Endless Summer

Waking Again

"Mom! Hah- hah-" Marianna grabs the phone from the bedside table. It's 7 a.m., June 9th. "This isn't a nightmare... this is... A time loop. How many times have I repeated this day? What do I have to do to break out of this loop...?" Wiping sweat from her brow, Marianna gets out a pen and paper, and starts to write out the details of each of the previous loops. "Each time the tsunami engulfs us, time resets. However, if we're going to break the loop, it must have something to do with that. I can't stop a tsunami, but... maybe... maybe I can save mom... maybe I can stop it happening... No maybes. I have to do this."

Marianna slaps herself in the face, and heads downstairs, the familiar voice, coming from the dining room. "I've told you and told you, don't send money again, we don't... Just let us live our lives. As a father, you're dead to us. We won't talk again."

Same breakfast on the table as before, same familiar old green peppers that Marianna hates to eat. "Come eat your breakfast."

"We have to get out of here, mom, right now. There's going to be a tsunami tomorrow morning, the entire town could be flooded. I know it sounds crazy, but we have to...—"

"You've lost your mind." Whack! Nori slams her chopsticks on the table angrily and stands up. "And where is it you want to go? Hazlitt? Is this about that 'going to Hazlitt for school' nonsense?"

"It's not like that at all."

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I never thought you'd try something this ridiculous. A tsunami? Is this some kind of joke? We've been living here for years without a single tsunami. Why would I believe this nonsense?"

"Mom, why won't you listen to me! Can't you trust me just once?"

"Trust you? How can I trust this garbage? Today, you say you want to go to Hazlitt, tomorrow you'll want to go to Debia. Where next? New York? You always say you want me to understand you, have you ever tried to understand me?"

"But... I'm not lying..."

"Forget it. You're not going anywhere today. Stay home and cool off." Before Marianna can react, Nori locks the door from the outside and walks away.

"Mom, wait—" Click, click. "Mom, let me out! Mom!" Marianna slams the door forcefully, but there's no echo from outside. She tries to call her mom. The moment she dials the number, a phone rings inside the house. "Did she forget her phone? ...Just how angry is she?" Walking towards the sound of the ringing phone, Marianna returns to her mother's bedroom.