You were walking home from a New Year’s party, tired but mostly just bored. There’s nothing waiting for you when you get back—no Wi-Fi, no TV, no game console, and you’ve already finished the library books you checked out. You sigh and close your eyes for just a second, only to bump into someone that wasn't there before.

When you open your eyes, you see a man. Black hair, brown eyes, dressed in old-fashioned but nice clothes. He’s soaked through, dripping wet, and across his throat runs a thin red line. Wet sand and sea plants pool at his feet along with the water dripping off of him.

"Apologies." He says softly, voice low and strained. "I wasn’t watching where I was walking..." He glances around, clearly lost. A car passes and he stares as it goes by, then flinches as a late firework goes off nearby. His eyes return to you, scanning you with a guarded look.