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The bracing autumn wind whipped across the sodden sands, screaming as it wormed its way into every nook and cranny. Large, grey drops of rain thudded into the beach like tiny mortars, creating tiny sand craters in the soaking ground. A lone seagull’s cry cut through the air like a knife, and the rainfall began to lighten, until it stopped completely. The seagull landed calmly on a weathered rock. Suddenly, the sound of a dull, wet slapping rose, and the seagull snapped its beak around sharply.

A man came into view, walking a sensible six feet from the ocean’s lapping tides. The seagull appraised him silently as he walked. A puffy winter coat was drawn tightly around his body and he walked briskly. His face was angled down, and he grimaced against the chilling wind. Underneath his coat he wore an expensive but conservative suit and tie. Endless thoughts of stocks and bonds and shares tumbled through his mind as he made his way across the dull beach sands. Surely if he sold his shares in Morris and Sons and invested in AFH he could make a net profit of over three grand? Or would the mass buying of AFH shares cause their value to slide? But what the man saw next made all thoughts of shares and bonds cascade out of his mind like the rain that had so recently fallen, soaking the ground as grey as the heavens above. In front of him, some ten feet away sat a man. He glanced at his watch. 06:45. He sighed in annoyance, he always walked on the beach before work in an attempt to clear his head. Of course, it never worked and he was always bogged down in figures and statistics, but at least he had time to be alone. But not today.

He walked cautiously towards the man. The man was sat cross-legged upon the sodden sand, utterly motionless. He was dressed in a grey business suit that was covered with sand and grit, and was as damp as the ground around him. The beginnings of a beard had begun to form on his face, and his crystal blue eyes were hard as they stared straight forward at the cold blue waters.
“Good Morning”, said the first man formally, still trying to mask his annoyance at the other man’s presence. The other man did nothing. Not one muscle seemed to move in his body, his eyes did not even flicker. The first man cleared his throat and tried again. “Good Morning, I’m Jack”, he repeated. The man still didn’t respond. Jack sighed and began to walk on when the other man replied with two words: “I know”.
The man’s tone was crisp and clipped, and did not seem to match the body from which it came. It was the voice of someone who was sure of both where they had been, and where they were going. It was a voice that knew its purpose. Jack froze mid-step and jerked his head back towards the man. He had not moved an inch. For a moment Jack was speechless, then he choked out, “And you are?” He scolded himself for the confusion in his voice. This man could not possibly know who he was; he was obviously making some kind of practical joke. Yet, Jack could not imagine this sorry figure getting any sort of pleasure from this kind of behaviour. The man did not respond to his question. “Sir, are you alright?” Jack said, “Why are you just sitting there? You must be freezing!”. “Alex” said the Man softly. “What?” replied Jack, confused. “My name is Alex” the man responded. “Oh nice to meet you” Jack said, offering his hand. The man’s eyes still did not waver from the ocean waves. “I’m sorry if I seem nosy, but may I ask why you are sitting here?” Jack asked. “You know why I sit here Jack, you always have” he replied. Jack laughed nervously and stuttered “Yeah good one pal”. The man said nothing.

Jack kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. His head was thick, packed full with cash ISA’s and shares, and he could not handle this new problem. This was supposed to be his alone time, what right did this man have to intrude upon him? Jack felt his temper flare, and was about to tell the man to move on, when the sensible side of his brain realised he had no right to isolation. This was a public beach; he had no right to have it for himself.

Jack sighed and was about to walk on when the man spoke. “Does it matter?” Jack replied, “Sorry?” With his eyes still fixed upon the waves, the man spoke in a curiously monotonous voice, “None of it matters. We are nothing more than ants, and when the waves come the civilisation we are so proud of will be swept away, and will be like we were never here. We hurry around, like clockwork animals, stuck in the same goddamn mindless rut every day. We have pulled this society over our eyes and we are content with our own bland existences. Tell me Jack, have we forgotten what it is to truly live? Are we really better than the machines we surround ourselves with and depend upon?”Jack forced a laugh, “That’s too deep for me I’m afraid” trying to make light of the situation.

The man suddenly jerked his head towards Jack, and fixed him in a cold, calculating stare. “I know you Jack, I know you better than you can imagine, and I know you are not content. I know why every morning you drag yourself out of bed and trudge across this beach. You gaze across the ocean, and something inside you screams to be free. But your mind is inevitably attacked by the monotonous programming of your job, and our culture, and you ignore the voice, lock it deep inside you. But I know what it is you seek.” Jack was speechless. He stuttered and struggled to speak. “That’s...No...How do you...I don’t seek anything!” The man simply stared at him, his cold blue eyes drilling into Jacks mind. “I...Tell me.” Jack blurted out.
The man grimaced, and suddenly the face seemed familiar to Jack. “You, do I know you?” he said. “I think you know me better than anyone else Jack, and I know you” the man replied. Jack kneaded his forehead once again as he struggled to remember where he knew the man’s face from. “Jack, I don’t have much time, listen to me. I know you, and I know that that voice inside you is stirring. It’s screaming its lungs out to be free, and until you let it go, you will be no different to the rest of the ants writhing over the earth, waiting to be flushed away.”

Suddenly the man stood and turned his gaze back upon the ocean. “My time is here Jack, I must go”. “No!” Jack cried, “Tell me! Tell me what I have to do!” The man did not reply, but began to walk towards the ocean’s edge. Jack stood frozen and watched as the man reached the water, and continued to walk. “Wait! What are you doing!” he cried desperately, “You’ll drown!” The man continued to walk, the water now lapping at his waist.

Jack shook himself free of the trance he had found himself in and began to run after the man who was now submerged to the neck in the water. Jack reached the water and its icy chill spread up his leg as he splashed after the man. “Stop!” He screamed. The man was now well out into the water, but Jack stumbled through the water after him. Suddenly his foot slipped and he fell face first into the freezing water. He struggled to get his face above the tide and just had time to suck in a long shuddering breath before a wave crashed into his body, propelling him out into the depths of the dark sea. He broke the surface again and dragged in another panicky breath. He gazed around madly for a glimpse of the man and saw him, some twenty feet ahead of him. Another wave thumped into him, smashing all of the air out of his lungs and pushing him under the water once again.

Jack knew he was on the very edge of consciousness, and weakly he fought his way to the surface for a final view of the man. Jack could not see him anywhere, and he let out a scream of frustration. Suddenly, he saw the man once again. He was back on the beach sitting cross-legged, staring directly at him. And suddenly Jack knew the face was fixed upon him. It was a face Jack knew well. Realisation struck Jack, and he felt a scream rising in his stomach. He remembered the man’s words, and let the cry travel up his throat, rising in intensity until it ripped out of his mouth, and into the brisk sea air, joining the wind as it screamed over the water, and suddenly Jack felt all the pressures of his life simply fly away with that scream. Another way crashed into Jack, and he lost consciousness completely, but as he slipped over the edge, he saw the man on the beach rise once again, and smile.