I woke up at midnight, enveloped in a damp wind. There was a slight pain in my palms as I struggled to raise myself, only to find coarse dark gravel beneath me. The rocky beach stretched far into the distance, where several white cliffs stood. My memories were still fuzzy, but I clearly remembered hearing a long gasping breath behind me. I turned around to recognize the figure of that creature silhouetted against the moonlight. It was a ship. The rusty giant looked as if it could disappear into the boundless shades of black and blue any second.

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I believed that this ship was waiting for me, though I could not articulate a reason why. This creature exhaled its warm breath, dispelling the chill around me. As I looked back at the distant white cliffs, I felt that the scenery was vaguely familiar. The sheer chalky cliffs saw no visitors except an observer who found herself becoming more peaceful in this serene and contemplative natural environment. I recalled that I might have once stood alone on this gravel beach at the noon of midsummer, gazing at the end of the cliffs. Or, I might have walked along the coastline with friends on a cold winter evening, trying to dissipate the chilling sea breeze with heat accompanied by our words. But now, I could not recall the details of the past, and my only thought was to leave here.