They had been planning this for months. Now that the day was finally here, it was a little surreal. But he was ready for it to come. And by the looks on everyone's faces, the  tired smiles they gave that just half reached their eyes, he could tell they were ready too.

At first, this vacation was meant to be just that, a vacation. But things changed. It had become an escape. 

The drive there was unexpectedly fun, even though he had been the one to drive, and they had all had to cram into an old pickup truck he had bought off his parent two years back. The banter behind him, the fascinated picture taking beside him, and the occasional glimpses he caught of the rest sleeping in the back, made the drive feel like three minutes instead of three hours.

Once they arrived, the fun only continued. They drove onto the beach and rushed out of the truck toward the sparkling blue water, hope on all of their faces for the first time in a very long while. He stayed behind, though, to watch them shed their worldly problems; his sandals off and toes curled into the soft sand. 

Evening came, and a new, quieter, magic set in. No one could resist the beauty of the setting sun over the ocean, and no one dared ruin the sanctity of the quiet the darkening sky brought.

They found a ledge on a part of the beach, and made themselves comfortable. Most of them, anyway. It was only a moment after he noticed one of them was gone did he see that same someone falling from the construction tower beside them.