31 Day Writing Challenge #2: Day 2 - 'Then the light changed...'

A drop of sweat slid down Saffie's spine as she smiled into the sun. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach to her right seemed to bring peace to her soul, which was what Saffie needed after what she had left behind back home. Yells and cheers of surfers on the beach and conversations of passersby on the street, mingling with the ebb-and-flow of the sea was music to her ears. After four months, the novelty of being surrounded by the Australian accent had not worn off, even slightly. The Aussie sun warmed her skin as the salty perfume of the sea filled her nostrils. The pain and confusion of the last year, of what she had left behind in Scotland, was far from her mind. Moving Down Under had meant moving towards her happiness.

Saffie walked along the sparsely occupied street, as cars stopped on her left, in a queue starting the the traffic lights just up ahead. Out of the corner of her eye, Saffie saw something that stopped her cold. In a trance, she turned and stared into the black car paused next to her, Jake. Saffie felt like she was looking at a ghost.

She stared, unblinking, at the profile of the boy who went missing. His chocolate hair was longer and lighter and skin more tanned, but it was definitely him. It was definitely Jake Masson, sat there in the back seat, leaning forward to talk to the two sun-bleached, laughing men in front.

Memories flooded Saffie's senses: kisses; whispered 'I love you's; the feeling of fingers interlocked, of being in his arms; the smell of him, the one she'd been craving for a year. She went numb. All she could think was 'look at me. Jake, look at me. Please.' Saffie wanted to knock on the window, to make him look at her. She wanted to look into those eyes. But she couldn't move.

Jake sat back slowly, leaned against the headrest and turned his head to look out of the window.  His eyes met Saffie's and shock was suddenly written over every feature of his face.

"Jake." Saffie breathed as her hand began to reach out to him.

Then the light changed.