Emily stopped, feeling confused. “Wait!”, she called out, but the woman didn’t look back. For a moment, Emily just stood there, bewildered and alone. She felt the cold breeze on her skin and heard the distant sounds of the waves. “Why did she run?”, Emily wondered aloud. She looked down at herself; her clothes were normal, and nothing seemed out of place. She turned around to check if something strange was happening behind her, but there was nothing unusual. Then Emily looked up again, but the woman was gone.
Emily felt a mix of confusion and fear. The woman’s scared face stayed in her mind. “What just happened?”, Emily asked herself, but the silent beach offered no answers. “Please come back!”, Emily cried after the fleeing woman. But it was useless. The woman and her dog disappeared over the dune, leaving Emily once again in eerie solitude.