The story is a dialogue between brother and sister, one of whom is dead — a ghost. Between snippets of dialogue, we see sentimental pieces from their past, favorite toys, Christmas gifts, some taken by the sea in the disaster that took the brother's life, some left in the rubble which the sister puts in a box. The remains of their family — now just the sister and her two parents — are staying in the local school as a temporary shelter, surviving on government handouts. The family tries to remain cheerful through it all; it is New Year's Eve, an atmosphere of both catastrophic loss and cheer at the same time. Through flashbacks, we witness the younger brother's death — a death that the narrator wonders if she could have prevented, but was too afraid to, by grasping her brother's hand and potentially getting sucked into the sea. The siblings share tender moments, swinging on the playground and looking out into the ocean, before it is time for the younger brother to disappear forever. The sister then returns to her mother and father, and they celebrate the New Year, embracing.