The warm sand tickled in between my toes. I inhaled a long breath of fresh sea air. It felt cleansing to me. Looking around I chose to sit near to the sea edge so my toes would get wet every so often by a fresh wave. Reaching into my bag I pulled out my towel, sunglasses and my book ready to be transformed to another world. The familiar sound of seagulls and the faint smell of salt filled the air. This is where I felt at my calmest. The sea glistened from the glimmer of the sunshine above. It stretched out for miles, as far as the eye could see. It was such a powerful thought to think how vast it was compared to how small each individual human being is. Sometimes I just sat here all day and watched the sea and dozed in between chapters of the latest book I was reading. When I was little my Grandmother used to take me into the sea, and hand in hand we would jump over waves. We used to come to the beach every summer, build sandcastles and put little flags in the tops of them. Some of my best memories are at the seaside. At night we would walk along the edge of the beach, sandals in one hand. My mother would have to hose our feet before we dared step indoors. Smiling to myself I watched a couple with two small children. The mother was trying to teach them how to make sandcastles but they kept emptying the bucket before turning it upside down. The sea was fairly peaceful today, the waves were calming and untroubled. It is such a vast contrast to how to see can be in the winter months when the storms arise. It becomes violent and angry, water gushing in all directions. The waves become rough and uneasy. Each one growing taller then crashing back down into another wave. The rain and wind contributing to this sudden transformation. Then when this is all over it becomes calm again, as if nothing ever happened. For now I thought, I best enjoy the serenity. I wondered what wildlife would be hiding from us right now, jellyfish perhaps, sea lions, various types of fish? There was nothing overly harmful in these waters, no sharks or anything which was why so many people swam here. The lifeguards were on duty every time I came here but they never really had to tend to anybody for anything. I had gotten to know them pretty well. There was Emily who was my age, she had long blonde hair plaited into two neat braids to keep the hair out of her eyes. Her skin was tanned and freckly from being out here most days. She approached me with her usual friendly smile. “Hey Cat”, looking up from my book I offered her a space on my towel. “There’s meant to be a storm brewing for tonight”, she said with her eyes focused on the sea. “Really?” I hadn’t seen that one coming. Usually the clouds are dark and heavy, looming over the whole community. “Yeah, we’re going to start warning people in a few hours or so, so I thought I’d come over to let you know”. And with that she got up ready to tell some children off for throwing pebbles up in the air to catch. I wondered if I should stay and watch the storm from the cliff edge, but decided that would be way too dangerous. Gathering up my things I remembered I had to get back, after all there was a wedding to plan. On second thoughts, maybe I’ll stay here for a little while longer.
Sophie Chekruga 