As I fall asleep, my body seeps into the soft grass, and I awaken to the lure of dawn, reminded of beauty before I inevitably forget it.

You can’t eat a brownie without milk. But I was so tired! I pulled myself up to a seating position and turned around. Yes! Dad was right next to the fridge. “Dad,” I called, unnecessarily relieved I wouldn’t have to make the 10 step trek. He didn’t respond. “Dad!” I don’t really know why I called again. His battery was dead.

It never rains here, the pool boy reassures the vacationers. The mountains just north keep the clouds at bay. But the sky is a murky gray, and the guests at Maui’s Four Seasons Resort glance nervously at the clouds. I can feel the atmosphere shift from relaxed to tense; there are murmurings of trouble in paradise.

5:43 pm

She heard the wind before she felt it. The low, ominous growl, making the leaves of the nearest oak tree quiver in fright. The warning gave her enough time to stop the flimsy sheet of paper from fleeing just as the leaves were trying to do.