Looking down the beach, not 20 meters ahead of them, Katie saw what looked like a large slab of concrete jutting out of the sand. It was curved away from the ocean and provided a decent amount of shade at this late morning hour. The bird poop and graffiti that covered every inch of its surface implied that it was neither new nor revered. 

As Laura and Katie stared at it, their parents caught up to them. 

“What are we lookin’ at?” Mr. Mulligan asked. 

Katie took off her sunglasses for a better look. Squinting in the bright sun, she quickly put them back on. “Looks like it might be a bunker.”

Laura turned to her little sister. “A bunker?”

“Yeah,” Katie said. “From World War II.”

Laura raised her eyebrows. “Wait. You mean, World War II happened on this beach?” 

Katie shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Makes sense.” Mrs. Mulligan chimed in. “A little-known beach on the Atlantic. Could have been a desirable place for the Allies to secretly make their way toward Bordeaux.”

“Yeah,” Katie turned toward their mom. “That’s right. Bordeaux was a pretty big German base when France was occupied.”

Laura turned toward her mother, then looked back at Katie. “How do you guys know all this stuff?”

Katie tilted her head and furrowed her brow. “Aren’t you in college?”

Laura glared at her. “Aren’t you, like, twelve?”

“First off,” Katie swung her pointer finger in front of her, “I’m sixteen, thank you very much. Secondly, if I were twelve, it would make you look worse than if I were sixteen, since I know so much more than you. So, that insulted you more than me.”

Laura rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” 

“Well,” Mr. Mulligan interrupted, looking the bunker over, “wouldn’t have been a terrible place as a German to be posted, watching for enemies.”

The ocean waves crashed rhythmically, broken up intermittently by the cries of circling seagulls. The breeze was light and warm. 

“It’s just so weird,” Laura mused, “to think that we are currently standing in a place where all those horrible things you learn about in school or see in movies actually happened. In real life.” 

The four family members looked around them, with the surf shack to the north and the bunker to the south, and seemingly infinite miles of sandy beach beyond them in both directions. 

Laura’s eyes drifted back to the bunker. “I want to climb it.”

“Gross,” Katie said, wiping the sand from her sandals that she was now holding. “That thing is covered in bird poop.”

“It’s probably all dry.” Laura countered. “It’s only, like, what, five feet tall?”

“Well, since you’re five foot four and it’s almost double your height,” Katie smiled condescendingly, “I’d guess closer to ten feet.”

“More heights,” said Mr. Mulligan. “My favorite.”

“I’m gonna do it.” Laura stepped forward, then kept moving, as if she were being drawn to the bunker.

Mrs. Mulligan glanced at her husband, then back to her daughter. “Laura, please don’t. There’s no need to risk hurting yourself.”

Katie caught the concern in her mother’s voice and remembered her heart. “Yeah, Laura, let’s go get some ice cream or something.”

“Nah.” Laura approached the bunker and felt around for places to grab onto. 

Mr. Mulligan sighed heavily.

“Laura,” Mrs. Mulligan tried again, “it’s not safe.” 

Laura turned back toward them. “Come on, Mom. I’m young and spry, remember? Besides, hasn’t everything on this trip gone better than planned? What happened to not expecting the worst anymore, hmm?”

Frustrated that her sister was either not registering or not caring about the rising desperation in their mother’s voice, Katie stood silent, not knowing what to do.

Laura turned back toward the bunker, then glanced over at her sister. “Guess you can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” She smiled and as she became distracted by holds in the bunker, she failed to notice that no one was laughing at her joke. 

Katie’s heart picked up speed as she simultaneously watched Laura climbing the bunker and her mother clenching her jaw. If only she had told Laura about the meds she had found, Laura wouldn’t be stressing their mother out now. 

As Laura made it to the top, hoisting herself up to swing one leg over the other side and sit, Mr. Mulligan had to physically look away, turning instead to the ocean. 

Giggling, Laura called to her father as she straddled the bunker. “Come on, Dad. I’m fine! See? Now I’m not only a big girl, but I’m a tall girl, too!”

Mr. Mulligan glanced at her briefly, then focused back on the ocean. “That’s enough, Laura. Please get down.”

Basking in her own boldness, Laura swung her arms out, stretching them as if to take in as much of this moment as possible. Breathing it in, she closed her eyes to enjoy it. Then, with her eyes closed, she lost her balance and began to list to the side. Opening her eyes, she pulled her arms back in, reaching for the bunker to steady herself, but she was already falling what felt like much more than ten feet. 

…to be continued…