Sand beneath her bare feet, cold salty wind in her hair, a seal fur pelt draped over her arms. All she could do was stare out at the ocean. She chose this, this was better... this is better. She turned and walked back up the stairs that connected the private beach to her home. It was a miracle she never got any splinters from the years old cracked, and roughed wooden steps. She sighed as she opened the back door to her home, she looked around the living/dining room. The house was small, one bed, one bath, and the living space was only one room... but it was next to the ocean which was more than she could ask for.   

    The kitchen was outdated, the stove needed a lighter to turn on, and the water didn’t work on the fridge. The wall paper was tacky, and peeled in some places from the humidity, even the linoleum on the floor was warped, but she didn’t choose this house for its flooring, or its wallpaper, It was by the water which was more than enough for her. It took a while for her to set up the TV in the house, still getting used to how electronics worked, the news was playing in the background.

      The couch was old and worn in places, but she got it for cheap at a yard sale, she would be sitting outside in the sand anyways. There were jars of seashells and glass on shelves, along with other small trinkets and hidden treasures. She lays the gray and white spotted pelt she was carrying on the back of the couch as she goes into the kitchen to look in the fridge.   

    It was white, but is now a cream-ish color, a mustard yellow in some places as well... She pulled out a bag that was filled with some filets that she had bought the other day, she then pulled out a pan from a cabinet beside the stove. She grabbed a lighter, it was one of those ones with the long nozzle. The last time she tried using one of the smaller ones she almost burned herself, this was easier... It's easier... …

     She clicks the lighter as she turns on the gas to the stove kicking on the flame underneath. She sets the lighter aside and washes her hands. She picks up the filet and lays it in the pan, before reaching up to open one of the cabinets above her head to pull out the small container of oil. She pours a few tablespoons in... Eyeballing it before putting the container back.

    She pulled a few seasonings out from the cabinet and looked at the backs to see the ingredients before dumping out the spices onto the fish in some attempt to season it. She leaves the containers on the counter as she puts away the filets that were left in the bag back into the fridge. She looks around the kitchen, before deciding to open one of the windows. She watches the wind blow through the trees around the property, it blows in her face as the window opens, fresh, cool, salty air, she glanced at the dark clouds that blended easily with the overcast. She stepped away to check on the fish to make sure nothing was burning when the sound of the weather report came in. 
“Tonight it looks like we will have a storm coming in from the west, nothing to bad, should reach winds of 45 miles per hour, heavy rain, and about 43 or 6 degrees in Fahrenheit and Celsi-”
    She sighs and grabs the remote to change the channel, instead finding a nature documentary to watch. She leaned against the kitchen counter, and stared at the floor, lost in thought. The house would take a few years to officially pay off, groceries are going to be a pain since she can’t drive... She sighs and looks back at the fish before turning off the heat and setting the fish on a paper plate. She doesn’t even bother getting a fork and just picks up the fish with her hands. Quickly taking a bite and dropping it because it was still quite hot, she chews the... Still a little raw fish as she watched the documentary. 

      It was about stingrays and their natural predators and habitats. She peeled the skin/scales off the fish and chewed on it for a bit before swallowing the skin. She picked the fish apart with her fingers until it was bite sized pieces and just popped them into her mouth. She chewed slowly as she watched the documentary, easily finishing the fish. She tossed the plate in the trash, rinsed her hands off, before setting the now cooled off dirty pan beside the sink for tomorrow. It wasn’t that dirty and wouldn’t take too long to clean... tomorrow morning...  

    She picks up her pelt and turns off the TV as she walks to the bedroom. She drops the pelt on the bed, and removes the zip-up hoodie she was wearing to place it on top of her dresser. She opens the drawers and looks between them to find something to wear, before settling on an oversized shirt she got at a thrift store, and a pair of short swim shorts that she found comfortable. She sighed as she grabbed her hairbrush and looked in the long mirror to work on brushing her hair. She looked the spitting image of her mother, and her mother’s mother.. And her mother’s mother’s... Dark black hair, that falls just to her waist, dark brown doe eyes and pale skin.  

    She worked on brushing out her hair before making a simple 3-strand braid, and then wrapping it in a bun. She laid down on the bed, pulling the covers over herself before grabbing the pelt and laying it over herself as well. She stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, counting the seconds before her eyes began to droop and she fell asleep.