He never made it to the water. With the towel in hand the smell of roasted chicken allured him to the boardwalk restaurant.Just by the smell he could tell that the skin was perfectly seared. He hadn't eaten a decent meal in months. The swim could wait.

At the restaurant quiet jazz seranaded. People spoke in whispers.

The front person welcomed him in. Asked whether he was waiting for someone. "Alone." he told them.

"Right this way, sir."

They placed him in the corner by set of swinging kitchen doors He sat right by a window that looked out to the sea. They poured him water and since he knew what he wanted he ordered right away. The chicken.

"very good, sir."

He sat there watching a woman walking along the sea. She walked slow like she wasn't going anywhere. She reminded him of a video game character. The kind who's job was just to be at a given location all the time. You could go there and talk to them there. He thought of this and he felt inspired. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. The night shifts at the hotel and arguing with his girlfriend had gotten to him. He remembered the old days when he had dreams. Back when he wanted to make his own video games. Had even gone to school for it. Went heavily into debt and never got a job in the actual industry. Ended up having to work at the 

Affordable Inn

.

He really needed to turn his life around he thought.