I looked at the little girl playing in the waves, and thought of how long it had been since I was that small and innocent. I walked further off down the beach, humming “brown-eyed girl” to myself. When I reached a point where I could no longer see any people on the beach, I took off my sandals and waded in. I closed my eyes, put my arms out to the sides, and turned slowly in a circle, enjoying the cool ocean breeze.
Suddenly someone came up next to me; I could hear quiet splashing: they were trying not to disturb me. I opened one eye, then gasped quietly. It was an old friend of mine from high school, someone I had often had a crush on but never told. I wondered why we were both here, neither of us even had ever lived in this country.
I stretched out my hands a bit further. Our hands bumped together…and then we were holding hands. Just simply standing there in the waves, alone, together, holding hands.
Simply enjoying the Australian ocean breeze. Calmly and beautifully.