When the Waves Keep Finding You
The tide has a mind of its own.
You stretch out on your stomach beside your sister, elbows buried in the cool, silky sand, waiting for the next wave to decide whether it will reach you. The ocean pauses for just a heartbeat before another ribbon of white water races toward the shore.
"Don't move," one of you whispers.
The wave slides beneath your chest, lifting you ever so slightly before slipping back into the sea. The sand beneath your body disappears with it, pulling tiny streams around your arms and between your fingers until it feels as though the earth itself is quietly breathing beneath you.
Another wave follows. Then another. Each one arrives just a little differently.
Some barely kiss your ankles before retreating. Others tumble in with enough enthusiasm to splash cool saltwater across your face. It stings your eyes for only a second, but you're already laughing before you can wipe it away.
The air smells of warm salt and drying seaweed. Somewhere behind you, gulls call to one another overhead while the steady rhythm of the surf drowns out almost everything else. The ocean becomes the only voice worth listening to in this moment.
A ribbon of seaweed drifts lazily between the two of you, and for one dramatic moment, it becomes a sea monster.
You both squeal louder and louder as it circles you, tickling your toes, gliding slimly along your bodies.
With exaggerated bravery, someone grabs it and flings it toward the next wave, sending both of you into another fit of laughter that echoes across the nearly empty shoreline.
The mud beneath you is impossibly soft. Every retreating wave gently tugs at your body, carrying grains of sand away before another wave quietly returns them, finding their way into your bathing suit. Nothing stays exactly where it was a moment ago: Not the water, not the shoreline, and not even you. You sway and tumble in the water as it tips and tosses you over and over.
You dare each other to stay exactly where you are as the bigger waves begin rolling toward shore. "Don't move." The next wave crashes higher. This time the cold water rushes over your shoulders, filling your ears with the roar of the sea. For a moment, the whole world disappears as you are covered in sparkling bubbles before the wave slips away, leaving only laughter and a moment for a quick breath behind.
You look across at your sister. Neither of you says anything. You don't need to.
When we are children, we rarely understand the importance of these intimate moments in real time. We only feel our enthusiasm. Years later, you'll realize you weren't just playing in the ocean.
You were learning the quiet language of shared joy, a language spoken without words, carried by the tide, and remembered long after the waves have forgotten your footprints.
š¤ Heart Stitched Reflection
Who still lives beside you in your happiest childhood memories, even if life has carried you in different directions?
Thank you for spending part of your day with us.
If today's story brought a smile, stirred a memory, or reminded you of someone you love, we hope you'll stay a little longer.
We'll leave the porch light on for you.
š¤ Heart Stitched Living
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