The waves crashed on the white shore, each time the waves would make a thundering noise that a person could hear before they even get to see the water.  The memories of surfing the high tides, the salt water spraying in my face, falling into the water after a nice ride.  The wet sand felt hard under my feet.  Man, what a long time it has been since the last time I had been at this beach.  I dug my toes into the sand, a spike of cold went up my body as the water came and surround my ankles, shifting the sand as it retreated back into the vast sea.  I looked to my left and to my right, not a soul was here.  Twenty years ago this same spot would have been packed.  Little kids playing in the water, college age kids playing touch football.  I can recall a life guard cruising up the small beach in a four wheeler, talking to the visitors.  I think his name was Paul.  He was with the fire department and worked the life guard post during the summer.  Last I heard of him he had retired from the guard duty after the accident and moved up towards the mountains.  People say that he was the first one to find the wreck and notified the police.  When the police got to him, Paul was sitting on the beach just staring out at the ocean.  I look at the cliff and the rocks where it happened.  All outside noise is blocked from me, I just look at rocks.  Pointed and ragged, black and white from the algae growing on it.
“Rick, Rick! Jeez I have been at the house for a hour.  I saw a car but no one was their.”
I look up towards the stairs and see my younger sister Mary.  I can’t see any details but her hair is long and brown tied up in a ponytail.  Her arms are tight to her body, the evening sea breeze must be making her cold.  She has never been a  big person, even as kids growing up Able would try and get her to eat her food and Mary would put up the biggest fight a toddler could have. 
“Sorry Mary, i wanted to meet you at the house, but i guess time got away from me, you know, just thinking about the younger days of our youth.”
“Ya well I will forgive you if you can unlock the door.  Remember i don't have a key anymore?” Mary calls out, the wind taking her words.  I get to the top of the stairs and can see Mary's worn face.  Deep bags are under her eyes, the eyes are bloodshot, and her skin hangs from her sunken head.  I can smell the nicotine on her as I get closer.  She use to be a very pretty woman, even was nominated for homecoming queen, but the years of the abuse and drinking can age the body. 
Smiling “You look just like you are on T.V. Rick. You never take a vacation do you?”
“Well when you get to travel the world to cook, you really can't separate work from personal time.  I consider any time the camera's not on me a vacation.”
“Not complaining about the get away, i’m really not, but dang Rick, could you have picked a better weekend to have the get together?  Maybe in October when a I don't have to worry about a hurricane coming to wash me away.”
A little grin comes from me.  “Sorry Mary, but this is the only time I could take off.  I’m going to be in Cancun in July until November filming my documentary on local foods from South America.”
Flicking on the lights the familiar sight feels rushes into me, the faint smell of cherries and sandwich meats makes my mouth water.  The many nights we spent here just talking, watching cheesy movies make me feel like a kid again, and not the thirty year old.  Walking over I open up the refrigerator and pull out two purple Fantas.
“Sorry Rick, I don't drink sodas anymore,  the caffeine really bothers me.”
Considering all the hard liquor you've had, it's a miracle that you can drink water without you kidneys failing you I think to myself.
“You want to order something, or I can make you sandwiches like we use to.”
Smirking, she just shakes her head and walks to her old room. 
“Still the old hag you have always been!” I yell into the room.
A laughing tone comes out of the room.“Shove it where the sun don't shine Rick Mada!”

The good thing about the beach being empty is that you can basically cook and play you music as loud as you want and no one can complain about it.  I listened  to some music before Mary came out.  She had a look that could make satan himself shudder.
“Why in the world are you playing that trash so loud?”
“You know that I love playing music when I cook, and when I cook I play loud music, you know, get the body, and mind awake and alert.”
“Ya, and wake other people up also.” 
             “You never where a morning person anyways. Can you pass me the  beef?”
“Uh, Rick I don't mean to burst your little bubble of light and laughter, it is like 9:00 in the morning, and these burgers, well, they are dinner food, earliest late lunch, not breakfast.”
I take my eyes off grill and look over.  Man, I didn't realize how bad she really was.  Mary’s arms had cut and little circle scabs on them.  Her face looked like it had been hit several times, several hard times. 
“I know that sis, this is a recipe that Able showed me when I was in middle school.”  You smoke them for half a day and serve them with grilled pineapple slices.”  The sound of Abel's name being spoken out loud made Mary uncomfortable.
“How is living on a farm going for ya Mary?” 
She looks a my car, then at me.
“Well it is sure not Los Angles but it is okay.  The people there are some what nice, when they are sober that is.  They sneak things in pretty easily because patients can hide stuff real easy on a farm.”
“At least this place looks like it is working for you.  How long have you been sober?”  Mary looks back at my car, as if she can't bare to look me in the eyes.
“Six months in two days.”
My stomach feels like it is doing back flips. 
“Mary, You have been going there for over a year, why did you start using again?  If the judge finds out that you are using, you will get locked up again.   If Abel was here he would be disappointed in you.”
Mary flings her head around at me, her eyes starting to tear up. 
“Don't you think I'm trying Rick?  I have been clean for six months now, longer than I have ever been.  Ya, I used some acid that a new guy snuck in.  Up until that point I had been miserable.  I'm happy when I'm not in my right mind, the pain goes away. I don't feel like I'm dying slowly.  When I’m sober I remember all the the things I have done and remember that he is still not here, no matter how much crying I do” 
I can't say anything.  No words come to my mouth. I just stare at her with my jaw hanging open. Mary’s eyes let go of her teary glare and look behind me.
“Hey mister world class chef, the burgers are on fire.”
Looking behind me all the burgers are ablaze. I forgot that the gas grill sometimes let out a rush of propane and the flame gets bigger, and well, if you're not careful then the food can catch on fire.  Turning off the gas I beat the burgers until the fire is out.  They are nothing more than hockey pucks.  I turn around to say something to Mary, but she is gone, the door to the house left wide open.  As i go and close the door I hear a bedroom door slam shut.  Walking to her door I bout knock, but stop when I hear a faint noise.  I listen closely, putting my ear on the cold door.  I can barely hear it. Mary's sobs are low, she must be crying in a pillow like she did when she found out Able had died.  She would cry all night.  I knew that was the best thing for her was to let all the emotion out, all the built up tears flow like a waterfall.  She probably never got to vent her emotions out when she was in rehab.  Even as a young girl, she never showed anyone her true feelings.  I get up and walk over to the fridge.  Sense dinner tonight was gone, I had to plan something new to eat.  Grabbing a napkin, I write
“I’m going to the store to buy some more food.”
The town of Hidden Beach was never big.  The locals called it the land that time forgot, until the summer.  There was a small church, a grocery store, post office that only one man worked at, and some little beach shops.  The perfect place to get away from it all.   As I walk into the grocery store, the old broken ding came on.  The owner never did fix it after all these years.  Walking into the store a familiar face greets me.  The owner is a nice person, always cracking a joke.  His face is even more wrinkled, and his head is completely bald.  Age really caught up to this old timer.
“What can I do for you son?
“Nothing really, I just have to get some groceries for the day, but thank you though.”  I gathered my things and proceed to the checkout line.  Putting my items on the desk, I make eye contact for the first time with the old timer.
“Oh.” He says.  “I thought it was you when you walked in here, but I wasn't really sure.  Now I know it's you.  I can never forget those eyes of yours kid.”
I give a small smile.  “I’m surprised that you remember me after all those years.  It's been a good time since the last time I have even came to this part of the state.”
“Well after reading the papers after the accident, your sister and you were in it every week for months.  Seeing two young kids all alone, losing an older sibling, well some things don't leave the mind.  What brings you here?”
Hesitant I think before I tell the him anything  Do I really want to tell someone my personal business?
.“Well, it has been some time since I last came, and I want my sister to remember all the good things that came on here, not just the bad.  She is having a real hard time right now.”
“Well son, I hear you on that, how hard of a time is she having?”
I wait a moment before answering.  Why am I telling someone who I haven't seen in years all of this?  I don't even know his name.
“Real bad sir, like if she doesn't get over it soon, she might go to jail for a long time, and her life will be ruined.”
The old timer leans back in his chair and nods slowly, taking it all in. 
“Well, I think bringing her here to try and help her could go one of two ways.  One is that you help her through her dark times and she finds the will to go on.  Two she can't get out of the slump because she is too far gone, has been gone for years.  You have to show her, make her feel like she has a chance to be saved from the dark path she is on.”
The old man is right.  If I don't show Mary the the way to get out of addictions, she might never will.  As I walk out the door I turn back to the man.
“Sir, all these years I have come to this store I never bothered to ask your name.”
He gives me a small smile.
“Christos.”
“That's all?”
“That's all people seem to remember, so that's all I say.  Hard to forget a name like Christos.”

The sky was getting darker as I walked up to the front door,  the wind chimes making their music.  The rain might come again, this time harder than before.  Mary is in the living room watching TV when I walk in.  As I set up the kitchen for lunch I say.  “You know we need to talk about what happened this morning.”
“I think we said all we need to say Rick.”
“Mary, you and I both know that this problem won’t go away, not the way you are getting treated.”  I lay the bread on plate when the radio on the TV goes off.
“Hurricane Lue is inbound for Hidden Beach and all surrounding areas.  This area is under a hurricane watch for the next twenty-four hours.”
Looking at Mary I can see she is worried.
“Hey Mary I have an idea.  Let's go for a walk before the storm gets here.  We can always make sandwiches, but we might not have a chance to walk on the hiking path.” 
“Uhm, Rick I know I’m not in the best of health right now, but did you just here that a hurricane is coming?  We will get caught in it and the coast guard will have to find us.”
“Yes I did hear it, but we have some time before it gets here, and if we walk fast we can beat the storm, but we need to go now if we want to stay dry.”
Mary is quiet for a moment, thinking about getting wet is not her favorite things if she can avoid it. 
“Fine, but I’m bringing a jacket.”
  The trail takes you around the small mountain and when you get to the top, you can see the beach and all of Hidden Beach.  We walk up to the ridge and look down, the waves hitting the beach with such force we could hear it all the way up here. 
“This place is so far away from the outside world that you feel completely alone, no one can bother you while you are here.”   
“I guess, but also no one can come and help you if you fall off like Abel did.”
That stung a little.  We were close to the stop that the police think Abel fell off of.  The rocks below tore him up, and this is the only place that you can fall and hit the large stone teeth.
“Mary can I ask you something personal, why do you feel that the only way to escape the pain is to get so stoned that you can't even talk right, or so drunk that you throw up all your food?”
“Why?  Cause, I did everything that you did and nothing worked for me.  I tried cooking, but I burned all the foods alI made, running didn't help because being all alone on a run reminded me that I was alone.  When I first got wasted on a case of cheap beers, I realised that it was the first time that I wasn't thinking about Able, not thinking about how everyone I knew was gone.”
“But Mary, you weren't alone, you had me.  I tried to help you but you would never let me get close enough.”
“I never let you get close enough?  Rick, you weren't there to get close enough.  You were always doing something to keep your mind off Able, I never could ask you anything, and when you did ask I was so mad at you, I didn't want your help and you left.”
“The reason I left was because you didn't want my help.”
“Not want your help!  Rick I didn't want anybody's help.  When have you ever heard of a teenage girl wanting help from her parent.  When have you ever heard of a teenager wanting help from an adult.” 
My fist where cliche in a ball, she was trying to blame me for all the crap that had gone on in her life.
“What was I supposed to do?  You said you were fine and I left you alone, I thought that's what you wanted.  That's why I never bothered you until I get a phone call from you in Hillside saying that you need bail money.”
“You are my big brother Rick, the only one I have left.  You should have kept pushing me, not running off at the first answer I gave you.  I never got to know mom and dad before they died.  Able and you were my idols growing up,and after Able died you basically left me alone.”
The wind picked up, blowing against us violently.  Mary loses her step and stumbles down .  I barely have time to grab her hand, if I let go Mary falls to her death.  Her eyes are wide with fear.  The wind wipes at her like a madman.
“Rick, please don't let go”
I pull as hard as I can but at the angle I"m at its impossible to pull her up.  I can feel her fingers slipping, each second is closer to the end.  Gritting my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut I mutter, “Of all the times I could have helped and failed , please give me the strength to help her now.”  Like a supernatural force helping me Mary starts to get lighter.  Wasting no time I pull as hard as I can and finally pull her to solid ground.  We sit there breathing hard and deeply, trying  to take in what just happened. 
“Rick, how did you pull me up?  I was slipping out of your hand, and you basically pull up at the last second.”
“I don't know, I just wanted to make sure you were all right, I didn't want to fail again when you needed me the most.” 

To this day I still don't know how I was able to save Mary from falling.  Adrenaline, a sudden wind gust pushed her up, how knows.  I like to think that maybe, somehow Able helped out, watching over his little siblings even in death.  Mary got cleaned up and is now helping others fight their addictions.  I still traveling the world, cooking for the masses, but I still keep in contact with Mary.  I don't have that much family left and I want to make sure I keep her safe from the dangers of this world.