"When are you going to answer Apollo's courtship with you, Avery?"

Avery sighed. And her mouth remained shut.

"He's handsome and the two of you fit for each other. Is there something wrong with him that you don't like him?" Alyssa asked afterward.

"Guys, Please. Stop asking me about Apollo." She just said.

Yes, Apollo has a look and his charm is so attractive that it can easily attract the attention of women but she can’t force herself to like him.

"At least gave him a chance or just tell him that you are not ready so that he can't expect," said Lexie to her.

That same night, she decided to cut off whatever Apollo's intentions were in courting her. She is honest with him that he can't get an answer from her. That no matter what he does, he will never reciprocate his love for her. Apollo came to their house early in the evening with flowers and chocolates.

He had not yet entered our house when Avery approached him.

"Hi, Avery. I have something for you, "he said to her with a wide smile.

I didn't say a word, and I didn't smile, causing Apollo's forehead to frown.

"Didn't you like what I brought for you? Or do you want something else besides this? "

Avery shook her head in response and pulled him into the park in the distance. We sat side by side in the cement chair.

" Look, Apollo. I don't want you to expect to receive an answer from your courtship with me. I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for any relationship yet. At first, I told you about your courtship with me, but you didn't listen. Hopefully this time you will stop. "

She noticed that Apollo's mouth tightened. And suddenly, his sight glazed over. Before she could see it, it suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a smile.

"All right, if that's your decision, I won't force you," he told her as if he accepted her decision.

So Apollo stood up and walked away from me, carrying flowers and chocolates. The next day is our graduation day. We finally graduated as well, all the hard work and no sensible sleep because assignments and projects had already paid off.

"What? Did you turn down Apollo? Aren't you sorry? He's a good catch," said Lexie.

"There's nothing I can do. He should know in advance so he doesn't have to hope," she replied.

The three of them shook their heads.

"All right, well go ahead. You'll have to follow, "they told her and went ahead to the gymnasium where the graduation ceremony would take place.

Avery got dressed and waited for a taxi while her parents were next. They are still taking care of something. But she was not yet in a taxi when someone suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her to a white car parked nearby.

"Let go of me!" she shouted at the man who was pulling her. Avery felt scared because she do not know this man.

"What do you need from me?" She was just trying to escape and just kept on crawling, but the man was stronger than her. And then he pushed her inside the car and told the driver not to interfere. Then she saw Apollo's smiling face.

"Apollo, what is the meaning of this?" she asked him.

Suddenly, a shiver attacked her chest. Worry, fear and disappointment.

"If you hadn't just rejected me, we wouldn't have reached this point. I'm not the kind of person to accept defeat. "

"You beast! I mistakenly recognized you! You are a demon hiding in the appearance of a sensible person!" Avery shouts at him.

She knew this is the end of her dreams in life. She doubts it. Whatever she does or she beg. She can't get away from this devil.

"If I'm you, Avery, just shut up. No matter what else you do you can't escape me. And I won't stop until you become mine." Apollo says and laughs out loud.

Avery never got out of Apollo's hands no matter how hard she tried. She didn’t get to the graduation ceremony. And he hid her in a place that only he knew. When her parents found us, they decided that Apollo and she should get married.

No matter how hard Avery tried, she couldn't love him. So when he saw that his effort to get close to her was also hopeless, his true color came out. So for a few years, we had been together, and I couldn't handle what he was doing, so I thought of coming home to leave him.

Avery is now strolling along the seashore but she also has no intention of swimming in the sea. As a result, she only wore a basic flowery dress. All she wants to do is go for a beach walk. She collects lovely seashells to add to her collection or to utilize as decorations in the vase she makes. Her hobby was making vases out of sealed bottles, decorating them with something, and coloring them with different shells. She was still in high school when she learned how to work. It seems like a long time now since it comes back to her mind. It seems like many years have passed since she last remembered it. Her problem threatened to come back to haunt her, so she focused her gaze on what she was going through. In the scattered shells on the white sand, she walks barefoot and she scans what can still be reaped.

Occasionally, the wind blew her hair towards her face. She didn’t tie her long hair yesterday before she left. It was like a kind of rebellion against the kind of life she was used to. She was tired of confinement. At least by exposing the hair that she used to tie, she will now feel free, breathing. No bundle. So why is her chest tightening? Why do tears seem to threaten again in the corners of her eyes? She stopped walking when she noticed other types of shells near her feet. Avery knelt on the sand and picked it up. I just looked at it for a moment and put it in her pocket along with the others she had found earlier. She was about to stand up when she noticed the strange movement of the seawater. It was accompanied by a gentle chirp of the wind that seemed to moan in her ears. and she thinks it's raining.

For someone like her who grew up and thought about the beach, she already knows the kind of weather. She continued walking even though the air that was now haunting her body was already giving her a strange chill. She was passed the houses overlooking the waterfront. Avery know she was getting away from them too. But she still wants to walk non-stop. She intentionally exhausts herself, and she doesn’t want to mentally question the reason. The first drops of rain were already falling on her cheeks when she noticed that she was still in the habit of the dense coconut groves adjacent to the houses she had left.

Avery could already see the big house above the waterfront; she had just wondered who the owner was. It wasn't there when she last came home. But when was the last time she got home? She only remembers going back to her parent's house once. She doesn’t want to think about the reason. Isn't it true that she's here to forget the past forever? She looked up to see that the raindrops were already heavy. Her clothes and hair were soaked in the heavy raindrops. She must obey the command of her mind to take a step first. And run in the shade of coconut trees. But the raindrops seemed to have a strange effect on her body; it was the sadness that was deeply ingrained in her heart.

She let the rain drench her and she even smiled when the raindrops on her forehead, her lips could taste the rich rainwater. The waves are now crashing on the shore. Gone is the gentle sway of the water that she had seen earlier. Because the breaking waves are as white as soap bubbles, she seemed to be seduced and rebuked. It felt light as she walked towards the part where the water was crashing. Avery was like a child playing in the waves and would run forward when the wave came back to the sea, laugh backward when the wave came back to her, and seem to be chasing her.

She won in such a wave game several times until sometimes she miscalculated. A forceful wave was approaching, but she was unable to move away from where she was standing she was also shocked when the waves seemed to hit her, and then she felt as if the waves had dragged her back into the sea.

She's dying, quietly surrendering her mind. At last, she's at peace. Only then did fear register in her mind. Avery didn't even get up right away. Her two hands were confusedly waving in the water, but she didn't feel any grip and prepared her mouth for a scream, but it was drowned out by the entry of salt water into her mouth. Then, she felt the grip of two strong hands on her body.

She knelt and was seated by whoever had rescued her.

"Are you crazy or what?" said a voice from behind her.

Avery turned around and saw the man who had saved her.

"Turn your back."

"W-what...." I said, but he cut her off.

"I said, turn your back. "

The man commanded her with force, so she obeyed what he said and turn her back to the sand. She felt the pressure of his hand on her back and she coughed again, and some of the water she drank came out.

"Okay, you can stand up. "