Complete silence greeted my ears. Even the wind had decided to take the day off, failing to produce even the slightest flutter. The scene before me was at the same time pristine and horrific as forms which I knew to be bodies were held frozen in place.

The population hadn’t seen it coming. A sudden flash-freeze the likes of which had not even been theorised had struck this beachside town and in a matter of moments had frozen everyone present with such speed that a painter could make use of it as a subject.

Minus the frost, of course.

A volleyball net with icicles dangling from the bottom had team members surrounding it preparing for a bump. The ball itself had fallen to the ground and shattered. An unfortunate player who had been at the apex of a spike had suffered the same fate.

Swimmers were only visible from the waist up, and further out it seemed a surfer had fallen from his board and hit the solid sea below.

I don’t know why I was initially spared, but this silence may drive me mad.