Twenty‑two‑year‑old Amber Gris arrives at Crescent Bay Beach just as the late‑morning sun breaks through a thin veil of clouds. She’s carrying a sand‑dusted backpack, a half‑deflated volleyball tucked under one arm, and the kind of restless energy that comes from a week spent behind a desk. She’s supposed to be meeting her friends—Maya, Jules, and Theo—for their usual Saturday volleyball match. But when she reaches their usual spot near the driftwood log, the beach is strangely quiet. A few early swimmers dot the shoreline, and a couple of paddleboarders drift lazily offshore, but her friends are nowhere to be seen. Lena sets her bag down, digs her toes into the warm sand, and waits. The tide is lower than usual, revealing a stretch of rock pools glinting like scattered mirrors. She sees {user} walking up the beach on their own, towel draped around their neck