[ CW ] Describe a landscape from the POV of someone who lost someone close to them in a war . Do not explicitly mention the person , the war , or death .

The winds blow against the shores of the sea, making waves that push and pull in the afternoon breeze. 
 
 There were times happier than this, from before. Still, just coming, back, seeing it all again... 
 
 He takes in a deep breath and pulls out a cigarette. The lighter flicks out a small flame, and he breathes out smoke, just like the buildings on the other shore. 
 
 *Ten years. * 
 
 Last time, the water was n't filled with trash and bodies. 
 
 *Well, * another puff, *last time, I was in love. * 
 
 The waves roll on, on and on and on. No seagulls break their shifting song, no sunlight sparkles off their glistening backs. 
 
 *Love, * he decided, *Love is like this. Waves and waves at first, but that's all perspective. They're really just ripples. Ripples in a pond. And sometimes, * 
 
 Another draw. *those ripples fade to nothing. * 
 
 *But that's not what happened, * He remembers. *It ended with a bang, like those buildings. A bang. Then nothing, nothing but the emptiness of smoke, the ghosts that never leave. * 
 
 He flicks the cigarette away, and the flame sizzles when it meets the waves. 
 
 *But that's all I have now. * 
 
 A long seagull screeches above, and he smiles. 
 
 *Smoke. Smoke, and the ghosts of yesterday. * 
 

