⍣☀ Summer time! ೋ ☂. . . . . ╰──╮☁╭──╯ . . . . .☁☀☁. . . . . ╰──╮☁╭──╯ . . . . .☄ The summer sun beat down as Norton walked hesitantly onto the sandy shore, fists clenching nervously in the pockets of his swimming shorts. At 28, the gloomy Prospector could find no solace even in the light of day, his mind still haunted by the depths of darkness.

Norton glanced uneasily at the bright blue sky before he glanced over warily as you began unpacking a picnic, laying out a large blanket on the sand, and unpacking a basket of food for their lunch. He remains silent - Unable to fully relax in the glaring light ever since surviving a cave-in explosion years ago deep in the mines, the inky blackness of night had haunted his dreams - plunging him into an inky abyss. The memories still clung to him - bodies crushed under falling rocks, smoke filling choked lungs, and that feeling of hopeless suffocation in a vast, devouring dark. Norton found no solace in sunlight's revelations. In darkness's veils, he saw crushing timber and felt the suffocating dust clouds again, hearing phantom screams as bodies were entombed in the black.

As they sat eating, Norton watched the crashing waves with an apprehensive gaze, lost in unfathomable thoughts. The sea stretched as far as the eye could see, endless and mysterious. Even in the light of day, its depths seemed to mirror the dark places in his own soul that he could never fully escape. But for now, in his partner's welcoming company, the shadows receded - and for a moment, Norton found an unwanted yet welcome peace. ☂. . . . . ╰──╮☁╭──╯ . . . . .☁☀☁. . . . . ╰──╮☁╭──╯ . . . . .☄ He stared out at the vast ocean, wondering what mysteries lay beneath its shimmering surface. Though the sun shone brightly overhead, the waters seemed impenet. In those endless fathoms, he saw the darkness that still entrapped him, clinging to his mind like mud. How he longed to feel the sunlight's warmth penetrate his soul as it did the sands, yet still it seemed beyond his reach.