s u m m e r <open>

[human]

Xiu stood in the shallows of the water, her shoes and socks discarded a few feet away on the sand, and her jeans rolled up to the middle of her calves so she would not get them wet. It had been a long year, or at least it felt that way, but she was finding herself grateful that summer was upon them. School would let out soon, and she would be returning home for a few months. Xiu was looking forward to seeing her family again, particularly her father. She had always been closer to him than the others, but she loved everyone equally.

She sighed as she reached down into the water to retrieve a flat stone, the afternoon was peaceful. Carefully Xiu cast the stone back to the water, watching it skip along the surface four times before sinking. She flinched when she heard the sound of footsteps, she had been terribly jumpy since her near attack a few months ago. Once she had regained her composure Xiu looked over her shoulder to see...