The sky was a canvas painted in hues of apricot and violet. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was a rhythmic whisper, a lullaby that cradled the world in peace. Alicia felt the warmth of his hand intertwined with hers—a firm, steady pressure that promised that "forever" was not long enough.
They walked barefoot. The sand, still warm from the summer sun, massaged their feet. She looked to the side and saw his smile, his eyes shining with the reflection of the setting sun. They didn't need words; the silence between them was filled with a love that overflowed. He pulled her close, the scent of salt and citrus perfume flooding her senses.
There was a kiss. A gentle touch that stopped time.
But time did not stop. It shattered.
Suddenly, the golden evening was swallowed by a white, violent, and artificial glare. The sky seemed to tear in half. A deafening roar, as if a thousand thunders had fallen at once, reverberated in Alicia's chest, turning the sea's song into a scream of twisted metal.
"No!" she tried to scream, but her voice was drowned out by the vacuum.
Darkness followed. Cold. Heavy. Silent.
The first sound Alicia heard was not the sea, but the persistent, irritating beep of a heart monitor.
The smell was no longer salt air, but antiseptic and sheets washed with excessive chlorine. She opened her eyes slowly, her eyelids weighing as if they were glued shut. The white hospital ceiling seemed to spin slightly.
"She's awake!" a distant, muffled voice echoed through the room.
Alicia tried to sit up, but a sharp sting shot through her temple, as if a nail were being hammered into her skull. She groaned, clutching her head. Where was the beach? Where was the warmth of that hand?
Her mind was a puzzle with missing pieces. She remembered the flash, the noise... and then, nothing. Only a vast, painful void.
Days later, the doctors' diagnosis was vague: post-traumatic stress, lacunar memory loss due to shock. She was discharged. The world outside kept turning, indifferent to the fact that Alicia's internal world had been reduced to rubble.
Six months later
Alicia adjusted the strap of her leather bag and hurried along the busy sidewalk of the financial district. As an architect at one of the city's top firms, her life was measured in floor plans, deadlines, and cold coffee. Routine was her anchor; if she stopped working, the void would pull her back to the bottom.
The morning sun reflected off the mirrored buildings, but for her, the light never had the same brilliance as that recurring dream on the beach.
Turning the corner of Fifth Avenue, something made her stop. Near a dumpster, a small stray dog with matted fur and damp eyes trembled. He seemed invisible to the crowd of suits and high heels rushing past.
Alicia felt a pang in her chest. She knew what it was like to be left behind.
She knelt, ignoring the fact that her professional skirt was touching the dirty ground. "Hey, buddy..." she whispered, her voice soft. "Are you all alone too?"
The puppy took a step back, but Alicia was patient. She opened her bag, took out a bottle of water, and poured some into an empty plastic yogurt container she was carrying to recycle. Then, she took a natural sandwich that was supposed to be her lunch and broke off a piece of chicken, offering it on her palm.
The animal hesitated, sniffed the air, and finally approached, licking her hand with gratitude. Alicia smiled—a genuine smile that had rarely appeared on her face since the accident.
She didn't notice that, just a few meters away, a black Rolls-Royce with tinted windows was stopped at a red light.
In the back seat, Arthur Carter, the man whose name sat atop the city's tallest building, watched the scene. He had a tablet in his hands, analyzing billion-dollar merger reports, but his eyes drifted to the window.
He saw the woman. He saw her selflessness, getting dirty to help a helpless creature. In a world where everyone wanted something from him—his influence, his money, his name—that display of pure kindness was almost alien.
Arthur felt a strange stir in his chest, something he had buried under layers of ice and mistrust years ago. His hands, marked by scars no one saw under his gold cufflinks, relaxed.
A subtle, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
The light turned green. The driver accelerated smoothly. Arthur looked through the rearview mirror until the silhouette of the woman with the dog disappeared into the crowd. He didn't know her name. He didn't know she worked for him. But for the first time in a long time, the loneliness of his mansion felt a little heavier than usual.