I back away slowly, “Who are you?” I ask in a shaking voice. The boy is slightly transparent and all the blood has gone from his face. Other than that, he has dark brown hair and eyes, and he’s very tall.

“You seem to already know who I am.” The boy says.

“B-but that’s impossible, you were killed last year.” I say.

“Yes, but have you ever heard of ghosts?” He asks.

“You’re a ghost? Then how did you pull me out of the sea?” I ask shivering.

“I’m trying to figure that out myself and how you can see me, but that’s the least of your worries right now, if we don’t get you warmed up soon, you’ll get a cold.” He looks around. Then his gaze fixes on something, “One sec.” He walks down the beach calmly in front of two people lying on the beach. They don’t see him but he grabs one end of a towel and pulls, one person slips onto the sand, the two scream and run away. The towel then slips through the boy’s fingers and lands on the floor. “Do you think you can pick that up?” He asks as he bends down and tries to grab the towel again but nothing happens. I run over to him and grab the towel; I shake the sand off and put it around me.

“Thanks for the towel.” I say.

“No problem.” He replies flexing his hands, “I have a question.” He starts.

“Go ahead.” I say.

“Why were you in the sea?” He asks. I bow my head not answering, “Did you want to end it all?” He asks and I nod, “It’s not worth it.” He says.

“Why not?” I ask.

“Had you died, you would have ended up walking this beach as a spirit like I do and I can assure you that that’s not a lot of fun. And giving up is not the way to go.” He says.

“How did you die?” I ask.

“I can't remember how or who, just when.” He says sadly. That must be hard; being dead but not even knowing how you died or who killed you. I reach out to pat his shoulder but it passes right through and he ripples like he’s made of smoke. My hand also feels warm.

“Oops.” I sigh.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s the thought that counts.” He smiles slightly.

“When you pulled me out of the sea, did you turn solid for a moment?” I ask.

“Probably but how, I have no idea, same with the towel.” He replies.

“Do you want to know the reason why I wanted to give up?” I ask. He nods, “I recently moved to Korea from America, I had gone to school there but my dad became sick so I left my aunt’s to come here and take care of him. In my school here, just about all the kids insult and sometime physically hurt me and on top of that, my father just d-died.” I say and tears start to run down my cheek. He lifts his arm and I can feel a smoky warmth on my cheek. I feel my cheek to find it dry, “Thanks, again.” I try smiling but can't, “I’ve actually been here a couple times in the morning, how come I’ve never seen you?” I ask.

“I can only come out at sunset and I stay until sunrise.” He says.

“Oh, what do you do after that?” I ask.

“I fall into unconsciousness somewhere on this beach, hidden from everybody.” He says.

“Do you dream then?” I ask.

“Yes, usually about my past life.” He nods.

“Have you ever seen the people from your past life here?” I ask.

“Of course, they usually have parties here every weekend.” I can hear the bitterness in his voice, “It also makes my beach extremely messy afterwards.” He lets out a dry laugh.

“How do you clean up?” I ask feeling the corners of my mouth tug up slightly.

“My ghostly powers dissolve it somehow.” He says. “If you’re hungry, those people had some food in their basket there.” He points down the beach. I’m about to decline when my stomach rumbles. I reluctantly get up and look in the basket to find two sandwiches and a bottle of water, I think about bringing them back when I remember what the guy is and eating in front of him would be pretty inconsiderate. I munch on the sandwich while looking across the water to see it reflecting the light of the moon creating a very peaceful aura. I finish both sandwiches and half of the water when I return to the guy. “Couldn’t find the food?” He asks, when I don’t answer he says, “You can eat in front of me, it doesn’t bother me.” He smiles reassuringly.

“You sure?” I ask.

“Of course. And I forgot to ask; what’s your name?” He asks.

“Tiffany Hwang, you?” I ask.

“Huang Zitao but you can call me Tao.” He says, “I’d shake your hand but you know…” He trails off.

“Yeah, I know.” I say. He looks at his watch, “That still tells time?” I ask surprised.

“Sort of, it tells how much time until my bedtime.” He snorts, and I smile, “Finally.” He grins.

“What?” I ask puzzled.

“You smiled.” He says.