Aurelia Stevens: A Short Story

Near a little house by the ocean, there lived a young girl named Aurelia Stevens. She loved her name for the way it flowed like a river. In contrast, her hair gave the appearance of a blazing fire, cascading in curls that seemed to raise just a little around her neck and torso. Her vivid blue eyes looked to be from the ocean itself, deep and mysterious just the same.
She was isolated due to her father being a writer. He needed space to work, and decided that separating his family from society would work perfectly. They had a garden so that they could make their own food, and enough money from his wife’s job as an orthopedic surgeon, retiring at an early age after years of college. They were old when they had their first child, and decided when she was born, to finally move away. That is when her mother quit her job, and her father
You seem fine, and I don’t feel like I’m dying!” the naive girl said with a light laugh. So distracted was she with the conversation that she missed one of the rocks hidden in the beach. She cried in surprise as she tripped over one of them and landed in the sand with a dull thump. The boy turned around and continued walking backwards, laughing at the sight. Doing this, he too did not see the rocks and tripped over them. “I assume a gentleman,” she emphasized, laughing with the boy, “would help a lady up, rather than laughing at her.” The boy apologized, saying, “I’m sorry. As I said, I’m toxic.” His smile never left his face, even when apologizing. Even so, the Aurelia paid no heed to his repeated warning. Never before had anyone spoken to her as freely as he was doing now. He intrigued her and she was dying to learn more about him. After picking themselves up and dusting each other off for sand, they continued their walk. Eventually, they came to Aurelia's home, where she led him to the balcony in her room, overlooking the ocean. “Does it ever hurt, being alone?” the boy asked, his gaze staying on