared at him for a moment, the first smile on her face that he’d seen. He knew, he didn't have to be told, that her family had experienced more than their share of hard times. But, at the same time, he got the strange feeling that of all the families in the world to go through such things, hers was one that would be able to make it. "We both have pretty smart moms then," she finally said. He laughed, feeling more comfortable with the situation. "Yeah, we do." They sat in silence for a few minutes, but both of them were surprised to find that it wasn't uncomfortable. In the short time they'd been out on the beach talking with each other, they'd formed a connection that both of them needed. Neither of them had to hide from what they were, they could be totally open with each other because, in reality, they were still strangers. "I should go." He looked over at her, surprised. A sad feeling swept over him, not really wanting this time to end, but realized that it was inevitable. "Yeah, me too," he agreed. They remained where they sat for a moment longer before she moved to stand up. He followed, and soon they were standing in front of her each other, timid smiles on both of their faces. "Do you want me to walk you back?" he offered. "It's pretty late..." "I'll be fine," she shook her head. "Thanks though." "No problem," he replied. Before there was another awkward moment, she turned and started in the direction opposite from which he had come, glancing over her shoulder with a quick wave. "Bye," she called. He lifted his hand and waved back. "Bye," he called back, then watched as she disappeared into the darkness.